The Russian state-owned company Gazprom warns its European customers of sharply rising gas prices in winter. These could increase by 60 percent to more than $4,000 per 1,000 cubic meters, as the company announced in Moscow on Tuesday. The reason for this is that exports and production continued to shrink due to western sanctions over the Ukraine war.
“European spot gas prices have reached $2,500 (per 1,000 cubic meters),” Gazprom said. “According to conservative estimates, if this trend continues, prices this winter will exceed $4,000 per 1,000 cubic meters.” Ukraine has closed one of Gazprom’s routes for deliveries to Europe. The group itself reduced its capacity of the Nord Stream 1 Baltic Sea pipeline to Germany to around 20 percent in a dispute over a gas turbine belonging to the German company Siemens Energy, which is responsible for maintenance. (Reuters)
The Swiss chocolate manufacturer Lindt
According to the Ministry of Defense in Moscow, the explosions in a Russian military base in Crimea are due to an “act of sabotage”. The ammunition depot, located in the north of the annexed peninsula, was damaged, as well as civilian infrastructure, including a high-voltage power line, a power plant, a railway line and several houses, the statement said. Who could be behind it, left the explanation open. (AFP)
The anti-nuclear doctors’ organization IPPNW and environmental groups are demanding diplomatic intervention in the fighting at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine from European uranium supplier countries. IPPNW chairwoman Angelika Claussen warned in Bielefeld on Tuesday that the likelihood of a nuclear catastrophe increases with every day that the fighting continues. “The danger is real.” The four governments in Berlin, The Hague, London and Stockholm, together with the United Nations, should therefore bring the warring parties in Ukraine to one table in order to set up a demilitarized protection zone under international supervision, especially around the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant. (epd)
Almost six months after the start of the war, Russia has accused the West of extensive involvement in Ukrainian counter-offensives. “Not only are the coordinates of attack targets provided by Western intelligence services, but entering this data into weapon systems is under the full control of Western specialists,” Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Tuesday at the Moscow conference on international security, according to the Interfax agency. He did not present any evidence of this.
Contrary to numerous reports to the contrary, Shoigu also claimed that Russian soldiers in Ukraine observed international law towards civilians and prisoners. “Compliance with the Geneva Conventions on the rules of warfare has always been and always will be the main focus of commanders at all levels,” the minister said. (dpa)
To defend against Russian troops, Ukraine has received six self-propelled howitzers from Latvia. “Together we will win!” Defense Minister Oleksiy Resnikov wrote on Twitter on Tuesday night. There are six self-propelled guns of the US type M109.
Since the start of the Russian invasion in February, Ukraine has received seven different types of NATO caliber 155-millimeter howitzers. This is intended to replace the existing Soviet-made heavy guns, which are less accurate and for which ammunition is now scarce. Latvia had also delivered four Soviet-designed helicopters to Ukraine. (dpa)
Following the example of neighboring Lithuania, people in Latvia are now also collecting money to buy a combat drone for Ukraine, which is being attacked by Russia. A crowdfunding campaign was launched in the Baltic EU and NATO country on Tuesday to raise the necessary five million euros.
The initiative goes back to a Latvian musician and a Ukrainian journalist who want to transfer the drone to Kyiv with the help of the Defense Ministry in Riga. Solidarity with Ukraine is great in Latvia. (dpa)
According to British military experts, the danger of Russian troops landing in the Ukrainian port of Odessa from the sea has largely been averted. That’s according to the daily intelligence update from the Ministry of Defense in London. “This means Ukraine can move resources to pressure Russian ground forces elsewhere,” the British concluded. No port is required for a so-called amphibious landing of troops and material using special ships.
According to London, the Russian ships are only partially able to effectively support Moscow’s invasion efforts in Ukraine. Accordingly, they adopt an “extremely defensive attitude”. Apart from the submarines, they always stayed within sight of the coast of the Russian-held Crimean Peninsula. This is in contrast to the increased activity of Russian ships in other seas this time of year, the statement said. (dpa)
In Germany, the share of Norwegian natural gas is now around 30 percent. The country has thus overtaken Russia as the most important supplier country. Nevertheless, according to Prime Minister Jonas Gahr, the country cannot expand its current delivery capacities. “Norway delivers at most what we can deliver,” Store said on Monday in Oslo after a meeting with Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Only about 20 percent of the promised volume is currently coming from Russia via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. (Reuters)
