The fight in Ukraine continues. From August 31, the Russian energy company Gazprom will again interrupt the supply of gas through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline.
- Russian air defense is said to have again shot down drones over the annexed Crimea peninsula – via Sevastopol, the home port of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, and the seaside resort of Yevpatoria. “Like many other residents, I heard explosions in the center,” Sevastopol’s chief administrator Mikhail Rasvozhayev wrote on Telegram. Missiles are also said to have been shot down over the city of Kerch and the Belbek military airfield. Observers suspect that the Ukrainians want to test the Russian air defense system.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron agreed to a phone call to a Inspection of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant occupied by Russian troops issued by the International Atomic Energy Agency. IAEA chief Rafael Grossi declares his willingness to send inspectors “as soon as possible”.
- Once again Russian energy company Gazprom is cutting off its gas supply to Europe via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. This time, due to “a series of routine maintenance work” from August 31 to September 2, no gas is expected to flow across the Baltic Sea to Germany. More on that.
- The US agency S&P upgraded Ukraine’s rating. The long-term foreign currency bond rating will be upgraded to “CCC+” from previously “SD”. The outlook is stable. The country’s real gross domestic product will fall 40 percent this year as exports, consumption and investment contract, he said.
(Red/APA/Portal/AFP/dpa)