Updated on 08/20/2022 10:01
- 09:32: ➤ Crimea: Drone shot down at Black Sea Fleet headquarters
- 7:11 am: President of the Greens against the general ban on Russians entering the EU
- 6:20 am: Gazprom stops delivery – Ukraine offers pipelines as replacements
➤ Crimea: Drone shot down at Black Sea Fleet headquarters
Another explosion occurred on the Crimean peninsula, annexed by Russia. According to the authorities, the wreckage of a downed drone hit the Black Sea Fleet headquarters in the city of Sevastopol on Saturday. The fleet’s air defenses hit the drone, said the city’s chief administrator, Mikhail Rasvozhayev. “She fell on the roof and burned.” There are no victims.
The official released a photo of the destroyed roof. Rasvozhayev blamed Ukraine for the attack. Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.
After an explosion, a plume of smoke rising into the sky could be seen in initially unverifiable images and videos that were distributed on social media. “Keep calm and stay home for the next hour if possible,” the head of administration wrote on his channel on the Telegram news service. There is no serious destruction.
According to Rasvozhayev, a drone had already landed in the yard of the fleet’s headquarters in late July. There were also injuries. Ukraine has denied having anything to do with it.
More recently, there have also been strong explosions at a military base and an ammunition depot. Ukraine welcomed this and announced that it expected more explosions. Crimea is not a safe place, the Ukrainian leadership said.
According to Russian authorities, there have been several cases where drones have been shot down in recent days. Air defense is active, they hit their targets in Sevastopol, Raswoschajew said on Friday night. “Like many other residents, I heard explosions downtown.” Unverified online videos, allegedly from Sevastopol and Yevpatoria, showed anti-aircraft fire trackers. Drones were shot down over the city of Kerch and Belbek military airfield near Sevastopol on Thursday night.
A week ago, on Tuesday, there were devastating explosions at the Saki airbase near Yevpatoria in the west of the Crimean peninsula, destroying Russian warplanes. An ammunition depot in the north of the Jankoy region exploded on Tuesday. (dpa)
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The situation in summary:
Since February 24, Russia has been waging a war of aggression against Ukraine from the air and from the ground. Earlier, President Vladimir Putin had questioned Ukraine’s right to exist as an independent state and recognized the so-called People’s Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine.
Since then, the Ukrainian army has been fighting the invaders to the best of their ability. Thousands of dead are reported on both sides, but the exact numbers of soldiers and civilians have not been independently verified. The fact is: the humanitarian situation in Ukraine is getting worse every day. According to the UN, more than 10.8 million people have fled Ukraine (as of August 15), mostly women and children, as men between the ages of 18 and 60 cannot leave the country.
The EU and the US reacted with sanctions. They are also supplying weapons to Ukraine, and Germany is also supporting the country with arms deliveries. Ukraine is also expected to receive Gepard-class tanks from Germany. So far, it has been ruled out that NATO will actively intervene in the war.
Map of the military situation in Ukraine. (Notice: This infographic will be updated regularly)
© AFP
The other reports as of August 19:
President of the Greens against a blanket ban on Russians entering the EU
Green Party leader Omid Nouripour is critical of the idea of no longer issuing short-term visas to Russian citizens for visits to the EU. On this issue, he is close to Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who had already opposed the proposal discussed in the European Union.
Green Party leader Omid Nouripour told the German press agency that he understood the feelings of those who wanted to block Russian citizens’ tourist trips to the EU in the face of the brutal attack on Ukraine. Given the high level of support for President Vladimir Putin in Russia, “it must also be made clear that this is not possible,” he added. On the other hand, the experience of the rule of law in EU states is something “that is very, very useful, especially against such dictatorships”.
More and more countries are setting limits on freedom of travel and are single-handedly restricting the issuance of Schengen visas to Russians. These include Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and the Czech Republic. Finland wants to follow from September, Poland is considering a similar deal. Denmark is pushing for an EU solution and otherwise wants to act too. (dpa)
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Gazprom delivery stop – Ukraine offers pipelines as a replacement
Because of the upcoming stop of Russian gas supplies across the Baltic Sea, Ukraine is offering its pipelines as replacements. “The capacities of the Ukrainian gas transport system and the route through Poland are more than sufficient to guarantee the fulfillment of Russian gas delivery obligations to European countries.” The announcement was made by the operator of the Ukrainian gas pipeline network in Kyiv on Friday night.
The alternate route is “in view of the chronic interruptions in Nord Stream 1’s work”. Russian gas giant Gazprom announced on Friday that it would stop the flow of gas through the Baltic Sea’s Nord Stream 1 pipeline for maintenance work from August 31 to September 2. In any case, only 20% of the pipeline’s capacity is currently being used.
Russia ignores this alternative delivery option, the Ukrainian operator said. There are no objective reasons to limit gas supplies to the EU. Gazprom is trying to pressure European countries to stop supporting Ukraine. Despite the Russian war of aggression, some countries, especially in southeastern Europe, continue to receive their gas in transit through Ukraine. (dpa)
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With material from dpa, Portal and AFP
The tickers of the last few days to read: