Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin has signed a decree on monthly social benefits for people who fled to Russia to escape the war in Ukraine. Pensioners are to receive 10,000 rubles (around 166 euros) a month and women 20,000 rubles for the birth of a child, according to the document published in Moscow on Saturday. It is said that refugees who had to leave their homeland because of the war are entitled. On February 24, Putin ordered an attack on Ukraine.
Millions of people are fleeing, many in the country itself and especially in the European Union, but also in Russia. The Russian authorities spoke of more than 3.2 million refugees in early August. The number cannot be verified.
The Ukrainian government repeatedly accuses Moscow of abducting people and keeping them in “filtration camps”. Human rights activists also complain that Ukrainians are often forced to leave their country for Russia. In Russia there are also many private aid initiatives for Ukrainian refugees. Numerous Ukrainians find refuge from the fighting with relatives in Russia.
A few days ago, six months after the invasion of Ukraine, Putin ordered money payments for people in occupied territories. In the occupied parts of the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv, as well as in Zaporizhia and Cherson in the south, parents of children between the ages of 6 and 18 are to receive a one-time payment of 10,000 rubles. Moscow is repeatedly criticized for tying Ukrainians to itself, for example through money – but also through the issue of Russian passports.
Russia and Ukraine have again accused each other of shelling the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant occupied by Moscow’s troops. There is a risk that standards for protection against radioactive radiation would be violated, said the state power plant operator Enerhoatom on Telegram on Saturday.
The largest European nuclear power plant was shot at several times by the Russian military within a day. On the other hand, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that the nuclear power plant had been shelled three times by artillery from the Ukrainian side within 24 hours.
Four projectiles hit the roof of a facility that stores nuclear fuel from the US company Westinghouse, said ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov in Moscow. This could not be verified by an independent party. The spokesman also said that other projectiles fell near storage facilities with fuel rods and radioactive waste. However, the radiation situation is still within the normal range.
Britain is sending six underwater drones to the eastern European country to remove sea mines off the Ukrainian coast. The Ministry of Defense in London announced that Ukrainian personnel are being trained on the devices in Great Britain. The step should also help to make the journey for grain freighters safer. Russian sea mines would continue to endanger the transports. “Russia’s cynical attempts to hold the global food supply hostage must not succeed,” said British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace.
In view of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, Poland is buying heavy war equipment from South Korea for around $5.8 billion. The authorities in Seoul said on Saturday that Poland had agreed, among other things, to supply K2 Black Panther tanks and K9 self-propelled howitzers with two South Korean armaments companies. NATO member Poland recently decided to expand its arms imports in view of the tensions.
The contract signed with Poland on Friday is part of a larger arms deal that both countries had agreed on in July. No official information was given on the volume. It has been estimated at up to $15 billion in South Korean media. 180 K2 tanks, an unknown number of howitzers and 48 FA-50 fighter jets were ordered. According to South Korea, Friday’s contract covers a first tranche.
Britain says it is supplying Ukraine with six underwater drones for clearing mines off the Black Sea coast. The British Ministry of Defense announced that several dozen members of the Ukrainian Navy were being trained for this purpose.
According to Deutschlandfunk, the Bundestag Commissioner for the Armed Forces, Eva Högl, complains that the federal government has not yet approved the export of infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine. “The martens that are still available from the industry are not available to the troops at the moment. That’s why they would be well suited to support Ukraine,” said the social democrat in the station’s “Interview of the Week,” which will be broadcast on Sunday.
The tanks are currently being repaired by the Rheinmetall armaments group. Högl went on to say that the Bundeswehr also urgently needed heavy equipment. “That’s why it’s annoying that they’re standing there and haven’t been available to the Bundeswehr up to now.” Most recently, pressure had increased again in the traffic light coalition to deliver more heavy weapons to Ukraine.
According to British findings, the Russian army has recently intensified its attacks in eastern Ukraine. In the past five days, the intensity of Russian attacks near the city of Donetsk has increased again, the Ministry of Defense in London said on Saturday, citing intelligence findings.
With the attacks, the Russian troops probably wanted to tie up additional Ukrainian troops in the east in order to complicate an expected Ukrainian counter-offensive in the south of the country, it said. There was heavy fighting near the cities of Siwersk and Bakhmut north of Donetsk. Troops of Moscow-loyal separatists are believed to have advanced further into the center of the village of Pisky near the destroyed Donetsk airport, it said. Overall, however, the Russian units only gained a little ground.
The British Ministry of Defense has published unprecedented information on the course of the war since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine in late February, citing intelligence information. In doing so, the British government wants to both counter the Russian portrayal and keep allies in line. Moscow accuses London of a targeted disinformation campaign.
Former transport minister Andreas Scheuer has proposed building new nuclear power plants amid the energy crisis. “My formula is three plus three plus three: three nuclear power plants have to run longer, three have to be reactivated and three have to be rebuilt,” said the CSU politician to the “Welt am Sonntag”. “We need a reliable supply of energy to the economy, otherwise Germany’s de-industrialization will progress.” Germany has become a petitioner in the world and gets deliveries for new gas in Qatar, Canada and Norway. Germany is stuck in the ideological trap of the Greens, said Scheuer.
Green party leader Ricarda Lang commented on the demand for more nuclear energy on Twitter with the words: “All of this would be at least a little less hypocritical if the CSU did not categorically reject a repository in Bavaria for the nuclear waste that has already been generated.”
The President of the Federal Network Agency, Klaus Müller, expects restrictions on saunas and wellness facilities for the winter. “I cannot imagine that gas consumption in the leisure sector will simply continue during the winter given the extremely high energy prices,” Müller told the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung”. “In any case, that would be grossly lacking in solidarity in a gas shortage,” he added.
A gas shortage would have dramatic consequences for jobs, businesses and production, emphasized Müller. “Everyone has to be clear about that – jobs and the production of important goods should be more important to us than personal comfort in the energy crisis.” However, the drama has not yet reached everyone. “There is a lot of discussion about the high prices, but some people apparently think the whole thing has nothing to do with them,” said Müller.
The Federation for the Environment and Nature Conservation Germany (BUND) called for a ban on radiant heaters in the catering trade in the newspaper. “There are good reasons to ban patio heaters in outdoor catering,” said BUND energy expert Oliver Powalla to the newspaper. In winter, not only gas but also electricity becomes scarce and very expensive. “We can’t currently afford the luxury of sitting comfortably warm outside even in cold temperatures,” said Powalla.
Prime Minister Günther calls for cold saunas in wellness hotels. “There is a lot of uncertainty on Usedom, there are the first cancellations of bookings,” says Lea Freist. “You are in crisis mode here,” said the WELT reporter. She speaks to Thomas Heilmann, the spa director of the imperial baths.
Source: WORLD / Lea Freist
After a four-week review of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty by a UN conference, Russia blocked the joint final declaration. The draft criticized the military takeover of the Ukrainian Zaporizhia nuclear power plant by Russian troops shortly after the start of the invasion. The Russian representative at the conference, Igor Vishnevetsky, said that unfortunately no consensus had been reached on the final document. He stressed that several countries, and not just Russia, disagreed with several points in the 36-page paper.
The final document required the approval of all countries participating in the conference that are party to the treaty aimed at curbing the proliferation of nuclear weapons. The NPT member states hold a review conference every five years.
According to the gas network operator subsidiary Trading Hub Europe (THE), it is not possible to change the controversial gas surcharge as early as October. “A recalculation of the surcharge with effect from October 1st is not provided for by the regulation after August 15th,” said a THE spokeswoman for the “Rheinische Post” according to the preliminary report. A change in the levy is possible at a later date. Currently, even healthy companies that meet the requirements of the Gas Price Adjustment Ordinance could benefit from the help. “Information on their general economic situation or, for example, proof of imminent insolvency are not among these requirements.” Economics Minister Robert Habeck wants to examine the use of the levy by healthy companies.
After the Russian-occupied Zaporizhia nuclear power plant was temporarily shut down, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned of further emergencies. “I would like to emphasize that the situation remains very risky and dangerous,” Zelenskyj said in a video speech on Saturday night. On Thursday, the last two reactors still in operation at the nuclear power plant, which had been repeatedly fired upon, were shut down in an emergency. According to the report from Kyiv, both blocks are now connected to the power grid again.
Selenskyj reiterated his demand for an early visit by international experts and for the withdrawal of Russian troops from the nuclear power plant site. “Any repetition (…) will again bring the power plant to the brink of disaster,” he said, referring to the incident on Thursday.
Shortly before, the state operator Enerhoatom had announced that the second reactor block was back on the grid. “Today at 9:15 p.m. (8:15 p.m. CEST) the second block that was stopped yesterday was connected to the power grid,” the statement said. The blocks are now brought back to full power.
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