Russia’s president calls for Western sanctions to be lifted. Saxony’s Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer caused criticism with his statement that Germany, as a mediator, should ensure that the Ukraine war is frozen. All voices and developments on the Ukraine war here in the ticker.
10:30 p.m .: Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) expects unrest in Germany if gas supplies from Russia fail to materialize. In the negotiations with Canada about the export of a gas turbine serviced there, possible domestic political effects played an important role, said Baerbock as part of the “RND on site” talk series of the editorial network Germany.
“The Canadians said, ‘We have a lot of questions’, so we said, ‘We can understand that, but if we don’t get the gas turbine, then we won’t get any more gas, and then we won’t be able to support Ukraine at all perform because we are then busy with popular uprisings,” said the Foreign Minister verbatim. When asked if she was really counting on popular uprisings, Baerbock said that that was “perhaps a bit exaggerated”, but also emphasized “if we ran out of gas”. And further: “That’s exactly my point, that we still need gas from Russia.”
The high gas prices are a major burden for many people in Germany, the Foreign Minister continued. “This is our important task for the winter, we must ensure that this war does not lead to a division in society,” she added. “It is the task of the federal government to cushion social skills.”
9.45 p.m .: With a “grain bridge”, Deutsche Bahn wants to bring grain intended for export from Ukraine to the German ports of Rostock, Hamburg and Brake near Bremerhaven, among other places. The network set up for the transport of relief supplies is now being “turned” and is supposed to bring grain to the seaports by freight train, the logistics subsidiary DB Cargo announced in Berlin on Wednesday. Several trains a week should be on their way. The NDR had previously reported on it.
Exact quantities cannot be given yet, “we drive as much grain as possible,” said a spokesman. According to the information, a large part of the transports should go through Romania, since the country not only shares a long border with Ukraine, but also has a good infrastructure for agricultural transport. But the logistics subsidiaries, for example in Poland, should also take part in the transports.
7:07 p.m .: According to the head of the Federal Network Agency, the Russian gas company Gazprom has reduced the gas delivery volume announced for Thursday via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. According to the announcements, around 530 gigawatt hours would now be delivered on Thursday, Klaus Müller tweeted on Wednesday evening. According to him, that would be about 30 percent occupancy. Further changes are possible. Before the scheduled maintenance on the pipeline ended Thursday , the pipeline was about 40 percent utilized .
In an interview with ZDFheute moderator Christopher Wehrmann, Müller continued: “That’s better than nothing, but of course it’s not what was contractually agreed.” You now have to wait for tomorrow to see what will actually be delivered.
When asked what significance Canada’s repaired turbine would have on gas supplies from a Russian perspective, Müller said it was on the way and it now had to be coordinated with Gazprom. “It’s not easy, though.” According to the Federal Network Agency, the line is built redundantly: “It is not dependent on a turbine,” says Müller. Russia’s arguments did not convince him.
Previously, Müller had mentioned 800 gigawatt hours on Twitter and referred to registrations with transport network operators – so-called nominations. That would have equated to a higher utilization than before the maintenance. However, this would also have used less than 50 percent of the pipeline. Nominations serve network operators to guarantee the transport and can change until shortly before the start of delivery. According to Müller, Gazprom has now made such a re-nomination.
6:27 p.m .: During a speech in the Capitol in Washington, the Ukrainian first lady Olena Selenska urgently asked the United States for more weapons and specifically for air defense systems. In a speech to congressmen and senators on Wednesday, Zelenska accused Russia of waging a “war of terror” against her country, according to the translator. During her lecture, in which she showed pictures of murdered Ukrainian children, among other things, she thanked the USA for their support. “While Russia kills, America saves,” Zelenska said. “But unfortunately the war isn’t over, the terror continues.” So she felt compelled to ask for weapons.
“Weapons that are not used to wage a war in a foreign country, but to protect one’s homeland,” said President Volodymyr Zelensky’s wife. “I ask for air defense systems so that rockets don’t kill children in their prams, so rockets don’t destroy children’s rooms and kill whole families.” She appealed to the Americans: “Help us to stop this terror against the Ukrainians.”
Selenska complained that the war was depriving the Ukrainians of normality. “Will my son be able to return to his school in the fall? I don’t know, like millions of mothers in Ukraine. Will my daughter be able to go to university at the beginning of the academic year and have a normal student life? I can not answer that. What should Ukrainian teachers prepare for – to work in classrooms or in bunkers? We would have answers if we had anti-aircraft systems.”
5.40 p.m .: The EU wants to tighten its sanctions against the largest Russian bank. According to information from the German Press Agency, Sberbank will in future be one of those financial institutions whose funds and economic resources can be frozen. In addition, no more funds or economic resources may be made available to the bank. Exceptions should only be made for transactions related to the trade in products from the agricultural and food sector.
The EU imposed the first sanctions on Sberbank in early June. At that time it was decided to exclude the bank from the financial communication network Swift. Financial data is exchanged worldwide via the messaging service for payment transactions.
The new punitive measures against Sberbank are due to come into force this Thursday as part of the seventh EU sanctions package against Russia. The committee of permanent representatives of the member states initiated the written decision-making process in Brussels on Wednesday, as confirmed by diplomats from the German Press Agency. It is considered a formality as the procedure is usually only approved when all EU capitals have cleared their objections.
5:20 p.m .: Germany and other creditors want to give Ukraine a delay in repaying debts in view of the Russian war of aggression and thereby support the country financially. As the Federal Ministry of Finance announced on Wednesday in Berlin, Germany supports a debt moratorium for Ukraine. This should apply to bilateral debts in the period from August 1, 2022 to December 31, 2023. A planned internationally coordinated suspension of debt service should give Ukraine additional financial liquidity leeway.
According to the ministry, the so-called bilateral group of creditors consists of Germany, France, Great Britain, Japan, Canada and the USA. They urged other creditors to accommodate Ukraine as well. We will continue to work closely with the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Ukraine is highly indebted, almost four percent of foreign debt is due to liabilities to foreign countries.
5:00 p.m .: The EU’s new Russia sanctions are due to come into force this Thursday. The committee of permanent representatives of the member states launched the written decision-making process in Brussels on Wednesday, as confirmed by diplomats from the German Press Agency in Brussels. It is considered a formality as the procedure is usually only approved when all EU capitals have cleared their objections.
The new package of sanctions against Russia includes an import ban on Russian gold and plans to tighten export controls for cutting-edge technology and civilian goods that can be used for military purposes. Other people who support Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine face having their assets frozen in the EU and barred from entering the EU. These include members of the Russian nationalist motorcycle rocker group “Night Wolves” and the actor Vladimir Mashkov.
4.35 p.m .: According to the Federal Network Agency, slightly more gas than before the maintenance work is announced for the day after the scheduled end of maintenance on Nord Stream 1. In a tweet on Wednesday, the head of the Bonn authority, Klaus Müller, called 800 gigawatt hours for Thursday. According to the Nord Stream 1 website, the value in the days before the maintenance was around 700 gigawatt hours. This means that less than half of the maximum possible quantity would continue to be delivered. Most recently, the pipeline was utilized at around 40 percent. Müller pointed out that the information could change by tomorrow. So far, these are only preliminary announcements.
3:21 p.m .: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has commented on the peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. According to the “afp” news agency, the Russian foreign minister said that peace negotiations with Ukraine “wouldn’t make any sense” at the moment.
2:59 p.m .: After the regular technical checks on the Nord Stream 1 pipeline have been completed, the federal government is demanding that gas supplies from Russia be resumed. The Federal Press Office announced on Wednesday that Gazprom is expected to resume full gas flow once the maintenance period has expired. The deputy government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann also referred to the contractual obligations of the Russian state-owned company. Routine maintenance is scheduled to end this Thursday.
A Gascade spokeswoman had previously explained that these reservations – so-called nominations – are a prerequisite for the transport of significant quantities. However, the registrations can still change until shortly before the actual delivery. Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin had already indicated deliveries after the maintenance on Wednesday night. “Gazprom fulfills its obligations, has always fulfilled them and is willing to continue to fulfill all its obligations,” Russian news agency Interfax quoted Putin as saying.
The now noted gas deliveries at least indicate that gas is flowing again at all. However, the data now available do not reveal with certainty whether and how much gas will actually come from Thursday. It can be renominated until shortly before the actual start of delivery – this means that the information can be changed.
Even before the maintenance of Nord Stream 1 began, the Russian state-owned company Gazprom had reduced deliveries through the more than 1,200-kilometer pipeline to 40 percent, citing the lack of a turbine as the reason. The Reuters news agency reported on Tuesday that this throttling should initially remain in place. The capacities should therefore continue to be used only to 40 percent.
Putin recently warned of a further reduction in the delivery volume if Russia does not receive the turbine repaired in Canada. She was held back for a long time because of Western sanctions. Canada recently decided to hand over the turbine to Germany. The federal government sees the reference to the turbine as a pretext.
Putin also revived the largely parallel Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which has been completed but is not in operation.
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