Moscow speaks of a possible provocation by a radioactive bomb. According to the government, Ukraine has lost 90 percent of its wind power as a result of the Russian war of aggression. Chancellor Scholz wants to set an example with a reconstruction conference. All voices and developments on the Ukraine war can be found in the ticker.

More on the course of the war in Ukraine

Monday, October 24, 03:28: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has dismissed Russia’s claim that Ukraine wants to detonate a “dirty bomb” on its own territory. The Russian allegations are false, Blinken wrote on Twitter on Sunday evening (local time). He spoke about it with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba and promised him continued support from the United States. According to his ministry, Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu had previously told the European nuclear powers Great Britain and France that Kyiv was planning to detonate a radioactive bomb to discredit Moscow. The Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar also received a call from Shoigus.

British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said after his phone call with Shoigu that he had denied the allegations and warned that such allegations should not be used as a pretext for further escalation. He also emphasized the desire for de-escalation.

Conventional explosive devices that also scatter radioactive material are referred to as “dirty bombs”. Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons after the collapse of the Soviet Union. “Russian lies about Ukraine’s alleged plans to use a ‘dirty bomb’ are as absurd as they are dangerous,” Foreign Minister Kuleba responded on Twitter. Ukraine is loyal to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. “The Russians often blame others for what they plan to do themselves,” Kuleba warned in Kyiv.

8.30 p.m .: Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) sees the reconstruction of Ukraine after the end of Russia’s war of aggression as a decades-long task for the world community. “We will have to invest a lot to make this work well,” said Scholz in his video podcast published on Saturday before the reconstruction conferences for Ukraine this Monday and Tuesday in Berlin. Ukraine and the European Union could not do this alone. He added: “Only the whole world community, which is now supporting Ukraine, can do that. And she has to do it for a long time.”

It is “important that we not only determine very specifically what needs to be done, where investments need to be made, how the reconstruction can be organized, but that we also think about how many, many years, yes, decades such a reconstruction can also be financed by the international community,” said Scholz. Together with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, he therefore invited, as President of the G7 round of the seven leading democratic economic powers, to an international conference of experts on the reconstruction of the country on Tuesday. “It’s about sending a sign of hope now, in the midst of the horror of war, that things are looking up again.”

Germany currently chairs the G7 group, which also includes France, Italy, Japan, Canada, the US and the UK.

8:04 p.m .: Ukraine has lost about 90 percent of its wind power capacity due to the Russian war of aggression. In the case of solar energy, the loss is 40 to 50 percent, Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said on Ukrainian television on Sunday. He did not specify how large the installed capacities were. However, Ukraine has greatly expanded renewable energies in recent years, he said. Before the war, they accounted for ten to eleven percent of energy production. After the war, the expansion should be continued all the faster.

The attacked country is thus even more dependent on fossil fuels and nuclear power than before. In the past few days, the Russian army has severely damaged the Ukrainian power and heat supply with airstrikes. In order to save electricity, diesel buses are currently being used in the capital Kyiv instead of trolleybuses.

1:50 p.m .: In a telephone conversation with his French counterpart, Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu claimed that Kyiv was planning to detonate a radioactive bomb to discredit Moscow. Shoigu “conveyed his concern about possible provocations of Ukraine with the help of a ‘dirty bomb’,” the Russian Defense Ministry said on Sunday. Conventional explosive devices that also scatter radioactive material are referred to as “dirty bombs”. For its part, Ukraine, which gave up its nuclear weapons after the collapse of the Soviet Union, accuses Russia of planning to drop such a bomb.

According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the situation in Ukraine is becoming more and more critical towards an “uncontrolled escalation”. Russia’s state-run news agency Ria Novosti claimed that Kyiv has virtually completed the completion of a small tactical nuclear bomb and is ready to detonate it on its own soil “to launch a strong anti-Russian campaign designed to undermine trust in Moscow.”

12.19 p.m .: David Petraeus, former head of the US secret service CIA, commented on the Ukraine war in an interview with the French magazine “L’Express” and brought a kind of coalition of the willing into play. According to this, US and allied forces could also intervene in the war without threatening a NATO member state. According to Petraeus, Russia’s attacks on Ukraine, which are particularly “shocking and terrible,” were sufficient for such an intervention.

In his view, a multinational force led by the United States could then fight against Russia.

9.44 a.m .: According to media reports, the head of the Ukrainian armaments company Motor Sich has been arrested on suspicion of high treason in favor of Russia. Vyacheslav Bohuzlaev and another top manager of the company are suspected of “collaborating with and aiding the aggressor state, including through illegal wholesale deliveries of Ukrainian aircraft engines and the repair of Russian helicopters,” reported the Ukrainian Internet portal “Strana” on Sunday night.

Motor Sich is one of the most important defense and industrial companies in Ukraine. The company, based in the eastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhia, primarily produces aircraft turbines and engines. By 2014, much of the production went to Russia. According to the media report, the house search at Bohuslayev took place on Saturday. The longtime head of Motor Sich has already been transferred to Kyiv. If Bohuzlayev is convicted of treason, he faces life imprisonment.

03:51: Federal Development Minister Svenja Schulze (SPD) called for a global effort before the reconstruction conference for Ukraine. It is “a generational task in which as many countries as possible have to join forces,” she told the newspapers of the Funke media group. “It goes far beyond Europe, we basically need the entire civilized community of states.”

The aid isn’t just a government issue either, she added. “We also need business and civil society for this.” Ukraine needs “more than just weapons, namely money and solidarity,” said Schulze. “The economy collapsed during the war, now it is crucial that the state can maintain its essential functions.” For example, he must be able to pay employees such as teachers, educators or police officers.

Schulze called for rapid reconstruction. The minister stressed that Ukraine could not wait until the war was over to repair bridges or power grids. “The basic supply must continue to function, because that is the basis for the resilience and cohesion of this society.”

The SPD politician also warned of a new flight movement in winter. The recent attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure demonstrated Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “ruthless, inhuman calculations,” she said. Every third power plant in Ukraine has already been destroyed and there are power cuts, she added. “If the lights and the heating went out in winter, even more people would have to leave their homes.”

At the invitation of Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), who currently chairs the G7 group, and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, an international expert conference on the reconstruction of Ukraine will take place in Berlin on Tuesday.

Sunday, October 23, 00:07: The Saxon Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU) has spoken out in favor of resuming Russian gas supplies after the war. “We need long-term contracts for LNG supplies from the US, Qatar and other Arab countries. In addition, we must finally develop our own natural gas in the North Sea. And when the war is over, we should use gas from Russia again,” he told the “Bild am Sonntag.” When asked if he assumed that the damaged Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline would be repaired, he said : “We will need pipeline gas, and that is only possible with functioning pipelines.”

Referring to the war in Ukraine, Kretschmer said: “A joint diplomatic effort by the EU, the USA, China, India and Japan is now needed. This war must be stopped.” According to Kretschmer, such negotiations would not automatically result in Ukraine having to relinquish parts of its national territory. “There is not a single reason why Ukraine should give up even one square meter of its territory. War damage must be compensated by Russia, war criminals must be held accountable. You have to go into peace talks with this attitude,” said Kretschmer.

11:55 p.m .: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sees his country’s troops advancing in Moscow-occupied areas despite massive Russian rocket attacks. The Ukrainian armed forces are advancing on the front line every day, and Russian strikes on the infrastructure cannot stop them, Zelensky said in a video message distributed in Kyiv on Saturday evening. “Ukrainians are united and know very well that Russia has no chance of winning this war.”

Zelenskyj had previously criticized the large number of Russian rocket attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure on Saturday. No strike by the “Russian terrorists” could stop the country. “Russian propagandists lie when they say that this terror against our infrastructure and people could somehow slow down the active actions of our military.” Zelenskyy announced that sanctions against Kremlin propagandists are being coordinated with the US.

Russia is already retreating on the battlefield and realizes that it is losing; The aggressor is therefore trying to feign military victories by attacking civilians and infrastructure, Zelenky said. The Ukrainian Armed Forces received everything they needed to defend the country every day. It is not yet possible to fend off all Russian attacks. Selenskyj emphasized that this will succeed with the help of the West.

According to Ukrainian information, there were a total of 40 rocket attacks on Saturday, and the Russian side also sent 16 Iranian drones. 20 rockets and 11 combat drones had been shot down, according to Kyiv.

In view of the severe damage to the energy infrastructure, Selenskyj once again called on the population to save electricity. According to him, the regions of Khmelnytskyi, Odessa, Zaporizhia and Dnipropetrovsk, among others, were affected by the attacks. “The main target of the terrorists is energy,” Zelenskyy said. The stability of supply in the country depends on each city. In some cases, the supply has already been restored.

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