The essentials in brief:
Baerbock sees little scope for further military aid
Zelenskyj: The end of the war depends on global support
FSB: assassination attempts on media workers foiled
“With each passing day of the war, we try to do everything that is available to us so that Ukraine can win this war,” Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told the media “Bild”, “Welt” and “Politico”. “Unfortunately, we can’t do magic, otherwise this war would be over,” emphasized the Greens politician. Germany could not “simply conjure up” additional material such as urgently needed air defense, Baerbock added. It must now be examined where the support could be better. Specifically, Baerbock named a possible device for clearing mined areas.
In the night sky over Kiev: air defenses in action (archive photo)Image: Evgeniy Maloletka/AP Photo/picture alliance
The German foreign minister also pointed out that – parallel to arms deliveries – the Federal Foreign Office is trying everything through diplomatic channels “to stop these brutal attacks by Russia”. However, she denied the question of whether negotiations could be held with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“I wish we could negotiate, but at the moment it’s not (about) what you want, it’s about facing reality,” said Baerbock. In the period before the war of aggression, attempts were made to prevent an escalation at the negotiating table. “The answer was that 100,000 soldiers marched in.”
Zelenskyj: The end of the war depends on global support
According to President Volodymyr Zelensky, the point in time when the Ukraine war ends depends on the extent of international aid. “Now that the speed of the end of the war directly depends on the global support to Ukraine, we are doing everything to ensure that this support is as intense and as meaningful as possible,” Zelenskyy said in a video message. Ukraine will work internationally at all levels “to restore peace throughout the country and for all people,” the president assured.
“We cannot leave our people, towns and villages under Russian occupation. Wherever Russian occupation persists, violence and humiliation reign,” Zelenskyy said. “Only the complete liberation of the entire Ukrainian territory will allow the full force of an order based on international rules to be restored.”
Met in Kiev: Volodymyr Zelenskyj and South Korea’s head of state YoonImage: Jae C. Hong/AP Photo/picture alliance
Zelenskyj received South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Kiev on Saturday. South Korea is ready to help Ukraine restore its education system, Zelenskyy said. He also invited South Korea to set up rehabilitation centers for war invalids. Ukraine is also relying on economic cooperation with South Korea. So his country needs new energy plants, railway tracks and transport routes, said Zelenskyj.
Putin: Main goal of grain deal “not achieved”
Shortly before the end of the grain agreement with Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin renewed his criticism of its implementation. The main goal of the agreement, the “supply of grain to poorer countries, including the African continent,” was “not achieved,” Putin said in a phone call with South African head of state Cyril Ramaphosa, according to a Kremlin statement. He is currently trying to mediate between Russia and Ukraine.
Important for global food security: Wheat from UkraineImage: Amadeusz Swierk/AA/picture alliance
The Grains Agreement was signed in July 2022 to allow safe export of Ukrainian grain through a Black Sea Protection Corridor. Since then, the agreement has been extended several times, and it currently expires on July 17. Ukraine is one of the largest grain producers in the world.
Russia complains that an agreement also reached at the time, according to which it can export fertilizer and food despite sanctions, is not being observed. The Kremlin is therefore threatening to withdraw from the agreement.
FSB: assassination attempts on media workers foiled
According to the Russian secret service FSB, it prevented two assassination attempts commissioned by Ukrainian services. The two attacks should have hit the head of the Russian state broadcaster RT, Margarita Simonyan, and the influencer Xenia Sobchak, the FSB said. Simonyan is an important voice in the Kremlin’s media machinery, while Sobchak is critical of the offensive in Ukraine.
According to the FSB, members of a neo-Nazi group called “Paragraf-88” were arrested in Moscow and the Russian region of Ryazan. This had been commissioned by Ukraine to kill the two women for payment. Video recordings released by the secret service show the arrest of several suspects as well as allegedly confiscated weapons and books about National Socialism. The information provided by the FSB could not be independently verified. Ukraine has not commented on the allegations.
Xenia Sobtschak (im Juni in Sankt Petersburg) Bild: Konstantin Mihalchevskiy/SNA/IMAGO
“If all this is true, then I thank all the services involved for their work,” wrote Sobchak in the online service Telegram. “If not, and if it was just about lumping me in with Simonjan, then that’s just mean,” added the operator of a well-respected YouTube channel. In a message of thanks to the FSB, Simonian, a self-confessed Putin supporter, said: “Keep working, brothers!”
wa/ma (dpa, afp, rtr)
This article will be continuously updated on the day of its publication. Reports from war zones cannot be independently verified.