German official says it’s time to start rebuilding Ukraine
German Development Minister Svenja Schulze said she believes it is important to start rebuilding Ukraine now.
“Maybe you have to do a lot of things in the same way and hope that one or the other can destroy again,” Schulze said on the ARD Mediathek morning program. “But it is important that the children continue to have schools, that the local hospital is working, that there is electricity, that there is water.”
Germany has already contributed to the construction, he added. About 200 million euros of the 426 million euros Germany sent to Ukraine for reconstruction efforts went directly to people in Ukraine, Schulze said.
It may cost up to $350 billion to rebuild Ukraine after the war, according to a report released early last month by the World Bank, the Ukrainian government and the European Commission.
– Rocio Fabbro
The Kremlin says that France and Germany have shown “no desire” for an apology in Ukraine
Moscow says France and Germany have shown “no desire” to participate in mediation over the Ukraine conflict, and it praises Turkey’s willingness to facilitate talks.
“[Turkish capital] Ankara takes a different position from that of Paris and Berlin… and declares that it is ready to continue the assassination attempt,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
He added that French President Emmanuel Macron and German President Olaf Scholz have shown “no desire to listen to Russia’s position or join the expansionist effort.”
Macron said on Sunday that the peace process should be led by Ukraine.
– Natasha Turk
Ukraine’s foreign minister has asked UN nuclear watchdogs to inspect its facilities to refute Russia’s ‘dirty bomb’ allegations.
Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, has asked the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, to send a team of experts to Ukraine to inspect its nuclear facilities, to refute Russia’s accusations that it has a “dirty bomb” it is planning. to use in its own area.
Grossi, head of the IAEA, which is the UN’s nuclear watchdog, “accepted” Kuleba’s request to “urgently send experts and peace agencies to Ukraine,” the minister wrote on Twitter.
“Unlike Russia, Ukraine always exists and remains transparent. We have nothing to hide,” Kuleba added. In a separate tweet, he said he had spoken to EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, who “welcomed Ukraine’s decision to invite IAEA experts.”
– Natasha Turk
Ukraine is increasingly successful in downing Iranian drones, UK defense officials say
Residents of a village look at parts of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), which Ukrainian authorities consider to be an Iranian-made Shahed-136 drone, after Russian missiles stopped, amid Russian airstrikes Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine October 17, 2022.
Vladyslav Musiienko | Reuters
Russia is using Iranian-made Shahed-136 fighter jets in several parts of Ukraine to target critical infrastructure in civilian areas, the UK Ministry of Defense said in its latest intelligence update, but added that the use by the Ukrainian military anti-drone technology is becoming. more effective.
“Russia continues to use Iranian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) against targets throughout Ukraine. Ukraine’s efforts to defeat Shahed-136 UAVs are successful,” the message said. in a Twitter post.
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and other officials say that up to 85% of attacks are prevented, the message reads, adding, “These UAVs are fast, noisy and fly at a low altitude, making only the aircraft easier to defend against the wind.”
The drones are likely being used to replace Russian precision-guided munitions, which he said are “increasingly rare.”
– Natasha Turk
Zelenskyy called the Kremlin a ‘dirty bomb’ and said only Russia would use nuclear weapons in Europe.
“The morning is difficult. We are dealing with terrorists. Many weapons, Iranian ‘Shahids’,” Zelenskyy wrote on his official Telegram account, referring to the Iranian Shahid drones increasingly used by the Russian army.
Ukrinform | Future editions | Getty Images
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russia is the only actor that will deliver nuclear weapons to Europe, announcing its destruction of Ukrainian facilities in the last eight months.
His comments came in response to the Kremlin’s claims, without evidence, that Ukraine is preparing to use a ‘dirty bomb’ – which uses nuclear fission to destroy large areas with radioactivity, without using explosives – and his own region.
Zelenskyy said Russia is using “nuclear control” at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, which has been under Russian control since March, and using phosphorus weapons and other banned weapons against civilian facilities, Zelenskyy said. .
He added that such a statement only means that Russia is a sponsor of the weapons it accuses Ukraine of possessing.
In response, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated Russia’s position that Ukraine plans to use “dirty bombs” on its own territory to escalate tensions with Russia.
“Their lack of confidence in the information provided by the Russians does not mean that the threat of using dirty bombs does not exist,” Peskov told reporters.
“Such a threat exists, and the Minister of Defense has given information about it to his contacts. It is up to them whether they will trust him or not.”
– Natasha Turk
‘Ukraine has no right or need to use dirty bombs,’ said the former British ambassador
Ukraine “does not have the right or the need to use dirty bombs,” Nigel Gould-Davies, fellow director for Russia and Eurasia at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, wrote in a thread on Twitter.
“[Russian Defense Minister] Shoigu’s call to the US, UK, France and Turkey, saying that Ukraine is planning to use a ‘dirty bomb’ is very worrying. We have not seen anything like this strong political system since the war. It’s even more worrying,” wrote Gould-Davies, a former UK ambassador to Belarus.
“Of course, Ukraine does not have the right or the need to use dirty bombs. It is Russia that is losing. And no one will believe that Shoigu – esp [UK Defense Minister] Ben Wallace, who was falsely assassinated during his pre-invasion visit to Moscow.
“Shoigu also warned about ‘uncontrolled escalation’. It is Russia that is increasingly … It is difficult to see these calls as anything other than Shoigu or doubling down on Putin’s bluffs, or preparing the way for Russian nuclear weapons. Yes, nuclear (ie fission). ),” added Gould-Davies. “Dirty bombs wd break nuclear taboo but don’t get serious results.”
– Natasha Turk
US rejects accusations that Russia and Ukraine will use ‘dirty bombs’
US officials in Ukraine have blasted Moscow’s claims that Ukraine is planning to use “dirty bombs,” calling them “blatant lies.”
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu made the allegations in a high-level call with Western security officials. Shoigu expressed “concerns about possible provocations by Ukraine using ‘dirty bombs’,” according to Russian security officials.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov attend a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Russia February 27, 2022.
Aleksey Nikolsky | Sputnik | Reuters
A “dirty bomb” is made to destroy a large area with radioactivity, making it harmful or uninhabitable for the people living there, without using a nuclear explosion .
Secretary of State Antony Blinken told his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba that “the United States rejects the false allegations made by Russian Defense Minister Shoygu that Ukraine is preparing to use dirty missiles on its own territory and that the world will see through efforts any Russia will use this charge as a pretext for escalation,” the White House statement said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also condemned the Russian accusations.
“If Russia calls and says that Ukraine says it is preparing something, it means one thing: Russia has already prepared all this,” Zelenskyy said in his night speech.
– Natasha Turk
Macron of France said that Ukraine will decide the peace process with Russia
French President Emmanuel Macron gestures during a press conference on the last day of the NATO summit in Madrid on June 30, 2022.
Bertrand Guay AFP | Getty Images
French President Emmanuel Macron said that Ukraine will decide the terms of peace with Moscow, insisting that the end of the war “cannot be to keep the law of the most powerful.”
“Neutrality would mean accepting the world order of the most powerful, I don’t believe in this,” Macron said from Rome on Sunday, as the three-day Cry for Peace conference began.
Macron added that the international community will accept when the Ukrainian government decides that time.
Ukraine’s military has gradually taken back territory illegally captured by Russia, and as Moscow increasingly looks to be on the back foot, its ability to destroy Ukraine’s civil and vital infrastructure remains constant. and investigators fear he may use extreme measures in retaliation. such as nuclear weapons.
– Natasha Turk
More than 1 million Ukrainian homes are powerless
Smoke rises from the roofs of buildings after a Russian bombardment of critical infrastructure in Lviv on Oct. 10, 2022. Russia launched 15 rockets in the Lviv region, some were shot down by the air force, others hit energy infrastructure. As a result of the rocket attack, Lviv was left without electricity, water and mobile communications.
Photo Sopa | Lightrocket | Getty Images
Russian attacks on critical energy infrastructure in Ukraine have left more than 1 million homes in the country without power, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Kyrylo Tymoshenko said over the weekend. Entire towns and cities in Ukraine have faced blackouts this month due to Russian attacks, raising fears about what could be in store for the coming winter.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged his fellow citizens to be careful about using their power.
“We need to consume electricity very well. Please remember to limit the use of unnecessary appliances and energy… It is important to be really frugal in energy consumption and social space,” he said in his Sunday night address.
– Natasha Turk
