Archive – The damage caused by the Russian war in Ukraine is dramatic. The EU is already looking for ways to help the country rebuild. Photo: Evgeniy Maloletka/AP/dpa
About 300 billion euros in frozen Russian central bank reserves are targeted. EU officials said on Wednesday that the release of those funds could be a condition of a peace deal, which could include Russian reparations.
However, after more than nine months, the Russian war of aggression was far from over. Losses on both sides are increasing day by day. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen claimed 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers were killed. This statement caused irritation in Kiev and was corrected shortly after.
Selenskyj will call the number of Ukrainian victims “at the right moment”.
On Ukrainian public television, Ukrainian presidential spokesman Serhiy Nykyforov stressed that only the supreme commander of the armed forces, the defense minister or the president could release reliable figures on casualties. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will make the official data public “when the moment is right” because it is important information.
Kyiv has already asked Brussels where van der Leyen got his information, Nykiforo said. Der Leyen’s speech, which was published and deleted by the texting service Twitter, caused a stir. More than 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers were killed, he said. Ukraine has been repelling a Russian invasion since February. Both parties rarely provide information about their own losses.
Blinken: Russia’s attacks on Ukraine’s energy grid are barbaric
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken condemned the Russian attacks on an energy grid in Ukraine as “barbaric”. “In the past few weeks, Russia has shut down a third of Ukraine’s energy system and plunged millions of people into cold and darkness in freezing temperatures,” he said on the sidelines of a NATO meeting in the Romanian capital, Bucharest. “Heat, water, electricity for children, for the elderly, for the sick – these are the new goals of President Putin. He beats her severely.” The practice was “barbaric”.
The EU intends to coordinate a compensation scheme with stakeholders
At the discretion of the EU Commission, proceeds from frozen Russian assets should also be used for reconstruction in Ukraine. In the short term, a framework could be created to manage and invest funds blocked by sanctions, van der Leyen explained.
According to information from the EU Commission, progress has also been made on the legal basis for the takeover of Russian oligarchs. It is not clear to what extent the frozen assets of these oligarchs, worth around 19 billion euros, may be affected. Regulation shall not apply retrospectively. Proposals should be coordinated with EU countries and international partners. “Damage to Ukraine is estimated at 600 billion euros,” van der Leyen said.
Russian billionaire Mordashov laments heavy losses after sanctions
Billionaire Alexei Mordashov, Russia’s richest man before the war, complained of heavy losses due to Western sanctions. “We lost 400 million dollars (400 million euros) in Severstal – they were stuck in Europe and confiscated as goods and cash reserves,” the 57-year-old said on Wednesday, according to the Interfax news agency. . At the same time, he complained, it is very difficult to repatriate export earnings.
Ex-General Petraeus: Ukraine War Will End Through Talks
A peace agreement is a precondition for the EU’s reparations programme. According to former US four-star general and ex-CIA chief David Petraeus, the war will end through negotiations. There will be no military victor, Petraeus told “Tagesspiegel” (Wednesday). However, currently neither Russian President Vladimir Putin nor Zelensky is willing to open negotiations.
Germany wants to supply more Cheetah tanks to Ukraine
The German government wants to give Ukraine more Gepard anti-aircraft gun tanks to counter Russian attacks. “We can send several Cheetah tanks to Ukraine again,” government spokesman Steffen Hebstreit said Wednesday in Berlin in a conversation with President Olaf Scholes (SPD) Selenskyj. So far, 30 tanks from the manufacturer KMW’s stocks have been delivered to Ukraine.
Letter bomb explodes at Ukrainian embassy in Madrid: one injured
A letter bomb exploded at the Ukrainian embassy in the Spanish capital, Madrid, injuring an embassy employee. The man who opened the letter suffered minor injuries on Wednesday afternoon, media reported, citing the Spanish National Police. However, he went to the hospital as a precaution. Police confirmed the reports at the request of the German Press Agency. At first it was not known who was behind this crime.
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