Water pipe damaged in Zaporizhia NPP
2:34 p.m.: A water pipe was damaged in a fire at a Zaporizhia nuclear plant in Ukraine. This is reported by the Russian agency Ria, citing the Russian Ministry of Defense.
Long traffic jams on the Finnish-Russian border
1:42 p.m.: Kilometers of traffic jams formed on the border between Finland and Russia after the partial mobilization of the Russian armed forces. A webcam at the border crossing near the town of Vaalimaa, the cars close together.
Russia wants to expand the Kherson region
12:51 p.m.: Russia wants to extend the planned referendum on the annexation of the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson in part of the Mykolaiv region. This is announced by the local administration installed by Russia, according to the Tass news agency. It is about the parts of the region that are still under the control of Russian troops.
Putin’s three big lies
12:37 p.m.: In his speech, the Russian dictator piled false claim after false claim. Three propaganda lies stand out in particular. Read the text here.
Foreign Minister of Latvia: No humanitarian visa for Russia
11.10 am: After Putin’s partial mobilization, Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs announced via Twitter that Latvia would not issue humanitarian visas to Russian citizens “for security reasons”.
Apart from humanitarian visas, Latvia no longer issues any other type of visa to Russia. According to Rinkēvičs, the rule that the Russians are not allowed to enter the territory of Latvia will not change even after the partial mobilization.
Selenskyj confidant: The goal is also to take back Crimea
11.05 am: Mikhail Podoliak, the closest adviser to Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskyy, said that Ukraine wants to take back the Crimean peninsula annexed by Russia because “if Russia stays on any part of the Ukrainian territory, the war will end again.”
In the interview with “Zeit” he also asked about the German government continuing the delivery of heavy weapons in order to retake Crimea. “Germany has a large number of heavy armored vehicles as well as Leopard and Marder tanks. We need them for the counter-offensive,” said Podoljak. Podoljak rejected talks with Moscow at the time: “Negotiations can only take place when the entire territory of Ukraine, including Crimea, has been liberated. Any negotiations until then would only mean a prolongation of the war.”
The former Chancellor should be a good mediator in the peace process: “Angela Merkel is an effective politician, even if she made a strategic mistake: she did not understand the real intentions and the nature of Russia deeply enough. Namely that Russia is. not economic, but expansionist imperialist intentions. But it seems that Mrs. Merkel understands the political reality today. Therefore, I can imagine a role for her in a peace process. She drew her conclusion from the war.”