Russian invasion: War against Ukraine: That's the situation

Shortly before the expiry of the agreement on exporting Ukrainian grain across the Black Sea, Russia and Ukraine agreed on an extension.

Russian invasion: War against Ukraine: That's the situation

Shortly before the expiry of the agreement on exporting Ukrainian grain across the Black Sea, Russia and Ukraine agreed on an extension. It will apply for another two months, said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara. In the afternoon Moscow and Kiev confirmed the continuation of the grain corridor until July 18.

After invading Ukraine on February 24 last year, Russia blocked grain exports from the neighboring country. Both countries provided almost a quarter of the world's grain exports before the war. The Black Sea Grains Initiative came about in July 2022. Brokered by the United Nations and Turkey, it allows controlled grain exports from the Black Sea ports of Odessa, Chornomorsk and Pivdennyj (Yuzhny).

Germany and Great Britain do not want to deliver fighter jets

For months, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj has been asking the West for fighter jets. On Tuesday night, a British government spokesman said Britain and the Netherlands want to form an international coalition to help Ukraine procure US F-16 jets. "The Prime Minister and Dutch Prime Minister (Mark) Rutte have agreed to form an international coalition to provide Ukraine with air combat resources, from training to procurement of F16 jets," the spokesman said.

The USA as a manufacturer country has so far refused to send the fighter jets. On Wednesday, British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace initially ruled out the delivery of fighter jets for the foreseeable future, but confirmed that Britain wanted to train Ukrainian pilots. But it's about long-term empowerment, Wallace said.

He warned against viewing the delivery of fighter jets as a "magic wand" that could bring about a decision. F-16 aircraft are not in the inventory of the British armed forces. Eurofighters that are in stock, however, are not suitable. France also announced on Monday that it wanted to train Ukrainian pilots but not deliver any fighter jets.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and Chancellor Olaf Scholz (both SPD) also confirmed that Germany would not deliver any combat aircraft. "We don't have any F-16 fighter jets. And neither Tornados nor Eurofighters are suitable for helping now - especially since training and many other things are far too expensive to be able to help Ukraine in the short term," said Pistorius.

Scholz made a similar statement on the sidelines of the Council of Europe summit in Reykjavik: "We have focused on that and we are concentrating on what we are doing. This is very relevant now for Ukraine's ability to defend itself."

Council of Europe adopts damage register

The damage caused by the war of aggression, which lasted more than 14 months, is now to be documented by the Council of Europe. In Reykjavik, 40 of the 46 states of the organization, which is independent of the European Union, agreed to join the damage register or to join in the future. Turkey, Hungary, Azerbaijan and Serbia will not participate for the time being. The EU and Canada, Japan and the USA participate.

The damage register is intended to document the destruction in Ukraine so that Russia can be held accountable. The register is considered the first step on the way to possible compensation payments to the country attacked by Russia. The idea goes back, among other things, to a resolution of the United Nations and is now to be implemented under the umbrella of the Council of Europe. It is still unclear exactly how this is to be implemented.

Chancellor Scholz said the Council of Europe's register "makes a significant contribution to international efforts to hold Russia accountable for the consequences of its brutal actions."

Russian troops in Bakhmut probably reinforced

According to US military experts, Russia has probably pooled new forces for attacks in the embattled city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine. The Washington-based Institute for War Studies (ISW) wrote that Moscow wanted to prevent a Ukrainian breakthrough. The experts referred to statements made by Moscow's chief of the partly Russian-occupied Donetsk region, Denis Puschilin, according to which Russian troops had been strengthened. According to the ISW, a Russian military blogger claimed that four battalions were stationed on the flanks around Bakhmut.

According to Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maljar, Ukrainian troops are advancing on the fronts around the city. The city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region, which once had a population of more than 70,000, has been a focus of fighting for months.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian side made new statements about the dead soldiers. According to the information, Russia lost more than 200,000 soldiers in its war of aggression. In the past 24 hours, 610 enemy soldiers have been killed, bringing the total number of Russian casualties to 200,590 soldiers, Ukraine's General Staff said in its morning situation report. The information cannot be verified independently.

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