In the course of its counter-offensive, Ukraine also wants to attack Russian positions far behind the front - but the German government is still unwilling to deliver Taurus cruise missiles to Kiev. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) said on Thursday in Bavaria. Poland and Lithuania, meanwhile, want to protect their borders with Belarus, which is an ally of Moscow.
One of the concerns there is the so-called Suwalki gap - a narrow corridor between Russia's Kaliningrad and Belarus, which connects the Baltic states with Poland and the other NATO countries.
A US institute sees Russia's attacks on Ukrainian ports as a deliberate attempt to drive up grain prices.
Pistorius does not want to deliver cruise missiles to Ukraine
"We are still of the opinion that this is not our top priority right now," said Pistorius on Thursday when visiting a mountain infantry brigade in Bavaria on the Ukrainian demand for Taurus cruise missiles. The concerns about the delivery are obvious. "We're not the only ones who don't deliver. Our American allies don't deliver these cruise missiles either. Ours have a special range."
The Ukraine demands Taurus-type cruise missiles from Berlin in order to be able to attack positions of the Russian armed forces far behind the front line. Berlin is reluctant because the projectiles can also reach Russian territory.
Within the traffic light parties, however, there are different views on the cruise missiles. For example, the FDP defense expert Marcus Faber recently called for the delivery. Many of the 600 cruise missiles owned by the Bundeswehr are operational. With Ukraine's counter-offensive faltering, now would be the right time to deliver. The missiles could help interrupt the Russian army's logistics chains and thus disrupt its ammunition supply.
US Institute: Russian Attacks Target Ukrainian Grain
According to experts, Russia's attacks on Ukrainian ports with grain silos are probably targeted attacks to drive up food prices. By keeping Ukrainian grain out of the world market, Russia can hope to benefit from higher prices, the US Institute for War Studies (ISW) in Washington said on Wednesday evening (local time).
Experts referred to the destruction of 40,000 tons of grain at a port in the Odessa region on the night of August 2. According to this, the quantities of grain destroyed by military attacks have now risen to more than 200,000 tons since Russia canceled the agreement on July 17 to ship Ukrainian food via the Black Sea.
Moscow bans critical statements from Russian bloggers
In their daily report, the ISW experts also emphasized that the Kremlin and the Ministry of Defense in Moscow had meanwhile largely stopped Russian military bloggers from making critical statements about the course of the war in Ukraine. Many of these war supporters have remained silent, practicing more self-censorship and generally remaining silent on "issues that can be directly blamed on the military leadership." The ministry had also recently dismissed officers who had addressed grievances.
Russia classifies Norway as an "unfriendly state".
The Russian government declared Norway an "unfriendly state". Among other things, Thursday's decree provides for restrictions on the employment of Russian citizens as embassy or consular staff, according to the government's website. Norway should therefore not exceed the maximum number of 27 local employees nationwide.
The Russian government began compiling a list of "unfriendly states" in 2021 following a decree by President Vladimir Putin. Around 50 states are now on the list, including Germany, France, the USA, Ukraine and the EU as a group of states. As a result, the work of the diplomatic missions of the respective countries is significantly restricted.
Poland and Lithuania want to secure borders against Belarus
In view of the tensions with Belarus, Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Lithuania's head of state Gitanas Nauseda have announced stronger border protection. They met on Thursday in the Polish border town of Suwalki, which gave the so-called Suwalki Gap its name.
The Polish border is being defended against provocations by the Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko and the Russian private army Wagner, Morawiecki said, according to the PAP agency. Nauseda did not rule out that the neighboring countries of Poland, Lithuania and Latvia could close their border with Belarus in a coordinated manner.
Suwalki Gap Target for Attacks from Russia and Belarus?
Belarus has been causing problems for Poland for a long time by smuggling refugees. Recently, thousands of Wagner fighters have been transferred to Belarus. Two Belarusian military helicopters briefly violated Polish airspace on Tuesday.
At Suwalki, a narrow strip of land connects Poland with its EU and NATO neighbors in the Baltic States. The well-armed Russian Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad and Belarus, which is closely allied with Moscow, are only 65 kilometers apart. The Lithuanian President said that this corridor remains a potential target for encroachments by both Russia and Belarus.
Baltic heads of government support exit from Russian power grid
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania want to synchronize their power grids, which have so far been linked to the Russian energy system, with the rest of continental Europe in February 2025. The heads of government of the three Baltic EU and NATO states signed a corresponding joint declaration on Thursday.
Ukraine and Russia report new drone strikes
Ukraine and Russia have again reported hostile drone strikes. The Ukrainian air defense shot down all 15 Shahed drones on Thursday night, the air force in Kiev said. Seven Russian reconnaissance drones were also destroyed. Nothing was initially known about damage or injuries.
The Russian Defense Ministry announced that a Ukrainian attack had been repelled in the Kaluga area. A total of six drones were destroyed. According to official information, there were no injuries or damage there either. The information provided by the warring parties often cannot be directly and independently checked.
