Russia has continued to destroy Ukraine's energy supply with massive airstrikes on power plants and other infrastructure. Ukrainian utility company Ukrenergo began power cuts on Thursday because nearly half of its power infrastructure was already damaged. President Volodymyr Zelenskyj also called on citizens to use as little electricity as possible between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz accused Russia of "scorched earth tactics". But even then Moscow will not win the war, he said in a government statement in the Bundestag on Thursday. Federal President Frank Walter Steinmeier postponed a visit to Kyiv planned for Thursday at short notice. According to dpa information, the reason was security concerns.
Russia: More strikes against energy infrastructure in Ukraine
According to the Defense Ministry in Moscow, the Russian military attacked Ukraine's energy infrastructure for the eleventh day in a row on Thursday. The Kharkiv, Donetsk and Cherson regions were affected. High-precision weapons were used. However, in the past few days, numerous residential buildings, crossroads or playgrounds that were not of military importance or important for the power supply had also been hit by Russian air raids.
Scholz calls Russia's bomb and rocket terror an act of desperation
The Chancellor emphasized that the "scorched earth tactic" only strengthened the determination and perseverance of Ukraine and its partners. "In the end, Russia's bomb and rocket terror is an act of desperation - just like the mobilization of Russian men for the war," said Scholz in the government statement in the Bundestag. Putin is covering Ukraine with terror and is completely irresponsible in threatening to use nuclear weapons. "He wants to sow fear, divide and intimidate," said Scholz. "He speculates on our weakness. But he's wrong. We're not weak."
Steinmeier postpones trip to Ukraine at short notice
Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier postponed a trip to Ukraine planned for Thursday at short notice. According to dpa information, the reason was security concerns. Steinmeier wanted to meet President Volodymyr Zelenskyj in Kyiv. Instead, both phoned each other on Thursday. Zelenskyj then announced that he had confirmed his invitation: "We are preparing for the visit of the German President to Ukraine." He also thanked Steinmeier for supplying the German Iris-T air defense system. Ukraine needs an air defense shield as soon as possible. It was the second time that Steinmeier's planned visit to the Ukraine did not take place at short notice. In April, Steinmeier said he had been disinvited from Kyiv.
US: Iranians help Russia to deploy combat drones in Ukraine
According to the US government, Russia is using combat drones from Iran in the Ukraine war - with the support of Iranian forces on site. "We can confirm today that Russian military personnel stationed in Crimea piloted Iranian drones and used them in attacks across Ukraine, including attacks on Kyiv in recent days," said the National Security Council's communications director , John Kirby. "We assume that Iranian military personnel were stationed in Crimea and assisted Russia in these operations."
Meanwhile, new EU sanctions against Iran for supporting Russia's war in Ukraine came into effect. As can be seen from the EU Official Journal on Thursday, the company Shahed Aviation Industries and three high-ranking military officers are affected. According to the EU, you are involved in the development and delivery of combat drones to Russia.
Russia denies using Iranian drones and Iran denies supplying them to Russia.
Energy crisis at the heart of the EU summit
The EU summit in Brussels was about finding the right way through the energy crisis. Scholz should once again be the center of attention. The reason for this is that Berlin rejects a maximum price for gas demanded by many states and the acceptance of new European debts to deal with the crisis. Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban indicated that he is against it. The gas price cap demanded by more than half of the EU countries should also cause a dispute. Germany and the Netherlands reject such a market intervention, pointing to possible gas supply problems because sellers could then supply the raw material to other countries, which would pay more.
EU sanctions Iran over delivery of combat drones
The new EU sanctions against Iran for supporting the Russian war against Ukraine have been passed. As announced by the Czech EU Council Presidency, the punitive measures are aimed at individuals and organizations involved in the delivery of drones for the attack on Ukraine. They are subject to entry bans and possible assets of them in the EU are frozen. Russia had repeatedly attacked Ukraine in the past few days with so-called Shahed 136 kamikaze drones from Iran. However, Russia denies using Iranian drones and Iran denies supplying them to Russia.
Russia: Ukrainian army advances near Cherson
According to Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov, Ukrainian units are advancing in the Kherson region in the south of the country. At the same time, however, he also said, somewhat contradictorily, that the Ukrainian military had suffered heavy blows during Russian tank attacks, and that Kiev's units had subsequently disbanded. The Russian positions would be held. Information from the war zones is difficult to verify. Ukraine has imposed a news blackout for days so as not to jeopardize its own offensive. The day before, Russia, as the occupying power in the regional capital of the same name, had begun to remove civilians from the city. Ukraine spoke of deportations.
Spain, France, Portugal agree on gas pipeline
Spain, France and Portugal agreed to build a third pipeline between the Iberian Peninsula and France to improve European energy security. The Midcat pipeline across the Pyrenees, rejected by the government in Paris, will be replaced by a new pipeline between Barcelona and Marseille. First natural gas and then green hydrogen will flow through them, said Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez after a meeting with his colleagues from France and Portugal, Emmanuel Macron and António Costa.
