Russia has expanded its targets to include areas other than those in eastern Ukraine and the still-bombed Donbas basin, in the context of a war that is depriving parts of the world of grain and threatening Europe with a shortage of gas supplies.
Nearly five months into the war, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stressed that Russia’s military objectives in Ukraine are no longer limited to the east, but include “other territories” and can expand.
Lavrov justified the change with a “different geographic” situation compared to the situation on the ground in late March, when Moscow said it wanted to focus on the east after it failed to control the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.
Lavrov told RIA Novosti and RT that Russia’s military targets “no longer (include) only the (separatist) Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics (in eastern Ukraine), but also Kherson and Zaporizhzhya regions (in the south) and a number of other territories. and this process continues unabated.
Lavrov also said that negotiations with Kyiv “would not make sense in the current situation,” given that previous contacts “only revealed the unwillingness of the Ukrainian side to seriously discuss anything.”
For her part, First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska, who is on a visit to the United States, addressed the US Congress with the words: “I ask you for more weapons to protect everyone’s homes and protect their right to wake up alive. in these houses.
In this context, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said that the United States will provide Ukraine with four new HIMARS precision-guided artillery systems to help it resist the Russian invasion.
In this context, Ukraine on Wednesday called on its allies to impose additional sanctions against Russia and accelerate the supply of weapons to it.
“By acknowledging his dreams of taking over more of Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister (Sergey Lavrov) is proving that Russia rejects diplomacy and is focused on war and terrorism,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in a statement.
In southern Ukraine, a new shelling in Nikopol killed at least two people and wounded nine others, Mayor Oleksandr Sayuk said on Facebook.
Oblast official Oleksandr Velkul said the Russian army fired Grad rockets from territories it controls in southern Ukraine, 30 of which fell on the city.
Among the wounded were four children, the youngest of whom was three years old.
Decrease in demand for Russian gas by 15%
The European Commission has proposed a plan aimed at reducing European demand for gas by 15 percent to offset the decline in supplies from Russia.
In order to prepare for winter, the Commission has prepared a set of measures that will allow the 27 EU countries to face possible disruptions in supplies from Russia, which until last year accounted for 40% of their imports.
In recent weeks, Russia’s Gazprom has cut gas supplies to Germany via Nord Stream 1 by about 60%, citing the absence of a Siemens gas turbine undergoing maintenance in Canada.
Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed that Gazprom would fulfill all its obligations related to the delivery of goods.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has accused Russia of using gas as a “weapon” against the European Union, drastically cutting supplies, and called on 27 member states to prepare for a total shutdown.
The operation of the Nord Stream gas pipeline connecting Russia and Germany resumed yesterday after ten days of repair work, the pipeline operator said.
A Nord Stream spokesman said the pipeline was “working” but did not disclose the volumes of gas flowing. The German government feared that Moscow would not open the taps after the repair work began on 11 July.
According to data provided by the Russian group Gazprom to the German company Gaskid, which operates the network, the pipeline is expected to carry 530 gigawatts per hour during the day.
Ukraine 25% discount
Yesterday, the Central Bank of Ukraine announced the devaluation of the national currency hryvnia by 25% against the dollar due to the impact of the Russian invasion on the country’s economy.
The central bank said in a statement that the measure would boost the competitiveness of Ukrainian producers “and keep the economy stable amid war,” setting the exchange rate on Thursday at 36.57 hryvnia to the dollar, up from 29.25 hryvnia to the dollar. dollar earlier, at the rate that has been approved since the beginning of the invasion.
The head of the National Bank, Kirill Shevchenko, said that the Central Bank continues to monitor the stability of the exchange rate and take the necessary measures to balance the situation in the foreign exchange market.
He indicated that all emergency measures taken as a result of the invasion would be lifted after the end of the war.