Updated on 08/13/2022 at 08:26

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has reiterated his calls for a travel ban on Russians.
• There are currently no planes flying between the EU and Russia, and only Russians can enter the three EU countries by land.
• An overview of developments during the night and an overview of the day.

You can find more news about the war in Ukraine here

In the dispute over the travel opportunities for the Russians in European Union He has the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky Repeatedly calling for a travel ban. „It must be ensured that Russian murderers and supporters of state terrorism do not use Schengen visas,” he said in Kyiv on Friday evening.

Several cities in Ukraine It was hit by Russian missiles in the evening, and officials say five missiles hit the city of Zaporizhia alone. International concern continues about the situation at the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant in the city of Enerhodar, occupied by Russian forces. A glimmer of hope on the 171st day of Russia’s aggressive war is grain exports from Ukrainian ports, which are expected to resume on Saturday.

Russia’s neighbors demand travel restrictions

The demand for travel restrictions for Russians comes mainly from its immediate neighbors. Estonia and Latvia In the Baltic states, entry rules have already been tightened as well Finland consider this. Germany and the European Commission in Brussels have rejected the basic freeze on tourist visas for Russians.

„Europe He has air travel from Russia Banned in Europe. This means that the only way Russians can get to Europe is through only three countries – Finland, Estonia and Latvia, „according to Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas’ visas, but the three of us are actually bearing the burden.” Kallas noted the backlash in Moscow to the visa discussion, which shows that entry bans can be an effective sanctions tool.

Zelensky said that after all that the Russian occupation has done in Ukraine, there can only be one attitude towards Russia and that is to consider it a terrorist state. The attitude towards citizens of Russia must also be determined from this point of view. ” For Russians who really need protection, there are tried and tested legal mechanisms such as asylum. But this has nothing to do with holidays or business trips to the EU.

EU disarmament of Zaporizhia NPP

The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, has called for the immediate withdrawal of Russian forces from the occupied Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine. He supports the disarmament demands of the station and urges the visit of experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency. „Russia must immediately return control to Ukraine as the rightful owner,” Borrell wrote on Twitter.

The international community is concerned that Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, which has been occupied since March, has come under fire several times in the past few days. Both Ukraine and Russia see responsibility on the other side. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also called on the United States of America to disarm the power plant and its surroundings. Moscow vehemently rejects this, but wants to allow IAEA experts to visit the city of Enerhodar.

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev accused Ukraine and its Western partners of risking a “new Chernobyl” at the nuclear power plant – the anniversary of the nuclear accident in 1986. He added a threatening sentence on his Telegram blog: “Do not forget that there are also nuclear power plants in the European Union. for something to happen there as well.”

Rocket attacks on Ukrainian cities

Five Russian missiles landed, Friday evening, in the regional capital of Zaporizhia, which is about 45 kilometers away as the crow flew over. Governor Alexander Staroch said infrastructure buildings had been destroyed. A fire broke out. At least one woman was injured and more information on the victims is expected. The sixth largest city in Ukraine is in the hands of Ukrainians. However, the Russians occupy the southern part of the Zaporizhia region.

According to the authorities, the Kramatorsk city of Donbass was shot on Friday evening. At least two civilians were killed and 13 wounded. Donbass continued to be the main battlefield. At the same time, the Ukrainian General Staff acknowledged that Russian lands had been occupied near Horlyuka.

Rosneft threatens trouble at Schwedt refinery

Russian oil company Rosneft paints the future of the Schwedt refinery in Brandenburg in black due to the upcoming embargo on oil imports from Russia. Rosneft announced that if the PCK refinery is no longer supplied via the Druzhba (Friendship) pipeline, but via other routes, it will only be used at half its capacity.

This will lead to losses of up to 300 million euros annually with corresponding effects on tax payments to the German Treasury. Petrol and fuel prices are also expected to rise across the country Germany. The European Union imposed a ban on the import of Russian oil in May due to the Russian attack on Ukraine. Economy Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) is looking for alternative oil sources to Schweidt.

Because of Western sanctions, the Russian economy shrank dramatically in the spring. Gross domestic product fell 4.0 percent in the April-June period compared to the same quarter last year, according to the Office for National Statistics. This was the first quarter that was completely dominated by the war against Ukraine that began on February 24. Consequently, economic output fell to the level of 2018.

That will be important on Saturday

Grain exports from Ukraine are gaining momentum. As part of an internationally brokered grain export deal, 14 ships carrying more than 430,000 tons of cargo have left Ukraine’s Black Sea ports since August 1. Two ships were announced for Saturday. (buck/dpa)