Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky rejected Russian President Vladimir Putin’s offer for peace negotiations. He compared the Kremlin’s actions to the policies of Adolf Hitler in the Third Reich.
In an interview with the Italian news channel Sky TG24 Zelensky explained that the offer was an ultimatum that would not differ from previous ones. “What he is doing is reviving Nazism,” Zelensky said. Therefore, Putin wants Ukraine to give up the territories occupied by Russia, but at the same time he is interested in the unoccupied territories. According to Zelensky, Putin has no intention of ending the war. A frozen conflict will not be possible.
The Ukrainian head of state cited the partition and annexation of Czechoslovakia by Adolf Hitler in 1938 as an example of this approach. The German dictator at the time claimed that the Sudetenland was Nazi Germany’s last territorial demand – which ultimately turned out to be just that. to lie.
Zelensky’s advisor: The proposals do not end the war in Ukraine
Mykhailo Podoliak, Zelensky’s advisor, commented In a post on X And also Putin’s demands. Russian claims on Ukraine would amount to Ukraine ceding its territory, giving up its sovereignty and leaving itself unprotected. He also stressed that the peace proposals are not new and that they will not end the war.
There are no new „peace proposals” from #Russia. The Putin entity only expressed the “standard aggressor set”, which has been heard many times already. Its content is quite specific, highly offensive to international law, and speaks quite eloquently of the inability…
Giving up territory and not joining NATO: this is what Putin demands
On Friday afternoon, Putin made the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from four regions and renunciation of NATO membership a condition for peace negotiations. Putin told Russian Foreign Ministry executives that once Kiev begins withdrawing from the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia regions and formally abandons its plans to join NATO, „we will cease fire immediately, literally in the same minute, and start talks.” .
Putin called on Ukraine to hand over these areas, which are partially occupied by the Russian army, to Russia. Moscow announced the annexation of Ukraine’s eastern and southern regions in September 2022. For Kiev, these conditions represent an effective demand for surrender. (With AFP)
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Just like the smell, Palermo can no longer shake its reputation as a trash-filled city. The city in Sicily is no exception.
Palermo – About five million people spend their holidays each year in Sicily – although the island has been in Italy for a long time He has to struggle with the metre-high mountains of rubbish that line the streets. Now German tourists are complaining about the popular holiday city of Palermo, describing it as the „dirtiest city” they have ever visited. Meanwhile, the town in Sicily is suffering from something much worse that the holiday guests don’t know about.
Popular holiday destination in Italy – only positive reviews with „but” or „very bad”
After staying for several days in a B&B in the heart of Palermo, the German couple left the following comment: “Palermo was a real treat, but unfortunately it was also the dirtiest city we have ever been to. It is almost on a par with India.” This is nothing new for By the owner of the guest house, Eugenio Rossignolo. “The comments are almost always of the same content,” says the Italian newspaper. La Repubblica Quoted.
Nicola Farrugio, president of the Federationberghi, a professional association that represents the interests of hotel companies in Italy, sees the same thing. Positive comments of tourists are always accompanied by a “but” or a “shame” which, in his opinion, should not exist. “What makes matters worse is that the tourist tax – four euros a day in a four-star hotel – is not compensated by adequate services,” Farrugio said.
’Forced to monitor reserves’ – Water shortages affect popular holiday destinations
In addition to the rubbish, lack of rules and security, the B&B owner also lists the poor services in Palermo as one of the reasons for the barrage of negative reviews. This is only overcome by the constant water shortage, which, according to Rossignolo, drives guests away from hotels and guesthouses. As early as mid-February 2024, Sicilian Govt A state of natural disaster has been declared throughout the island.
Record numbers for tourism in Sicily this summer are accompanied by a list of weeds. The latest and most serious is the water crisis that is already driving guests away from hotels and guesthouses in Agrigento, Italy’s capital of culture next year.
Antonio Marino, president of the Federal Bureau of Trapani, explained in an interview the extent to which water shortages affect tourism La Repubblica. Accordingly, water comes once or twice a week to the cities of San Vito and Trapani. “The tourist may not notice this during his stay, but we hoteliers are forced to constantly monitor the hotel’s water reserves. This has become an additional task,” says Marino.
€1,000 for a beach visit – Popular holiday destinations in Italy are becoming more expensive
While water is becoming increasingly scarce in Sicily, temperatures are rising across Italy. Heat waves are no longer a rare phenomenonBut it is now part of daily life for many residents. What’s even more annoying is that beach fees are being charged more and more frequently. According to the Italian newspaper, a family of four pays about 100 euros for one day on Bagno Elena Beach in Naples, not including parking fees.
Giovanna did not want to endure this with her two children and decided to drive to another beach. “I came here by taxi,” she admitted. La Repubblica. She got a fine the last time she drove her car. She explained that she was going to the sea for her children. “I’m sorry that so many young people have to pay. In my day it was very easy to go to free beaches. (All of them)
Russia has destroyed a lot of power stations in Ukraine, knocking out half of electricity production: the 'Frankenstein units’ are supposed to help in the winter.
Russia has destroyed many power plants in Ukraine, resulting in the loss of half of its electricity production. This is already difficult in the summer – and in the winter it can be disastrous. What is needed is not only repair of damaged power plants, but also more air defense and increased electricity imports from neighboring countries, says Dmytro Sakharuk of Ukrainian energy company DTEK in an interview with ntv.de.
In the medium term, electricity generation in Ukraine requires decentralized energy supply. And more renewable energy sources, because they are more flexible, says Sakharok: „Of course, wind turbines and solar panels can also be attacked, but the Russians will have to spend more resources on them because the systems are spread over a large area. They are certainly easier and faster to use to repair.”
Dmytro Sakharuk is Managing Director of DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private energy company.
(Photo: Detic)
ntv.de: Russian missile and drone attacks destroyed half of Ukraine’s electricity generation capacity, President Zelensky said Tuesday at a reconstruction conference in Berlin. How affected is your company?
Dmytro Sakharok: Before this wave of attacks, that is, before March 22 of this year, we had six thermal power plants.
Coal or gas?
money. It was already attacked in the previous wave between October 2022 and February 2023, but we fixed it. This year, there have been six attacks on our power plants: two in March, two in April, one in May, and one in June. The total available capacity of these six power plants is 5 gigawatts. We currently have 500 megawatts available to produce electricity. We’re basically down 10%, from 5 GW to 500 MW. We are trying to restore at least half of what was damaged or destroyed at the beginning of the heating season.
So until October?
Depending on how you count. Traditionally, the heating season in Ukraine begins on October 15. Last year, due to the unusually warm weather, the authorities decided to postpone the date to November 1. To repair half the damage, we need between $350 and $400 million, mainly to buy transformers, turbines and generators. The problem is that companies don’t have anything like this on their shelves. As a rule, these devices are manufactured for the system in question. Therefore, the lead time is long and of course an advance payment must be made.
Can you repair power plants?
There may be at least a partial short-term solution this year. We may obtain materials from power plants built during the Soviet era in countries such as Poland, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Romania and Greece. We are already visiting these facilities in cooperation with the Ukrainian Ministry of Energy and Ukrainian energy companies. Many of them have been closed or are being closed due to environmental regulations. We check what can be used in Ukraine.
We found some things – not everything we need, and of course it is used. But it must be possible to repair, maintain and load materials onto trucks and transport them to Ukraine. This is the quickest way to restore at least some of our ability to generate electricity. Of course, the material does not always fit. Our power plant blocks will be a bit like Frankenstein’s modules.
Do you have enough engineers and workers to repair damaged pipes and equipment?
Yes. We employ 50,000 people in various departments of our company. Miners, for example, who now help repair systems, substations and lines. However, we have a shortage of skilled workers who can adapt materials from old power plants in neighboring countries. The scale of destruction is so great that we do not have enough engineers to deal with it. We also lack the personnel needed to dismantle the devices and transport them to where they are needed. Currently 5,000 of our employees are in the military. 289 killed as soldiers. 875 wounded. 66 missing. We also have twelve employees in captivity. Some of our employees have died on the job. Four were killed and 65 injured. This is the high price we pay for operating power plants. You need staff to supervise the blocks – even if there is an alarm. We then reduced the number of colleagues to a minimum and installed additional protective measures in the control rooms; They also wear protective vests and helmets. But it’s still very dangerous. These people are like soldiers in the trenches.
How much will these Frankenstein blocks help?
It will not cover all needs, perhaps 15 or 20 percent. That’s why we also have to buy new materials, because in some places the old ones can’t be used – in control rooms, for example. So we need money – financial requirements are high and our company’s sales are low. In the previous wave, we repaired ten units and spent $126 million. All 10 units now need repair again. We hope for international support. The Ukrainian government may provide low-cost loans, or international institutions such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development or the European Investment Bank may also provide loans to purchase equipment and finance the work. The US aid agency, the US Agency for Development Cooperation, has already provided $46 million to purchase equipment, in addition to $26 million from the European Energy Security Support Fund. But the gap is still huge: we need between $350 and $400 million for all repairs. There are only 140 days left until the heating season begins.
Is there a difference between the attacks since March and the first wave of attacks in the winter of 2022/2023?
During the first wave we had more air defence. This spring, the Russians waited for the moment when Ukraine would run out of anti-aircraft ammunition due to delays on the part of our American and European partners. This is the main factor: our defensive ability.
Right now we try to make it clear in all conversations: even if we had the money, equipment and people to do the job, it doesn’t make sense for the Russians to launch another air strike and again in a month, a week or a day to destroy our powerful plants.
At first glance, it seems illogical for the Russians to wait until March to attack energy infrastructure.
That was very logical. In December, January and February they sent thousands of cheap martyr drones to drain our defences. When they realized our supplies were almost at zero, they knew now was the perfect time to send the missiles. So, it is not enough to restore our ability to generate energy, we must also be able to protect it. But there is a third thing we need.
What is the third thing?
We must increase our energy imports from Europe. Ukraine has been connected to the European electricity grid since March 16, 2022. The connection capacity currently stands at 1.7 GW, which is the combined capacity of Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Moldova. In purely technical terms, the capacity is 3.5 gigawatts. The 1.7 GW cap was a decision taken by the European Network of Transmission System Operators, ENTSO. This is the forum where engineers decide how much electricity can be transferred from one country to another within the European grid. They usually take a very conservative approach. This was also the case when our power systems were synchronized: ENTSO engineers said it was impossible, we would have to wait two years. Thanks to political pressure from the European Commission, this happened in March, and is going well. We may not reach 3.5 gigawatts, but 2.2 or 2.5 gigawatts is certainly possible. Technically everything is ready.
How much electricity do you need?
We have an electricity deficit of 2 gigawatts in Ukraine. In winter, this number will rise to 4 gigawatts, as many people use electricity for heating. Increasing power imports by 0.5 or 0.7 GW could replace two or three damaged units. This can significantly reduce power outage times.
How often should the electricity be cut off?
Currently, state transport system operator Ukrenergo has to set limits for regional companies. Regional operators turn off customers according to schedules. In Kiev, for example, DTEK introduced a rolling schedule for each district: people have no electricity for four hours, then electricity for five hours — and so on. If the energy deficit increases in the winter, the periods of power outages will be much longer: seven hours without power, and two hours without power. People will be without power in their homes for up to 20 hours. This is a big problem. 500 or 700 megawatts from our neighboring countries could alleviate our situation significantly. This is the third step: recovering, defending and importing more electricity. The fourth step that is being talked about a lot now is the installation of decentralized energy sources.
Yes, with gas turbines and generators. Ukraine must provide everything possible to the country and establish important infrastructure such as water, sewerage and heating systems. None of these systems work without electricity. If there is no electricity, people will not have electricity, but they may also have no heat, no water, and no sanitation. Then the apartments become uninhabitable. As the President said on Tuesday, we have lost 9 gigawatts. The possibility of replacing parts of it without decentralizing our system is limited. Decentralizing our energy system will take two to three years, so we need to start now. It is not just about purchasing gas turbines and generators, but also about integrating them into the grid. This will take time. However, it is the fastest and cheapest solution.
What kind of generator would that be?
The small generators we are considering will be 25 megawatt gas turbines, or diesel or gasoline generators such as a ship engine. They can produce up to 18 megawatts. With enough generators, we can maintain the basic infrastructure we desperately need in the winter so people can stay in their homes.
What role do renewable energy systems play in this concept?
This is the next chapter in the development of the Ukrainian energy system. The share of renewable energy in Ukraine has risen to eleven percent. Before the war, our company built 1.2 gigawatts of solar and wind turbines. Unfortunately, 500 MW of it is in the occupied part of Ukraine, in the south, in the part of the Zaporizhzhya region controlled by the Russians. We still have two large solar systems with a capacity of 200 MW. During the war we built an additional 114 megawatts of wind power. In the south, cities like Odessa and Mykolaiv could be electrified thanks to our wind farms there if substations in the region are destroyed.
It is important to expand into renewable energy because it is more flexible: of course, wind turbines and solar panels can also be attacked, but the Russians will have to spend more resources on this because the systems are spread over a huge area. It is definitely easier and faster to fix.
Hubertus Vollmer and Marina Braček spoke to Dmytro Sakharuk
The Russian economy is weak under the current circumstances. Clearly, Putin must think again if he wants to save the economy, because time is running out.
MOSCOW – The West is gradually turning away from Kremlin President Vladimir Putin. Now fears about the negative consequences that the Russian economy may suffer are so present that more and more Russian business representatives are appealing to Putin. The war in Ukraine and sanctions have greatly weakened the Russian economy, and Putin appears to be running out of resources to avoid the worst-case scenario.
The Russian economy is in crisis – high inflation is putting Putin under pressure
Recently, there have been increasing warnings of signs of „overheating” of the Russian economy. Hermann Greif became particularly clear,Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sberbank, the largest financial institution in Russia. Gref told the state news agency that the Russian economy is „very overheated.” Tass.ru on June 4, 2024. It is simply “impossible” to exceed this production capacity and produce more.
In December 2023, the head of the Central Bank, Elvira Nabiullina, had already expressed concern: “The economy is growing so fast because it is exhausting almost all available resources. Stubbornly high inflation is evidence that the economy has deviated from its potential and lacks the capacity to meet growing demand.” In fact, inflation remains a major problem in the Russian economy.
Inflation remains a major problem for the Russian economy
As the Russian statistics agency Rosstat announced on Friday (June 14, 2024), the inflation rate in May reached 8.3 percent on an annual basis. It is the highest value since February 2023. This was higher than the value of 7.8 percent at the end of April and well above the country’s official inflation target of 4.0 percent. The rapid rise in prices put pressure on the Russian Central Bank to continue raising interest rates to control inflation.
It also remains to be seen what impact the latest US sanctions will have on Russia’s financial sector. On Wednesday (June 12, 2024), the United States imposed new sanctions on supporters of Russia’s war of aggression, including against Chinese companies. According to the US government, the punitive measures target more than 300 people and institutions that enabled Russia to continue the war – including the stock exchange in Moscow. The Moscow Stock Exchange announced that it would stop trading in dollars and euros in response. This step would push the Russian economy into further isolation.
Sanctions imposed on the Russian economy lead to a slowdown in growth
Penalties and The Ukraine war forced Putin to shift to a war economy, which now retaliates and also slows growth. The domestic economy proved resilient – but according to the World Bank, this was due to the intensification of the war economy, subsidies and private demand, which was stronger than expected. Experts have long warned that the war economy will not be sustainable in the long term.
The World Bank expects economic growth of 2.9 percent for 2024 (January: 1.3 percent), and 1.4 percent (January: 0.9 percent) for next year. Military production continues to have positive effects, but private demand is likely to decline. In April 2024, the International Monetary Fund expected economic growth of 3.2 percent for next year, based on new economic data. The era of the „growth miracle” appears to be coming to an end. (Buhi with materials from the German Press Agency and Agence France-Presse)
