Ukraine war on live ticker: +++ 03:37 Ukraine reports victories south of Pakmut +++

04.07.2023

Ukraine war in live ticker
+++ 03:37 Ukraine reports successes south of Pakmut +++

Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maljar said Ukrainian forces were making daily advances in areas outside Baghdu despite fierce Russian opposition. “We are making progress in the southern part of Baghmut. In the north, to be honest, there is heavy fighting and no progress so far,” Maljar said on state television. Russian forces were increasing their forces in the south and east and were advancing further north near Lyman and Svadov.

+++ 02:25 Selenskyj adviser Podoljak accused of freeing IAEA boss Krosi +++
Zelensky’s adviser, Mykhailo Podoliak, has been highly critical of the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Rafael Grossi’s efforts to ensure the safety of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant have had no effect, Podoljak says on Ukrainian television. The IAEA would have returned to trying to ensure the safety of the nuclear power plant. Croci would “keep joking” instead of making the IAEA’s position clear from the start. “And if there was a disaster, he would say it had nothing to do with them, yes they warned of all the dangers.”

+++ 00:38 Russia reports 25 injured in attack on Makiivka +++
According to local authorities, 25 people were injured by multiple projectiles in the town of Makiivka in eastern Ukraine, which is controlled by Russian troops. Two children were among the wounded, Denis Bussilin, the head of Moscow in Russia’s partially occupied Donetsk region, said by cable. According to Russian military blogs, HIMARS artillery rockets were used for the shelling. According to Ukrainian sources, the explosion was caused by an explosion that hit a fuel or ammunition depot.

+++ 23:59 Scholz and Biden want to coordinate closely with Ukraine aid +++
President Scholz and US President Biden have pledged to work closely together in support of Ukraine. In a phone call later in the evening, the two agreed that “support for Ukraine will continue to be closely coordinated and will continue as long as needed,” government spokesman Steffen Hebstreit said. In addition, Scholz and Biden spoke about the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. The summit “should send a strong signal that the coalition is united,” Hepstreet explains.

+++ 23:10 Selenskyj warns of Russian “provocations” at Zaporizhia nuclear power plant +++
Ukrainian President Zelensky said he had warned his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, of Russia’s “dangerous provocations” at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant. The two agreed to work with the International Atomic Energy Agency IAEA to keep the situation under maximum control, Zelenskyj writes on Twitter. In his evening televised speech, Zelensky said that according to Ukrainian intelligence, Russia had attached “explosive-like materials” to the nuclear vehicle. Perhaps Moscow wanted to stage a fake attack on the power plant.

+++ 22:17 Romania’s head of government wants German troops in his country +++
In light of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, Romania’s Prime Minister Marcel Ciolagu wants a permanent German troop presence in his country. “I believe there should always be German troops on Romania’s border,” Ciolagu said at a press conference in Berlin with President Scholes, when asked what he expected from an upcoming NATO summit aimed at strengthening the alliance’s eastern flank. Last week, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius promised Lithuania a permanent deployment of 4,000 German troops to bolster NATO’s eastern flank. Romania is one of the states on the eastern side and border of Ukraine. NATO leaders will also discuss troops in Eastern NATO at a July 11-12 summit in Vilnius, Lithuania.

+++ 21:39 Moscow: Ukraine wants to attack Zaporizhia nuclear power plant tonight +++
Signs of an impending attack on the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant are growing. Shortly after Ukrainian forces warned of a false flag attack (See ticker entry from 19:12), the Russians say the Ukrainians will launch an attack the following night. “Ukraine intends to attack the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant on the night of July 5 with high-precision weapons and kamikaze drones,” says Renat Karcha, an adviser to Russian nuclear company Rosenergodom, according to state news agency RIA. According to Ria, a Russian nuclear expert, Kiev Karcha also wants to attack the nuclear power plant with a ballistic missile whose warhead is “filled with radioactive waste”. A senior Moscow official offered no evidence to support the charge.

+++ 20:59 Ruble falls to lowest point in more than a year +++
In Russia, the national currency, the ruble, continues to depreciate. For the first time since the end of March 2022 – that is, shortly after the outbreak of war – the price of the dollar on the Moscow stock market exceeded 90 rubles. During the day the euro sometimes reached a value above 98 rubles. The Russian national currency is much lower than in the previous year. Although the ruble fell early in 2022 immediately after the war of aggression against Ukraine began, it rose sharply later in the year. One reason for this was Western sanctions, which initially restricted imports, while Russian exports continued. At the time, the Russian Central Bank temporarily banned purchases of foreign currency and advised exporters to convert their foreign currency earnings into rubles. This led to an oversupply of dollars and euros and a devaluation of the ruble. Sometimes, a dollar costs only 51 rubles – as in 2015. The central bank later removed the obligation for exporters to sell dollars. However, due to restrictions on oil exports and the introduction of a price cap for Russian oil, Russia’s export earnings declined in 2023.

You can read all previous developments here.