Ukraine can look back on more successes in Cherson: They recaptured the small town of Andriyivka. But the Kremlin's troops also succeeded in gaining ground. In addition, Kyiv is arming itself with German war equipment: it is buying systems of the "Panzerhaubitze 2000" type from the armaments manufacturer KMW for a total of 1.7 billion euros. Moscow and Warsaw also want to strengthen their military. In this context, Russian President Putin wants to talk to his Turkish counterpart Erdogan about the acquisition of combat drones. And Poland procures a thousand South Korean tanks. Meanwhile, President Zelenskyj is calling on the West to react decisively to the gas volumes to Europe that Russia has throttled. The 153rd day of the war at a glance.
Ukraine and Russia announce land gains
According to the Ukrainian military, it has completely conquered the small town of Andriyivka in the Cherson region in the south of the country. Ukraine's Defense Ministry said Russian-held bridges across the Dnipro River had been "successfully" attacked and threatened Russian units in the city of Kherson with annihilation. On the other hand, Russian troops advanced in eastern Ukraine. The British Ministry of Defense announced that mercenaries from the so-called Wagner Group had probably made tactical advances around the important Wuhlehirsk coal-fired power plant. The Donetsk separatists' media had previously reported the conquest. The information cannot be verified independently.
Federal government approves KMW export of howitzers
Meanwhile, the federal government has approved the sale of 100 modern self-propelled howitzers to Ukraine. As the "Spiegel" reports and the German armaments manufacturer Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) has since confirmed, the responsible Federal Ministry of Economics issued a manufacturing license for the "Panzerhaubitze 2000" type systems on July 13. This means that the export has also been approved, said a KMW spokesman. The contract with Ukraine is now being made. However, KMW is willing to make advance payments so that no time is lost. According to "Spiegel", the Ukraine had already asked KMW in April whether the howitzers could be purchased directly from the manufacturer. KMW immediately submitted a corresponding offer. A spokesman told the magazine that KMW submitted an application to the economics department on July 11 and received approval just two days later.
Kremlin interested in Turkish drones
The war opponent of Ukraine, on the other hand, is looking for possible arms purchases in Turkey. The Kremlin is interested in the Turkish combat drone Bayraktar TB2, which Kyiv has also successfully deployed. The issue of military-technical cooperation will also be discussed at a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Sochi on the Black Sea on August 5, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Russia had previously denied speculation that it would buy drones from Iran. Putin and Erdogan met in the Iranian capital Tehran last week. Now Peskow said that both sides also talked about such sensitive issues, showing how close the cooperation between the two countries is.
Poland buys 1,000 main battle tanks from South Korea
Poland is also arming itself in the face of the Russian invasion of the neighboring country. Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak signed framework agreements for a large supply and production of heavy military equipment from South Korea. The agreements provide for Poland to receive around a thousand main battle tanks, around 650 howitzers and 48 combat aircraft. Both sides did not provide information on the total volume of the arms deal. After the signing of the treaties, Blaszczak said Poland was learning the lessons of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. "Time is pressing, we have to equip the Polish army."
Less gas flows through Nord Stream 1
And in Germany, too, time is of the essence, although the lack of gas is the problem here. Since Wednesday, significantly less Russian natural gas has flowed through the Nord Stream 1 Baltic Sea pipeline to Germany. Only a good 14 million kilowatt hours per hour were delivered, according to network data on the company's website. The Russian state-owned company Gazprom had announced that it would reduce capacity utilization from 40 percent to 20 percent. Moscow again blames technical problems due to western sanctions. The federal government doesn't believe that. "As before, we see no technical reasons for this," said a government spokeswoman. "What we're seeing here is actually a power play and we're not going to let that bother us."
Gas is part of Russian war strategy
In view of the curtailed gas supplies, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj has called on the West to impose new sanctions on Moscow. "Because it is clear to everyone that this is deliberate price terror by Russia against Europe," said Zelenskyj in his daily video address in the evening. Network agency boss Klaus Müller said on Deutschlandfunk that natural gas is now part of Russian foreign policy and possibly also part of the war strategy. Müller does not expect that 40 percent of the possible amount will flow through Nord Stream 1 in the coming weeks. The European gas price continued to rise.
Preparations for grain exports begin
Russia is not only hampering gas exports, but grain exports as well. But Ukraine is not deterred by this. Together with Turkey, it begins preparations for the export of millions of tons of Ukrainian grain that is missing from the world market because of the Russian war of aggression. The agreed control center for monitoring merchant ships in Istanbul was officially opened on Wednesday. The center, with the participation of Turkey and the United Nations, will make a significant contribution to overcoming the food crisis, said Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar. Preparations are underway for the first ship loaded with grain to leave Ukraine via the Black Sea, Akar said. The transports are to be checked when entering and exiting the Black Sea to ensure that they are not carrying weapons.
Grain export problems lurk
In this context, Moscow called for obstacles to the export of Russian grain to be removed quickly so that exports could begin at the same time as deliveries from Ukraine. Russia had made the end of the blockade of the Ukrainian Black Sea ports dependent on the easing of Western sanctions against itself. Experts also see maritime logistics facing a challenge. The southwestern Ukrainian ports of Odessa, Chornomorsk and Yuzhne have "never handled such a large amount of grain in the last five years," said the international shipowners' association Bimco. In particular, the need to escort ships into ports is likely to create some congestion," said Bimco analyst Niels Rasmussen.
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