Russian forces hit the port city of Odessa in southern Ukraine once again in the early hours of this morning.
This was reported by the head of the region's military administration, Serhiy Bratchuk, as reported by the Guardian.
The missile attack would have taken place by means of "strategic aircraft" , he said. Last Saturday, just 12 hours after the signing of the agreement with Kiev on grain exports from Ukraine's southern ports, Russia bombed Odessa with cruise missiles.
Meanwhile, Gazprom 's gas cuts continue: "further proof" that Europe must "reduce its dependence on Russian supplies as soon as possible", said Jozef Sikela, Czech Energy Minister, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU.
"Unity and solidarity are the best weapons we have against Putin and I am sure that is what we will demonstrate today", said Sikela, in view of a meeting in Brussels with his 27 counterparts to agree on a plan to reduce consumption. of EU gas, the one on which ministers agreed to " reduce demand for next winter ". Only Hungary objected.
As has been underlined, “the exceptions envisaged in the plan for the mandatory 15% reduction in gas demand are not automatic. Each country must prove that the particular circumstances envisaged by a specific derogation have occurred ". The only three states that can automatically benefit from a derogation are the islands, namely Ireland, Malta and Cyprus.
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Here are the updates by the hour.
Berlin, 3 Mars II multiple rocket launchers delivered to Ukraine
German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said today that the three Mars II multiple rocket launchers promised last June have been delivered to Ukraine. Dpa reports it. At the same time, three more PzH 2000 self-propelled howitzers would also arrive. Kiev is also awaiting delivery of the Iris-T air defense system and three armored recovery vehicles. Yesterday, three German Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft vehicles arrived in Ukraine (Berlin wants to send 15 in all).
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EU Commission: "Commitment to urgently explore the price cap"
"The Commission is urgently considering the different possibilities of introducing gas price caps. To this end, the Commission will consult Member States (and international partners, if appropriate) and report back in the autumn with specific proposals if necessary." This is what we read in a statement that, according to what is learned, the EU Commission drafted in support of the agreement on the plan for reducing gas demand. In the statement, the European executive declares that "it will continue the impact assessment process on how to resist future excessive price volatility".
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Di Maio condemns the attacks in Odessa: "Support the UN"
"The war in Ukraine caused the largest refugee crisis in recent European history and upset the world food chain. In this sense, the Istanbul wheat agreement opens up positive glimpses. But the Russian attack on the port of Odessa shows when it is it is important to monitor the application of that agreement ". This was stated by Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio speaking to the joint Foreign and Defense commissions of the Chamber.
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Gas, Poland: "No to imposed cuts, solidarity and freedom"
"We are preparing our infrastructure to be totally independent from Russia. Today we cannot support any decision that is imposed on a country. I believe that when it comes to energy security it is essentially a matter of individual responsibility of national governments. When we talk about solidarity we also talk about freedom ". This was stated by the Minister of Energy of Poland, Anna Moskwa before the Energy Affairs Council. "Our industry cannot be asked to reduce consumption because the industry of another country needs more gas," he added.
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A political agreement on gas is expected by today
"I foresee that today we will have an interesting political discussion" on the EU emergency plan on gas "because the member states have different starting positions, but I expect a political agreement at the end of the day". This was said by the European Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson, arriving at the extraordinary Energy Council in Brussels. "It is important to emphasize that now the filling of underground gas deposits continues" and has reached "66%", Simson stressed, indicating that "in recent weeks Member States have managed to attract more gas than they consume in the summer" .
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Kiev: "The Russians are preparing the offensive in Donetsk"
The Russians are allegedly preparing an offensive on the cities of Siversk and Soledar, in Donetsk, according to reports from the general staff of the Ukrainian armed forces on Facebook. And Belarusian armed forces would conduct a training reconnaissance on connections with the command center starting at 6 this morning, in the direction of Volyn and Polissia. The reconnaissance was allegedly conducted with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) departing from Belarus in the direction of Lutsk and Kovel, in the Volyn region, a sign, according to Kiev, of the persistence of a "threat of missile and air attacks from the territory of Belarus".
(Unioneonline)