BERLIN – The German vice chancellor says Russia’s continued revenue from high fuel prices “hurts”, but the Russian economy is collapsing and “time is running out against Russia”.
Robert Habeck, who is also Germany’s economy minister in charge of energy, told parliament on Thursday that “the income that (Russian President Vladimir) Putin has received in recent months due to high prices hurts and we can only be ashamed that we have not yet managed to reduce this dependence significantly. “
But he says looking at Russia’s gas and oil revenues doesn’t tell the whole story. Habek said that “Putin still receives money, but can hardly spend more” because of Western sanctions. He pointed to the big drop in exports to Russia, including from Germany.
Habek said time did not work for Russia. He works against Russia, he works against the Russian economy. He added that “no one wants to invest in Russia anymore.”
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KEY DEVELOPMENT OF THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR:
– Photo gallery: 100 days of unusual images from Ukraine
– The United States and Germany agree to supply Ukraine with modern weapons
– Ukraine’s aspirations to qualify for the World Cup grew during the war
– A Ukrainian stabbed a Ukrainian in a bar in New York, thinking he was Russian
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Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
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OTHER DEVELOPMENTS:
COPENHAGEN, Denmark – Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said on Thursday that he expects Denmark to join the European Union’s common defense on July 1st.
In a referendum on Wednesday, two-thirds of voters decided to give up a 30-year refusal that prevented the Scandinavian country from joining the EU. With 100% of the votes counted, 66.9% voted in favor of the 30-year withdrawal and 33.1% against.
The move is the latest example of a country in Europe seeking closer defense ties with allies since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The referendum follows historic attempts by other Scandinavian countries, Sweden and Finland, to join NATO.
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LONDON – Britain says it will send sophisticated medium-range missile systems to Ukraine in a coordinated process with the United States.
Defense Secretary Ben Wallace says the UK will send an unspecified number of M270 launchers that can send precision-guided missiles up to 80 kilometers (50 miles) away.
Britain says the decision is closely coordinated with the US decision to send highly mobile artillery missile systems to Ukraine. The two missile systems are similar, although the American one has wheels, while the British one – also made in the USA – runs on tracks.
Britain says Ukrainian troops will be trained in Britain to use the equipment.
Ukraine is begging its Western allies to send longer-range missiles to help it counter Russian artillery in the eastern Donbass region, at the center of Moscow’s offensive.
The United States has said Ukraine has promised not to let weapons into Russia. But Russia has accused Washington of “adding fuel to the fire” of the conflict.
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Kyiv, Ukraine – Ukraine’s emergency officials say Russian shelling set fire to a school in the city of Kharkiv at night and that a woman died in the blaze.
Another man was injured, Ukrainian authorities said on Thursday. There were fires from the shelling in other regions of Kharkiv region as well.
Russian forces also shelled the Dnipropetrovsk region overnight, its governor Valentin Reznichenko told Telegram. He said the shelling took place on the border with the Kherson region, much of which is under Moscow’s control.
In the Sumy region, which borders Russia, three people were injured in rocket attacks overnight, Governor Dmitry Zhivitsky said.
To the east, according to the General Staff of Ukraine, Russian troops continued to storm the key city of Severodonetsk. Moscow forces also stormed the city of Komishuva in the southeastern Zaporozhye region, much of which is under Russian control, according to a morning update from the General Staff.
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BRATISLAVA, Slovakia – Slovakia has signed a deal to supply eight Slovak Zuzana howitzers to Ukraine.
The Slovak Ministry of Defense announced a deal between the state-owned company Konstrukta Defense and the Ukrainian side on Thursday.
Unlike previous arms deliveries from Slovakia to Ukraine, this is a trade deal. Defense Minister Jaroslav Nad says it costs more than 40m euros ($ 43m).
Among other weapons, Slovakia previously donated a Soviet-era S-300 air defense system at the request of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky.
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LVIV, Ukraine – A Russian missile hit railways in the western region of Lviv, a key channel for Western arms and other supplies, officials said.
Lviv Oblast Governor Maxim Kozitsky said five people were injured in the strike, adding that more information would be available on Thursday.
Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the country’s interior minister, said the Russians had hit the Beskids railway tunnel in the Carpathians in an apparent effort to cut off a key railway link and disrupt arms and fuel supplies.
However, the head of the Ukrainian railways said the damage to the railway was still being assessed, but the tunnel had been spared.
The strike reportedly delayed three passenger trains, but all later resumed their journey.
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