MOSCOW/BRUSSELS (Own report) – The German government is promoting EU plans to confiscate funds belonging to the Russian Central Bank. During yesterday’s EU summit in Brussels, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke in favor of confiscating the interests accrued on that financial institution’s frozen assets to primarily invest in munition and weapons for Ukraine. The proposal had been officially presented on Wednesday by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU Foreign Affairs Commissioner Josep Borrell. Scholz alleges that this interest income constitutes “revenue that no one is entitled to” and therefore may be tapped into. Depending on the development of interest rates, they could reach between €15 – €20 billion by 2027. Business and financial circles are emphatically warning that this measure violates state immunity and is therefore in violation of international law. If Russia’s interest income is confiscated, financial institutions and companies, for example, from China and other countries may begin to withdraw their assets out of the EU, because these would no longer be considered safe. And ultimately, Russian retaliatory measures are to be expected. Read more

BERLIN/MOSCOW/LONDON (own report) - Bundeswehr officers are discussing Ukrainian attacks on targets in Russia using German weapons. This emerges from an intercept by Russian intelligence. The Russians have recorded and made public a Webex video conference recently held between four German air force officers, including the head of the Luftwaffe, Ingo Gerhartz. In their discussion they say it would be feasible to destroy the Kerch Bridge with “ten or twenty” Taurus cruise missiles. Successful strikes would, however, require German programming and targeting data to be passed on. And this act would, in turn, meet the “criterion of being at war”, in the judgement of the four officers. In other words, it would mean Germany entering into war with Russia. However, if the Taurus cruise missiles were supplied to Ukraine without also providing German data, the weapon’s effectiveness would, they agree, be significantly reduced. The officers then speculate as to whether British soldiers deployed in Ukraine could provide support for Taurus strikes. London had already reacted angrily last week to statements by Chancellor Olaf Scholz to the effect that British military personnel were already actively supporting Ukrainian missile attacks. The candid Scholz was, said Tory hawk Ben Wallace, a former UK Defence Secretary , “the wrong man in the wrong job at the wrong time”. Read more

BERLIN/MOSCOW (own report) – On the eve of the 80th anniversary of the breaking of the German siege of Leningrad in the Second World War, on 27 January 1944, survivors are once again calling for at least a small amount of compensation. Over a period of almost 900 days, between 1941 and 1944, the German Wehrmacht had cut off food supplies to the three million inhabitants of the Soviet metropolis. The Nazi leadership aimed to murder the city’s entire population by enforced starvation. Writing on the 60th anniversary of the breaking of the blockade, historian Jörg Ganzenmüller had already identified a “genocide by doing nothing”. As many as 1.1 million people perished. Compensation has so far only been paid to Jewish victims. In 2008, Berlin awarded them a one-off payment of exactly 2,556 euros. Non-Jewish survivors are now also demanding this small sum. In fact, the plan to kill Leningrad’s population was also explicitly aimed at the non-Jewish inhabitants, whom the Nazis racially denigrated as Slavic “Untermenschen” – sub-humans. Today, Germany’s federal government still explicitly categorises the German-inflicted genocide by starvation as a “general act of war” for which no compensation is due. Read more

BERLIN/MOSCOW (Own report) – One year after the attack on the Nord Stream Pipelines the crime remains unsolved – with serious consequences for Germany’s gas supply. Whereas research by U.S. journalist Seymour Hersh has concluded that the attack was planned and carried out by US agencies, politicians and media in Germany favor a theory that exonerates the United States. The explosion of the pipelines excludes the possibility that they could again be operated in the future, for example after a ceasefire agreement, in case of serious supply bottlenecks, or– although certainly not foreseeable at present – in case of the German government’s change of course. Tokyo, for example, has imposed sanctions on Russia, however, to secure its own supply, is strictly exempting Russian gas imports from those sanctions. Germany’s necessary shift to LNG imports is progressing rapidly, presumably also by purchasing Russian LNG via Belgium – at a much higher price than pipeline gas, once delivered via Nord Stream 1. The LNG import terminals under construction on Germany’s coasts are once again prolonging the duration of fossil fuel imports. Read more

BERLIN/BRUSSELS/MOSCOW (Own report) – Russians are no longer allowed to enter the EU by car and, in some cases, must even leave personal items of everyday use, including laptops and clothing behind at the border. This is the outcome of several days of discussion on an updated EU regulation on the implementation of sanctions on Russia, which has made waves last week. The ban to enter the EU with cars registered in Russia, is already being implemented in Finland, the Baltic states and Poland. Norway is taking it into consideration. Lithuania intends to even ban the transport of daily personal necessities. While Russian exiled opposition activists are vehemently protesting– they are also affected by these measures – the General Court of the European Union has ruled that sanctions on businesspeople are legitimate, even if they do not support the Ukraine war or the Russian government. To be sanctioned, it suffices to be an influential businessman in a significant branch of the Russian economy. Proof of guilt, which is standard in a constitutional state is no longer necessary. Read more

MOSCOW/BERLIN (Own report) – Germany and the EU’s attempts to ban Russian oil imports has failed. Most recent statistics show that in the first seven months of 2023, the volume of Germany’s petroleum products imports from India have soared to more than 12 times that of the same period last year. India, on the other hand, has been able to increase its exports only due to a massive expansion of Russian oil imports, of which large portions are presumably arriving in Germany – however at a much higher price and to the benefit of Indian billionaires. Due to the fact that the importation of low-cost Russian pipeline gas has been massively reduced – partly due to the destruction of the Nord Stream pipelines – the EU is purchasing more than half of Russia’s more expensive LNG. At the same time, Russia’s economy is recovering and experiencing new growth. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, who announced in February 2022 that the sanctions would “ruin Russia,” has recently deplored their failure by saying that unspecified “logics of democracies are ineffective in autocracies.” Read more

MOSCOW/BEIJING/BERLIN (Own report) – Politicians around the world had widely diverging reactions to the talks that just ended in Moscow between the presidents of China and Russia and their negotiations on ending of the war in Ukrainian. Officials of the Ukrainian government indicate openness toward talks with Beijing. Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva called the reports on the meeting “good news,” and will follow up on the negotiations next week in China. Negative reactions are coming from the West, including from Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, who alleges that Beijing’s initiative in pursuit of peace talks is utterly inadequate. This is in response to the fact that in Moscow, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin have not only explored possibilities for terminating the war in Ukraine, but have also initiated an expansion of their cooperation, which puts into question the prevailing Western global domination. Due to the fact that particularly China has “both the intent” as well as the power to “reshape the international order,” the National Security Strategy of the United States calls for Washington to “outcompete” the People’s Republic of China. Read more

BERLIN/MOSCOW (Own report) – Pressure is mounting on the German government to disclose preliminary findings of the investigation into the Nord Stream attack, since alleged Russian responsibility, widely suggested by Western politicians and media, is now being put into question by leading US media. They are also basing themselves on assessments made by European government officials, according to whom, there is no evidence indicating Russian perpetrators, since Moscow must have every interest in the pipeline's continued existence. German media recently quoted unnamed “individuals in the German government” as saying that Ukrainian or Polish involvement should at least be taken into consideration. As a possible reason for Western involvement, US media cite Russian speculations that European countries could again be compelled to purchase Russian pipeline gas in case of a probable serious gas shortage next winter. It is still unclear, why Swedish combat ships were in the vicinity of the crime scenes shortly before the attacks. Read more

BERLIN/WASHINGTON (Own report) – German military personnel and scholars are speaking out in opposition to a negotiated settlement of the war in Ukraine and in favor of an increased arms build-up against Russia and China, as well as for preparations for a dramatic natural gas shortage. Referring to the heavy losses inflicted upon Russian troops during the war, they write in their appeal, “the current Russian weakness offers policy options to the West, whose disregard ... would be negligence.” The delivery of heavy weaponry to Ukraine and the increased militarization of NATO's eastern flank are aimed at intensifying military pressure on Russia. The appeal was published as preparations are being stepped up for a possible halt of Russian natural gas supplies to Europe. If this happens, German economic output could drop by one-eighth. jeopardizing over five million jobs, according to an analysis by the Bavarian Industry Association (vbw). While German Economics Minister Robert Habeck predicts a “stress test” for the German population, experts in the US are beginning to call for scaling down sanctions, because they are inflicting heavy damage on Europe. Read more

BERLIN/KIEV/MINSK (Own report) – The EU is obstructing UN efforts to avert global hunger being caused by war and sanctions. The plan provides for the transit of Ukraine’s huge grain reserves over Belarus for shipping via ports at the Baltic Sea. The plan endorsed by UN Secretary General António Guterres is considered to be the only viable alternative to the recently blocked grain-transport via the Black Sea. Of course, the EU is not ready to allow the prerequisites for the plan’s successful implementation and to lift its sanctions against Belarusian fertilizer exports. UN Secretary General António Guterres is in favor of lifting these sanctions to secure the global supply of fertilizers. In a highly symbolic step, Brussels toughened its sanctions against Belarusian fertilizer producers last Friday. On the other hand, UN efforts to jump-start the export of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea are gaining momentum. Russia and Turkey are paving the way for initial shipments from Odessa. Read more