Photo : REUTERS/Serhii Smolientsev
06 August 2022, Saturday| NIAS Europe Daily Brief #273
War in Ukraine: Day 163
By Rishma Banerjee and Emmanuel Royan
War On The Ground
On 05 August, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke with Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera for the first time in the history of their bilateral ties. They spoke of increasing the interaction between the countries and guaranteeing food security in the region.
On 05 August, the head of the Ukrainian president's office, Andriy Yermak spoke on the phone with Jacob Sullivan, the national security adviser to the US president on Ukraine's pressing problems and requirements to bolster its stability and defence capacity to fend off a full-scale Russian invasion.
On 05 August, in his address Zelenskyy spoke on contributions from 110 different countries who have raised more than UAH six billion for charity. Professional military drones were dispatched to the front lines as a result of the platform's functioning; this was one of the initial acquisitions made as part of the "Army of Drones" initiative. Twenty Fly Eye 3.0 drones, two Warmate complexes with forty kamikaze drones, and a total of 78 Matrice multi-copter drones were purchased from the funds.
On 05 August, three more ships transported tons of corn from Ukrainian ports. Following the first grain cargo to cross the Black Sea since the beginning of the war are ships headed for Ireland, the UK, and Turkey. Earlier, a ship bound for Lebanon passed through, marking the start of the ground-breaking agreement between Russia and Ukraine and Turkey.
The Moscow View
Claims by Russia
On 05 August, Russia's foreign ministry declared 14 Bulgarian diplomats as persona non grata. The move comes following when Bulgaria expelled 70 Russian diplomats on suspicions of spying and imposed a limit on the number of Moscow's representatives as the once-close alliance between the two countries deteriorated over Ukraine.
On the same day, Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov during his visit to Cambodia stated that Russia is ready to discuss the exchange of prisoners with the US, but only through the channel, negotiated by Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Joe Biden. He said that Russia was prepared to discuss the exchange of detainees with the US.
On 05 August, Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan during his visit to the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi, spoke with Russian president Vladimir Putin on gas delivery. Russian deputy prime minister Alexander Novak said: "...the Presidents agreed during negotiations that we will start partial gas supplies and payment in rubles." Turkey received around 26 billion cubic meters of natural gas yearly from Russia. Furthermore, they also discussed the construction of Akkuyu and Turkish stream nuclear power plants.
Also on 05 August, Russia’s investigative committee reported that Kiev bombed the Yelenovka detention center of Ukrainian prisoners of war by NATO’s long range weapons which includes HIMARS. The report states: “The accuracy and the density of rocket hits, and also other circumstances confirm that these were deliberate and planned actions by the Ukrainian side that used NATO long-range artillery guns, in particular, the HIMARS multiple launch rocket system.”
The West View
Responses from the US and Europe
On 05 August, the US ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield spoke about the impact of the Ukraine war on the global food crisis. She warned that Russia’s invasion will affect around 40 million people in the Sub-Saharan Africa. She also said: "Regardless of how you feel about Russia, we all have a powerful common interest in mitigating the impact of the war in Ukraine on food security.”
On the same day, three more ships left from ports in Ukraine to carry corns to Ireland, the UK and Turkey. One Turkey-flagged ship carries 12,000 tons of corn from the Chornomorsk port for Karasu, Turkey and a Malta-flagged ship carries more than 13,000 tons of corns left for the UK. Another Panama-flagged ship left from Odesa port for Ireland with 33,000 tons. These vessels are being accompanied by Ukrainian pilot ships to navigate the mine-infested waters and the shipment will be monitored by the Joint Coordination Centre set up by Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the UN.
As per Eurostat's report, Poland accepted the most number of refugees fleeing the Ukraine war in June, followed by Romania, Ireland and Bulgaria. It granted ‘temporary protection’ status to 60,125 people. The report stats that there were 1.2 million Ukrainians residing in Poland under the scheme currently. While the majority of the people seeking asylum were from Ukraine, 405 Russians also received such status in Poland. 2400 Nigerians and 410 Moroccans have have also applied for temporary protection in Portugal.
The Global Fallouts
Implications of the Ukraine war
On 05 August, the National Nuclear Energy Generating Company Energoatom's office reported that Russian forces shelled the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant. As per the report, three rounds were fired towards the plant's location, close to one of the power units where the nuclear reactor is situated. There are concerns over hydrogen and radioactive substance leakage.
On 05 August, in response to the press release issued by Amnesty International on 04 August accusing Zelenskyy of endangering civilians by basing military troops in residential areas, the organization’s Ukraine Head Oksana Pokalchuk tendered her resignation. She mentioned that Amnesty International had not taken into account the information sent by the Ukraine office about Russia’s offensive. Pokalchuk also said that her resignation was catalysed by the realization that Amnesty is unlikely to withdraw their position on the issue.
On the same day, at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, the UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres referred to the war in Ukraine which was exacerbating the nuclear threat in the world. In a solemn gathering, Guterres urged the members to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons to work on eliminating stockpiles of nuclear weapons. He also called for disarmament for the member states as the only plausible option to preserve peace.
Also on 05 August, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) reported that food prices in July has fallen for the fourth consecutive month, following a record high in since Ukraine war. The FAO chief economist Maximo Torero however said that while this was a welcome change, high fertilizer prices and currency movements still pose threats to food security.
References
“Zelensky held phone conversation with Malawian president,” Ukrinform, 05 August 2022
“Advisor to Ukraine Army chief Rice says has no concerns Ukraine would violate any arms agreement,” Ukrinform, 05 August 2022
“UNITED24 platform initiated by President raises over UAH 6 bln in three months,” president.gov.ua, 05 August 2022
“Russian forces shell Zaporizhia NPP for second time in past few hours - Energoatom,” Ukrinform, 05 August 2022
“3 more ships with grain depart Ukraine ports under UN deal,” AP, 05 August 2022
“Russia kicks out 14 Bulgarian diplomats,” Reuters, 05 August 2022
“Erdogan agreed to partially pay for Russian gas in rubles, eurointegration, 05 August 2022
“Exchange of prisoners, contacts with US: statements Lavrov made in Cambodia,” TASS, 05 Augyst 2022
“Russia bans Western investors from selling banking, key energy stakes,” Reuters, 05 August 2022“Kiev bombarded Yelenovka POW detention center by NATO weapons,” TASS, 05 August 2022“Ukraine war making 40 million people go hungry, Africa to bear brunt, says U.S.,” Reuters, 05 August 2022
Zeynep Bilginsoy and Aya Batrawy, “3 more ships with grain depart Ukraine ports under UN deal,” AP, 05 August 2022
“Latvian embassy in Moscow suspends issuance of visas to Russians,” Interfax, 05 August 2022
“Ukrainians granted temporary protection in June,” Eurostat, 05 August 2022
“Amnesty International scandal: Ukraine office head resigns,” Ukrinform, 05 August 2022
“From Hiroshima, UN chief calls for global nuclear disarmament,” un.org, 05 August 2022
“Major fall in global food prices for July, but future supply worries remain,” un.org, 05 August 2022
IN BRIEF
By Sai Pranav
GREECE
General secretary and National Intelligence Service chief resign over involvement with Predator spyware
On 05 August, Greek officials resigned from prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' administration over allegations of being involved in hacking the opposition leader's phone. The general secretary, Grigoris Dimitriadis, and Greece's National Intelligence Service chief, Panagiotis Kontoleon, were accused of their involvement in the attempted taping of the mobile phone of opposition party Pasok's leader MEP Nikos Androulakis with spyware named Predator. Androulakis' phone was not only tapped twice with the Predator spyware but also was legally hacked by the Greek intelligence agents upon request from an allied nation. The prime minister said that he was uninformed of the legal wiretapping and would have stopped it if he had heard of it. Androulakis found that his phone was attempted to be hacked by Predator during an inspection by the European Parliament cybersecurity service and immediately filed a complaint to top Greek prosecutors after learning about the bugging. Few reporters were also hacked with the same spyware. (Nektaria Stamouli, "PM Mitsotakis feels the heat as two top Greek officials quit in spy scandal," POLITICO, 05 August 2022)
FRANCE
Water shortages have been seen all over France
On 05 August, 100 municipalities in France faced a water shortage due to the heatwave in the country. The office of the prime minister said that it was the worst drought that France has ever seen. Water usage is being regulated in 93 regions. France's government set up a crisis team to combat the drought. The drought conditions are expected to prolong for at least two weeks. The dry conditions have affected the crop yield adding more to the already existing food crisis caused by the Ukraine war. The nuclear energy output at some plants was reduced by the state energy company due to the unavailability of cooling water as the river temperatures are high. July marked the lowest level of rainfall since March 1961. ("France drought: Parched towns left short of drinking water," BBC, 05 August 2022)
ITALY
Meloni is set to be the first female prime minister
On 05 August, the far-right leader of the Brothers of Italy party, Giorgia Meloni, said that she would be honoured to become the first woman prime minister of the country. The conservative alliance headed by Brother of Italy includes the rightist League and moderate Forza Italia is currently polling at 45 per cent ahead of next month's election. Meloni's party is expected to be leading with more than 23 per cent and according to the customary rule of the allies, the party with the most votes in the coalition will choose the prime minister if they achieve victory in the 25 September election. If Meloni is elected to become the next prime minister, is likely to face challenges like inflation, and the energy crisis affecting the country. She said that she will look for alternatives to curb Italy's dependency on Russian gas. ("Meloni says would be honour to be Italy's first female PM," Reuters, 05 August 2022)
THE UK
Parliament closes its TikTok account over suspicion of sharing data with China
On 05 August, the UK government ceased operations of its TikTok account after concerns over user data falling into the hands of the Chinese Communist Party. The parliament had created a TikTok page to educate the younger audiences in British politics. But the concern over TikTok's parent company, Bytedance, a Chinese tech company, might share the user data with the Chinese government upon request according to the National Intelligence law that has made the UK parliament shut down its account. According to leaked recordings of TikTok's 80 internal meetings, the user data can be accessed by employees of Bytedance in China and it already has been obtaining information about the users in the US for several months. The possibility of the app being used as spyware made the UK parliament shut down the account. The company denies the accusations saying that it stores data in the US and Singapore and not in China and also wants to debunk any misconceptions about the app. It further said that it will now keep all user information in the US. (Rebekah Daunt and Sophia Khatsenkova, "UK Parliament shuts down its TikTok account after MPs flag data security risks," euronews, 05 August 2022)
REGIONAL
NATO and the EU assist Greece to settle the wildfire
On 05 August, NATO Support and Procurement Agency supplied 40 firefighting aircraft to Greece amidst raging wildfires. The deployed aircraft include 29 firefighting helicopters and 11 firefighting aeroplanes. The aircraft were deployed to 20 different locations and this was the 11th time that NSPA supplied Greece. The EU's Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC) also lends its aid to Greece by pre-positioning 204 firefighters who were borrowed from the member states. The ERCC's 12 reserve firefighting aircraft, which are loaned from member nations, are also deployed to various European countries such as Albania, Portugal, Spain, France, the Czech Republic and Slovenia which are also battling wildfires. The wildfires are caused due to the intense heatwave rolling throughout Europe. ("NATO deploys record 40 firefighting aircraft to Greece," euronews, 05 August 2022)
INTERNATIONAL
China’s military exercise upsets the West and regional nations
On 05 August, China assembled European diplomats in the country to protest statements issued by G7 nations and the EU regarding its military exercises near Taiwan. China conducted a military exercise dispatching navy ships and warplanes and also launched missiles into the Taiwan Strait as a response to the US House of Representatives speaker, Nancy Pelosi visiting Taiwan. Five missiles fired by the Chinese military landed in the Exclusive Economic Zone off Hateruma island which belonged to Japan. Japan's prime minister Fumio Kishida said that the Chinese military exercise directed at Taiwan will threaten regional peace and security. Pelosi's visit was seen as blatant political manipulation and China said that it responded accordingly. ("China summons European diplomats over statement on Taiwan," euronews, 05 August 2022)