Siversk, Ukraine
Reuters
Ukrainian troops conducting weekend exercises near the small town of Siversk, in the country’s east, said they were preparing to defend one of the possible targets of a new Russian offensive.
Siversk, which had a pre-war population of 10,000, is 35 kilometres north of Bakhmut – scene of fierce fighting in recent weeks – and on a direct road to another of the key towns in the Donetsk region, Sloviansk.
A Ukrainian serviceman walks on an empty street, as Russia’s attack on Ukraine continues, in the front line city of Bakhmut, Ukraine, on 17th February, 2023. PICTURE: Reuters/Yevhen Titov
UKRAINE WAR EXPECTED TO COST GERMANY €160 BILLION BY YEAR-END
The Ukraine war will have cost the German economy around €160 billion, or some four per cent of its gross domestic output, in lost value creation by the end of the year, the head of the German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK) said.
That means GDP per capita in Europe’s largest economy will be €2,000 lower it would otherwise have been, DIHK chief Peter Adrian told the Rheinische Post.
Industry makes up a higher share of the economy in Germany than in many other countries, and the sector is for the most part energy-intensive, meaning German companies have been especially hard hit by a surge in energy prices, which last year hit record highs in Europe.
German industry is set to pay about 40 per cent more for energy in 2023 than in 2021, before the crisis triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24th February last year, a study by Allianz Trade said last month.
“The growth outlook for 2023 and 2024 is therefore also lower than in many other countries,” Adrian said, adding that was also the case last year.
Germany, which for decades relied on relatively cheap Russian pipeline gas, now has especially high energy prices compared with the United States that has its own natural gas reserves, while France has abundant nuclear power.
“The gas price is around three-five times higher than in the United States,” he said, adding electricity was four times as expensive as in France.
– KLAUS LAUER, Berlin, Germany, Reuters
“If they occupied Bakhmut, then we would be semi-encircled, because on the left side we have the Siverskyi Donets river, and the enemy will advance from the right, and it is possible to cut us off if they reach the Bakhmut highway,” said the deputy Siversk battalion commander, who used the nom-de-guerre “Han”.
Ukrainian forces have appealed for more advanced weapons from Kyiv’s Western allies to help defend Bakhmut, which is being attacked by Russia’s Wagner mercenary group.
One soldier defending Siversk said their mostly Soviet-era artillery was outgunned by the enemy.
“We have one artillery attack from our side, and the Russians can do it five times more,” said 30-year-old Stefan. “It’s very difficult for the guys who are standing, especially at the first line (of defence), they feel it too much.”
Capturing Bakhmut would give Russian forces a stepping stone to advance on two bigger cities further west, Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.
But Ukraine and its Western allies say success there would be a largely Pyrrhic victory for Moscow, given the time taken and losses sustained.
Meanwhile, Russia on Sunday scolded Emmanuel Macron over remarks about wanting to see Russia defeated, saying Moscow still remembered the fate of Napoleon Bonaparte and accusing the French president of duplicitous diplomacy with the Kremlin.
Macron told paper Le Journal du Dimanche France wanted Russia to be defeated in Ukraine but had never wanted to “crush” it.
“About ‘Never’: France did not begin with Macron, and the remains of Napoleon, revered at the state level, rest in the centre of Paris. France – and Russia – should understand,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
“In general, Macron is priceless,” she said, adding that his remarks showed the West had engaged in discussions about regime change in Russia while Macron had repeatedly sought meetings with the Russian leadership.
Macron has drawn criticism from some NATO allies for delivering mixed messages regarding his policy on the war between Ukraine and Russia, with some considering Paris a weak link in the Western alliance.
On Friday, Macron urged allies to step up military support for Ukraine, but also said he did not believe in regime change and that there would have to be negotiations at some point.
“Let’s be clear, I don’t believe for one second in regime change, and when I hear a lot of people calling for regime change I ask them, ‘For which change? Who’s next? Who is your leader?'”
Clarifying those comments, he said in the paper that he did not believe a democratic solution from within civil society would emerge in Russia after years of a hardening of Moscow’s position and conflict. He added that he saw no alternative to Putin, who had to be brought back to the negotiating table.
“All the options other than Vladimir Putin in the current system seem worse to me,” Macron said.
– With GUY FAULCONBRIDGE in Moscow, Russia, and JOHN IRISH in Munich, Germany.
Correction: The headline has been replaced.
