Germany's Foreign Ministry says Russia not ready for end-of-war talks, Ukraine strikes ferry in port "Caucasus" (video)

The German Foreign Ministry has stated that the Russian Federation, instead of being ready to negotiate a just peace in Ukraine, is demonstrating a desire to annex Ukrainian territories.

Moreover, even those that are not currently controlled. How writes dw, this was stated during a government press conference in Berlin on August 21 by the official representative of the German Foreign Ministry. He recalled that The Russian leadership can end this war at any moment, and Kyiv, in order to defend itself from an aggressive war, needs appropriate weapons.

Josep Borrell, head of European diplomacy, supports the lifting of any restrictions on strikes against military targets on Russian territoryas this will help persuade Vladimir Putin to peace talks. On the social network X, the diplomat wrote, quotes The Moscow Times, that the Ukrainian offensive operation in the Kursk region was a serious blow to the positions of the Russian president, and Removing the current ban on Kiev's use of Western weapons would have several important consequences:

• strengthening Ukrainian defenses and depriving Russia of the ability to destroy Ukrainian cities and its civilian infrastructure;
• saving more lives;
• reducing the scale of destruction;
• promoting “the advancement of peace efforts.”

Borrell, as the publication writes, noted:

“I told Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba that EU fully supports Ukraine's fight against Russian aggression. I look forward to meeting him in Brussels and discussing with EU Foreign and Defence Ministers next week to move forward in our support for Ukraine.”

The West supplies Ukraine with weapons, including long-range missiles, to counter Russian aggression. Initially, the Ukrainian Armed Forces were prohibited from using these weapons against targets on Russian territory due to Western countries' concerns about the escalation of the conflict. However, after the Russian army's offensive in the Kharkiv region that began in the spring, the restriction was partially lifted.

The US, for example, has given consent to strikes on Russian territory using ATACMS, but has limited the radius of their use to 100 km from the border, which does not allow Kyiv to strike Russian airfields.

On August 16, informed sources told CNN that Washington had forbidden Kyiv from using long-range ATACMS missiles to strike Russian territory during its invasion of the Kursk region. According to them, Washington's position is not related to the risk of escalation of the conflict, but to the fact that the US has limited stockpiles of missiles that it can provide to Kyiv. In this regard, American officials believe that the weapons provided would be better used for strikes on targets in occupied Crimea.

Yesterday, August 22, the ferry “Conro Trader” in the port of “Kavkaz” in the Krasnodar region of the Russian Federation came under a missile attack.

According to two independent sources of the UP publication, the strike was carried out by the Ukrainian Navy. OSINT analysts note that The Conro Trader was the only large ferry operating between Kerch and Russia.

The publication's sources in the Defense Forces command reported that The ferry was hit by a Ukrainian missile, probably a NeptuneThere is no official information from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine yet.

Telegram channels publish video burning and then sunken train ferry.

How reported head of the Temryuk district of the Krasnodar region, Fyodor Babenkov, The ship contained 30 fuel tanks. According to the official, 12 fire brigades and rescue teams were sent to the scene. Information about the dead or injured is being clarified.

Until the consequences of the accident in the port of Kavkaz are eliminated, the operation of the Kerch ferry will be temporarily suspendedsaid the head of the association of freight carriers and forwarders of Crimea, the former Minister of Transport of Crimea Anatoly Tsurkin. «We ask carriers who previously used this route to move via the land corridor to Crimea“, – noted Tsurkin.

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