On the 171st day of Russia’s full-scale military invasion of Ukraine, Russian troops continue their attempts to capture the neighboring country’s settlements. Ukraine’s armed forces and territorial defense units resist aggression. It is impossible to verify the statements of representatives of both sides of the conflict from independent sources. According to the UN, about 14 million Ukrainians have already left their homes. DW is following developments on Saturday, August 13 (Moscow time).

Macron signed protocols on Paris’ consent to the entry of Finland and Sweden into NATO

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President of France Emmanuel Macron signed the ratification protocols of the Paris agreement with the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO. This was reported by the Élysée Palace press service. The declaration states that the “sovereign choice of Finland and Sweden” will strengthen their security against the threat in the immediate vicinity of their borders. Paris is confident that this step will make a significant contribution to “European security”.

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International rating agencies S&P Global Ratings and Fitch worsened Ukraine’s credit ratings in foreign currency in the face of selective and limited defaults, as they consider the restructuring of the country’s debt problematic.
S&P downgraded Ukraine’s foreign currency rating from “CC/C” to “SD/SD” (selective default). Fitch downgraded the country’s long-term foreign currency rating from ‘C’ to ‘RD’ (limited default).

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Russia is doing bombing of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant to de-energize Ukraine’s southern regions and then blame Kyiv for it. This assumption was expressed on Twitter by the adviser to the head of the Cabinet of the President of Ukraine Mykhailo Podolyak. “The Russian Federation is hitting part of the nuclear power plant, where the energy that feeds southern Ukraine is stored. The aim is to disconnect us from the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant and blame the Ukrainian army for that,” he said.

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According to Danish Migration Serviceprovided by him to Politiken, in the first five months of 2022, Denmark issued three times more tourist visas to Russians than in the whole of 2021, namely: 141. In 2021, the number of visas issued to Russians was 49.

Danish Minister of Immigration and Integration Kore Dyubvad said he was surprised by these figures. Commenting on Estonia’s proposal to stop issuing tourist visas to Russians, he noted that he considers it reasonable. “It is necessary to create a pan-European response. But of course if there is only one country in Europe that Russians can enter, then in principle it is possible to enter the entire Schengen area. That is why it must be done. across the EU,” added Dubwad.

The mayor of Melitopol reports an explosion in the city

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A strong explosion occurred in the northeast part of Melitopol, was heard by residents of all surrounding areas and even settlements close to the city, according to the city’s mayor Ivan Fedorov. Judging by his post, the Ukrainian politician believes that the Ukrainian Armed Forces may have been involved in this explosion. “We are expecting good news about the Russians’ upcoming losses,” he said.

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Ukraine received four Zuzana self-propelled artillery mounts from Slovakia, Slovak Defense Minister Yaroslav Nagy said. “I am happy to confirm that 4 Slovak artillery mounts Zuzana are in the hands of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and are ready to engage in defense against Russian aggressors,” he wrote on Twitter.

Earlier, on August 11, Nagy indicated on RTVS that Slovakia would likely transfer several MiG-29 fighter jets worth hundreds of millions of euros to Ukraine, receiving compensation from the EU budget or NATO weapons. The politician did not name the exact number of fighter jets that Bratislava will send to Kyiv. According to preliminary data from the online publication RBC-Ukraine, we can talk about 11 or 12 cars.

Gazprom will supply additional volumes of gas to Hungary

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Since August 12, Gazprom has started supply of additional volumes of gas to Hungary in line with the agreement reached during the visit to Moscow in July by the Hungarian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Peter Szijjarto. This was reported on Facebook by the Secretary of State of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Hungary, Tamas Menzer.

In the first phase, by the end of August, 2.6 million cubic meters of additional volume will flow daily through the Turkish Stream pipeline, negotiations are already underway on the September schedule, he said. The total volume of additional gas purchases in Hungary will be around 700 million cubic meters.

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under Russian occupation Mariupol there was a strong explosion, according to the city’s Telegram channel, without giving details.

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As of August 13, 2022, 198 children are listed as missing in Ukraine. This information is published on the state child tracking portal. “Sons of war”. According to this website, since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, 361 children have died in the country, 711 children have been injured.

Kyiv announced Russia’s intention to seize the entire territory of the Kherson region

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According to adviser to Ukraine’s Minister of Internal Affairs Rostislav Smirnov, Russia may try capture the entire territory of the Kherson region even before the “referendum” on accession to the Russian Federation was held there. Smirnov expressed this assumption in the air of the national marathon, adding that in the near future “south will be the warmest direction on the front”.

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Due to hostilities in the Donetsk region, de-energized Karlovska filtration station, in part of the region the water supply was interrupted. Pokrovsk Mayor Ruslan Trebushkin reports this on Telegram.

The Karlovskaya filtration plant supplies water to the settlements: Belozersky, Belitsky, Gornyak, Dobropolye, Mirnograd, Novogrodovka, Pokrovsk, Selydovo and Ukrainsk.

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The authorities are not yet considering the option of evacuation of the population of Kharkov and the part of the Kharkiv region controlled by Ukraine, Oleg Sinegubov, head of Kharkiv’s regional military administration, said during an informational marathon.

He added that authorities are taking all necessary steps to prepare for the warming season. “However, we understand that the enemy is hitting critical infrastructure and we must consider all possible options, including evacuation measures,” Sinegubov said.

Kuleba urges only political refugees from Russia to enter Europe

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No one proposes to ban Russians from entering the EUwho need political asylum or entry for humanitarian reasons. This has been declared Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba on your Twitter page. Russian citizens “dissatisfied with the proposal to ban them from obtaining tourist visas to travel in Europe” can send their grievances directly to the Kremlin or to 70% of their compatriots who support the war, the minister wrote.

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British Ambassador to Ukraine Melinda Simmons said she didn’t understand how declaring Russia a terrorist state will help force the Russian Federation “to answer for everything it has done, what it is doing now and what it will continue to do during this invasion of Ukrainians, Ukraine as a country and Ukrainian identity”. “But I absolutely understand why people do this (recognition of Russia as a state sponsoring terrorism. – Ed.) want,” the diplomat said in an interview with Ukrainian online publication Gordon.

According to Simmons, the announcement of the Russian Federation as a sponsoring state of terrorism has “a kind of symbolic importance”.

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Defense Minister of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, initiated an appeal to member countries of the Ukrainian Defense Contact Group (Ramstein format) with a request send military justice experts, war crimes experts to Ukraine. Reznikov reports this on Facebook.

The purpose of the joint declaration of the Defense Forces of Ukraine is to draw attention to the plight of Ukrainian prisoners of war, first of all the defenders of Mariupol, follow from their post.

According to the head of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, the actions of the Russian military in Yelenovka require a reaction not only from the International Criminal Court, the International Court of Justice and the ECHR, but also from the UN.

Chronicle of events August 13 00:00 – 13:59 >>>

Chronicle of events August 12 2:00 pm – 11:59 pm >>>