Putin said the generals. The collapse of the Russian economy

A senior German official said Thursday that the Russian economy is collapsing and “time is working against Russia” and its president, Vladimir Putin.

German Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck made the remarks on the same day that Russian officials revealed the expulsion of five other generals.

Since invading Ukraine more than three months ago, Russia has made modest gains in its battle for control of the eastern Donbass region. Income from energy sales to Europe played a major role in financing the Russian war, and Habeck acknowledged that historically high energy prices and Europe’s inability to halt purchases altogether had helped Russia.

“We can’t help but feel ashamed that we have not yet succeeded in reducing this dependence even more,” said Habeck, Germany’s economy minister. But he added that “Putin still gets the money, but he can hardly spend it” because of Western sanctions.

“Time is not working for Russia. It is working against Russia, it is working against the Russian economy,” he said. “No one wants to invest in Russia anymore.”

Key developments:

The Ukrainian football team won in Scotland, holding a match against Wales for a place in the World Cup which begins on November 21 in Qatar.

Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said Thursday that he expects Denmark to join the European Union’s common defense on July 1. Full post.

Britain says it will send advanced medium-range missile systems to Ukraine. The United States and Germany made similar pledges this week.

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Putin sacks 5 other generals

Russian President Vladimir Putin has sacked five generals and a police colonel in what state media Pravda described as a “standard measure of personnel adjustment”. All six were assigned to the Ministry of Home Affairs, which is responsible for law enforcement across the country of 145 million people.

Putin has fired several senior military personnel amid mixed results in his forces. Lieutenant-General Serhiy Kessel, commander of the Russian army’s failed effort to capture the northeastern city of Kharkiv, was dismissed, as was Vice Admiral Igor Osipovwho commanded the Russian fleet in the Black Sea when Ukrainian forces sank their main battleship, the Moskva.

Lawmaker: Ukrainian cities can vote to join Russia this summer

A senior Russian lawmaker said Thursday that referendums to join Russia are likely to be held this summer in the Ukrainian separatist lands of Donetsk and Luhansk, along with the occupied cities of Kherson Zaporozhye. “It is no secret that there are such sentiments in the Donbass, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions,” said Leonid Slutsky, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party and head of the International Affairs Committee of the Russian State Duma.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said such referendums would require “the will and desire of the people who live there” among other conditions.

Russia wins in Luhansk, but conflicts loom

Russian forces make Steady gains in separatist Luhansk OblastThe British Ministry of Defense said Thursday, enabling an intense concentration of artillery. But the assessment adds that those gains “were not without a price,” noting the losses incurred by Russian forces.

The assessment says crossing the Siversky Donets is vital for Russian forces as they secure Luhansk and shift their focus to the Donetsk Oblast. Ukrainian forces are still in control of potential transit sites that have destroyed existing bridges.

“It is likely that Russia will need at least a short tactical pause to reset the opposing river crossings,” the assessment says. “Doing so risks losing some of the momentum they’ve built over the past week.”

The impact of long-range missiles on the war is unclear

President Joe Biden’s decision to supply Ukraine Long-range precision missiles Unease in Moscow and applause in Kyiv. But it is not yet clear how much difference advanced weapons will make in what has become a stalemate with no clear end to the game. It remains to be seen how Russia will respond to the US move. As the United States ramps up the flow of American-made weapons into Ukraine, the Kremlin has increasingly tried to frame its invasion of Ukraine as a proxy war between Washington and Moscow, even though Biden has repeatedly said he will not send American troops to fight in it. dispute.