Head of BND: Putin’s reign is unbroken, “even if he fell out of the window”
16.14 hours: According to analyses by the Federal Intelligence Service (BND), Russia’s President Vladimir Putin is an unrestricted ruler in the Kremlin. “He is firmly in the saddle,” said BND President Bruno Kahl in an exclusive interview with the news magazine FOCUS.
Currently, there is no one who could impair Putin’s actions, according to Kahl. “Even if he fell out of the window or came to harm in some other way, there would be enough people who think exactly like him and would pursue the same policies.”
The Kremlin’s reign is unbroken. There are also no indications that this will change from one day to the next, for example, through democratically legitimate forces that could carry a different will from the bottom up.
Putin’s goal is to re-establish the old power and glory of Greater Russia. “If Ukraine were forced to give up, it would not quench the Russian thirst for power,” said the head of the German foreign intelligence service. If the West does not show clear resilience, Putin would have no reason to refrain from attacking NATO, Kahl added.
Kahl is concerned about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “It would be terrible if this readiness for violence were to prevail in foreign policy and if Europe were to capitulate,” said the head of the 6500 intelligence officers. For him, it is a great challenge to recruit enough qualified staff for the intelligence work. The service is trying, among other things, to raise its profile on Instagram.
Political scientist expects a huge wave of refugees in case of a defeat of Ukraine
Friday, 26th January, 06.02 hours: Political scientist Herfried Münkler expects a massive wave of refugees in Europe if Ukraine loses to Russia. Western and Central Europeans would then “have to expect a migration movement of several million people from Ukraine and other regions. Compared to this, what we have experienced since 2014 has been a piece of cake,” said Münkler in the podcast “Die Wochentester” (“Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger”/Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland) in a conversation with Wolfgang Bosbach and Christian Rach.
If Donald Trump were elected as US President, Russian President Vladimir Putin could assume that he “could make a deal at the expense of Ukraine and at the expense of Europeans.” And then, “in the larger region between the Western Balkans and the Caspian Sea, it would be visible: Borders can be shifted. Putin has set the example for this. And alongside others, Erdogan would also consider to what extent he can make one or the other change.” This would then lead to further major refugee movements.
The political scientist is firmly convinced that Trump will run as the Republican candidate in the US presidential election. If he is elected, he would take little account of allies. “If it occurs to him, he will probably also call into question the NATO treaty and the mutual defense clause. The crucial point is: the US will largely question its responsibility for protection and pursue a policy based solely on its own interests.”
orientated policy.”
Mysterious Crash of Transport Plane – Ukrainian Chief Spy Casts Doubt on Russian Version
21.20 Hours: Uncertainty still prevails regarding the crash of a Russian military plane. While Moscow claims that Ukrainian prisoners of war were on board, the Ukrainian intelligence HUR now announces that the plane was actually reserved for important Russian officials.
According to Andriy Yusov, the spokesperson of the Ukrainian military intelligence HUR, the passengers were instructed “at the last minute” by the Russian domestic intelligence FSB to use other means of transportation, as reported by “Radio Liberty.”
“We have information from intelligence sources that only five bodies were brought to the morgue in Belgorod until yesterday,” said Yusov. Five persons also correspond to the number of crew members of an Il-76, the type of the crashed plane. No additional human remains are visible in the videos from the crash site.
After Plane Crash: Russia Launches Investigation for “Terrorism”
20.05 Hours: Following the crash of a Russian military plane, in which according to Moscow 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war lost their lives, Russia has initiated an investigation for “terrorism.” The Russian Investigative Committee, responsible for pursuing serious crimes, also stated on Thursday that human remains and the flight recorders of the aircraft were found at the crash site. Witnesses are also being questioned.
The Russian investigators reiterated the accusation, presented by Moscow since Wednesday, that the aircraft was shot down by a surface-to-air missile from Ukrainian territory. Moscow has not yet provided evidence that Ukrainian soldiers were on board. Also unverified was the claim that Kyiv was aware of the presence of Ukrainian soldiers on the plane. The identity of the individuals on board has also not been disclosed.
According to Russian media, the Il-76 aircraft crashed on Wednesday in the border region of Belgorod. The Russian news agency RIA Novosti, citing the Ministry of Defense in Moscow, reported that there were 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war on board who were on their way to a prisoner exchange near the Ukrainian border. Additionally, there were reportedly three Russian military personnel and three crew members on board. According to Russian reports, there were no survivors. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for an international investigation.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that the Russian authorities had informed their Ukrainian counterparts “in a timely manner” about the flight with the Ukrainian prisoners of war.
Latvia: 5000 Violations of Russia Sanctions Since Start of the War
10.40 Hours: Latvia’s tax authority has identified approximately 5,000 violations of sanctions imposed against Russia and Belarus since the start of the Russian war against Ukraine. In 258 cases, criminal proceedings have been initiated, stated the head of the customs department, Raimonds Zukuls, on Latvian television on Thursday. In 2023, there were 144 cases, and 114 the year before. The violations were detected during inspections of goods shipments controlled in the Baltic EU and NATO country since the beginning of the war on February 24, 2022. Latvia shares its eastern border with Russia and Belarus.
Zukuls mentioned that the export of electrical devices and equipment, various auto parts, and luxury goods to Russia or Belarus were mostly intercepted. In the opposite direction, the customs mostly seized wood products, fuels, animal feed, and metal products.
Worden, die eingeführt werden sollten, nach Lettland.
Seit Start von dem russischen Krieg gegen die Ukraine, hat die EU zwölf Sanktionspakete gegen Russland in Gang gesetzt, die zahlreiche Handelsbeschränkungen und weitere Maßnahmen enthalten. Gegen die enge Verbündeten von Russland, Belarus, wurden auch Strafmaßnahmen auferlegt.
Lieferung von Militärhubschraubern an die Ukraine unzureichend, sagt Hofreiter
00.15 Uhr: Der Vorsitzende des Europaausschusses im Bundestag, Anton Hofreiter (Grüne), ist der Meinung, dass die Ankündigung des Verteidigungsministeriums, Sea-King-Militärhubschrauber zu liefern, nicht ausreichend ist. Dem RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland (RND) sagte er: „Es ist gut und richtig, die sechs Hubschrauber zu liefern. Aber insgesamt liefern wir, was die Stückzahlen angeht, deutlich zu wenig. Sechs Hubschrauber, 18 Leopard 2 und 14 Panzerhaubitzen sind von den Stückzahlen so gering, dass sie nicht den Unterschied machen, den sie angesichts der Fähigkeiten der Systeme machen könnten.“
Er fuhr fort: „Über 1000 Kilometer lang ist die Front. Deshalb benötigen wir endlich ausreichend Stückzahlen und Munition. Denn erst wenn Wladimir Putin den Eindruck hat, dass wir die Ukraine so stark unterstützen, dass er den Krieg verliert, besteht die Chance, dass er verhandlungsbereit wird.“
Finnische Ministerin beklagt unerlaubte Grenzübertritte aus Russland
Donnerstag, 25. Januar, 00.10 Uhr: Trotz der geschlossenen Grenze zu Russland, dringen gemäß der finnischen Regierung weiterhin Menschen unrechtmäßig aus dem Nachbarland ein. „Erst letzte Woche sind 15 Migranten über die Landgrenze nach Finnland gekommen. Das ist nicht nur illegal, sondern bei minus 20 Grad und tiefem Schnee auch sehr gefährlich„, sagte Finnlands Außenministerin Elina Valtonen dem Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND/Donnerstag). “Wir müssen damit rechnen, dass Russland auch weiterhin versuchen wird, Finnland und Europa zu destabilisieren.“ Sie bezeichnete die Sicherheitslage als ernst.
Deutschland denkt über Marschflugkörper-Ringtausch nach
21.30 Uhr: Deutschland will möglicherweise an einem Ringtausch betreffend der Lieferung von Marschflugkörpern in die Ukraine teilnehmen. Nach dpa-Informationen gibt es Überlegungen, Nato-Partnern wie Großbritannien oder Frankreich Taurus-Marschflugkörper der Bundeswehr zur Verfügung zu stellen. Im Gegenzug würden diese Länder dann ihre Marschflugkörper in die Ukraine exportieren. Das „Handelsblatt“ berichtete unter Berufung auf Diplomaten und Regierungsvertreter, dass Großbritannien bereits angeboten habe, der Ukraine im Gegenzug für Taurus weitere seiner Marschflugkörper vom Typ Storm Shadow liefern zu wollen. Das Kanzleramt wollte den Bericht am Mittwoch nicht kommentieren.
Die Ukraine hat die Bundesregierung bereits im Mai vergangenen Jahres offiziell um Taurus-Marschflugkörper gebeten. Diese Waffen können Ziele in bis zu 500 Kilometern Entfernung mit großer Genauigkeit erreichen. Der Bundeskanzler, Olaf Scholz (SPD), hatte Anfang Oktober entschieden, vorerst keine dieser Marschflugkörper an die Ukraine zu liefern. Hinter diesem Beschluss steckt die Befürchtung, dass auch russisches Territorium getroffen werden könnte. Moskau liegt etwas weniger als 500 Kilometer Luftlinie von der ukrainischen Grenze entfernt.
Großbritannien und Frankreich haben der Ukraine bereits Marschflugkörper der praktisch identischen Typen Storm Shadow und Scalp geliefert. Diese gelten allerdings als nicht so präzise wie die Taurus und haben außerdem eine geringere Reichweite.
mmo, al, ja, til, pip, shu, ter, daz, fil, sca, wop, lro, juw/mit Agenturmaterial
