Ukraine slams Germany for failing to supply it with weaponry, tanks

Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry has slammed Germany for failing to supply the war-torn country with heavy weaponry and tanks.

“Disappointing signals from Germany while Ukraine needs Leopards and Marders now, to liberate people and save them,” Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Twitter, adding that there was “not a single rational argument on why these weapons can not be supplied, only abstract fears and excuses.”

Berlin on Thursday announced that it would supply Ukraine with multiple rocket launchers as well as "Dingo" armored troop-carriers and Leopard tanks to support Ukraine's troops to counter Russian forces.

"We ask for Leopard tanks and Marder (armored vehicles), and Germany supplies armored vehicles of the Dingo type," Kuleba said in an interview with German newspaper.

Kuleba later criticized the shipment that was sent by Germany, saying new weapons pledged by Berlin were "not what we need most".

"We are grateful for them. But that is not what we need most in combat... What is the problem? Why can't we get what we need, and what Germany has?

Being largely reliant on western weaponry and despite repeated requests made by Ukraine to NATO countries, Germany has repeatedly refused to provide Kiev with Leopards and Marders, although Berlin has supplied Kiev with other armaments.

Meanwhile, Berlin says that no other country has provided Ukraine with western-made battle tanks.

Ukraine launched its counterattacks against Russian forces in both the south and northeast of the country, that is proving to be a success as Russian forces are withdrawing from towns and villages across the region. 

Germany takes control of Russian-owned refinery

The German subsidiary of Russian oil giant Rosneft was placed under trusteeship on Friday, giving Germany’s federal regulator control of the PCK refinery in Schwedt.

German government on Friday handed over the PCK refinery to the national energy regulator, along with stakes in two other refineries in the south of the country.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz said his government "did not take this action lightly but it was inevitable" for the "protection of our country".

"With the trusteeship, the threat to the security of energy supply is countered and an essential foundation stone is set for the preservation and future of the Schwedt site," Germany's economy ministry was quoted as saying.

Rosneft said in a statement on Friday, that the move was illegal and that it could go to court to challenge the decision by Berlin.

Rosneft has a 54% stake in the Schwedt refinery that is Germany's fourth-largest and is the main supplier of petrol, diesel and aviation fuel for Berlin and the surrounding area.

In April, a similar move was taken as Germany took control of subsidiaries of Russian gas giant Gazprom.

The move is also aimed at curbing Germany’s dependence on Russian fossil fuels, as Russia has halted its natural gas deliveries to Germany via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline.

The Ukraine conflict has caused an energy crisis in the Europe, as it has disrupted a supply chain network that has caused energy prices to skyrocket.

Pro-Russia officials killed in Ukraine

At least seven people, including Russian-backed prosecutor-general, Sergei Gorenko, and his deputy, Ekaterina Steglenko were killed in a bomb explosion at three different areas of Ukraine.

The separatists blamed Ukraine for the attacks, as Kiev continues to press ahead with its counteroffensive attacks in the northeast and south.

"Today, Prosecutor General Sergei Gorenko and his deputy Yekaterina Steglenko died as a result of a terrorist act," the press service of LNR head Leonid Pasechnik said on Telegram.

Ukraine was waging a campaign of terrorism and "bloody crimes" behind the front-lines in territory controlled by Russian and Russian-backed forces, said the separatists

Russian-appointed LPR administrator Leonid Pasechnik blamed Kiev for the attack and called Ukraine a "terrorist state" under its current leadership, adding it "showed that Kiev's regime had crossed all possible limits."

The Luhansk People's Republic (LNR)’s emergency services believe that the explosive device was detonated inside the prosecutor general’s office.

Previously, Ukraine had warned that it would be targeting "collaborators" who work for or with Russian-installed administrations in towns and regions seized by Russian forces.

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