Russia-Ukraine updates: Russia spied on Ukrainians training in Germany, report says

26.08.2022, 12:41 dw.com

Germany's military counterintelligence service (MAD) has indications Russia spied on Ukrainian soldiers training in Germany, news magazine Der Spiegel reported on Friday. Following the start of the training course at two military sites, German military counterintelligence detected suspicious vehicles that could observe distances from the access roads to the barracks from their positions. Ukrainians are training at Idar-Oberstein in Rhineland-Palatinate and Grafenwöhr in Bavaria. Russia is said to have spied on both locations. The Bundeswehr is training Ukrainian soldiers on the self-propelled howitzer 2000 in Idar-Oberstein. In Grafenwöhr, US forces are training Ukrainians on Western artillery systems. Small drones also flew over the locations to observe training exercises. Security sources also told the magazine that Russia may have attempted to scoop up the Ukrainians' mobile phone data with special telecommunications equipment, using a device such as a stingray. Here's a roundup of some of the other key developments regarding Russia's invasion of Ukraine on August 25. Ukraine's state nuclear company Enerrgoatom said all six reactors at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant remain disconnected from the country's electrical grid. The plant is still disconnected after fires caused by shelling nearby meant the plant went offline. Energoatom said there were currently no issues with the plant's machinery or its safety systems. Work is continuing to restore Zaporizhzhia's connection to the grid. The regional governor of Zaporizhzhia, Oleksandr Starukh, later said two of the reactors at the plant had resumed operations. Prior to Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Zaporizhzhia supplied roughly one-fifth of Ukraine's electricity. It is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. In March, Russian forces occupied the plant, though Ukrainian engineers from Enerrgoatom remain responsible for the plant's day-to-day operations under exceedingly difficult circumstances. The plant has been repeatedly hit with shells in the last two weeks. Kyiv and Moscow point the finger at the other side for the shelling. The UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has called for the demilitarization of Zaporizhzhia. Russia has opted to burn off large quantities worth an estimated $10 million (€10 million) of natural gas near its border with Finland rather than export that energy to Germany, the BBC first reported. Scientists are concerned about the significant volumes of carbon dioxide and soot in the atmosphere, potentially causing the Arctic to melt even faster. Rystad Energy's analysis suggests Russia is flaring 4.34 million cubic meters (153 million cubic feet) of gas daily. Over the summer, Finnish residents near the border with Russia saw a large flame on the horizon coming from the Portovaya liquefied natural gas plant northwest of St. Petersburg. Portovaya is located near the start of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which delivers natural gas to Germany via an underwater Baltic Sea pipeline. A report from the Cluster Munition Coalition, a nongovernmental organization, says Russia has made extensive use of the explosive bomblets in Ukraine. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz met with Ukrainian troops training in Germany. Consumer confidence in Germany has taken a thrashing as many worry about soaring energy bills come winter due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. More in Thursday's updates. ar/sms (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)