Latest Developments in Ukraine: August 11

For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit Flashpoint Ukraine. The latest developments in Russia’s war on Ukraine. All times EDT. 6:15 a.m.: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Thursday promised a new package of measures, including tax relief, to help people struggling with rising energy bills as a result of a gas standoff with Russia, Reuters reported.  “Citizens can count on us not to abandon them,” Scholz told journalists in Berlin. An energy transition towards renewables is a top priority, and Germany will not slow its efforts to become independent of fossil fuels, he said at a summer news conference, an annual tradition introduced by his predecessor Angela Merkel.  Europe has plunged into an energy crisis as Russia cut gas flows following its invasion of Ukraine in February. Scholz's government has introduced an energy levy to ease the strain for companies buckling under high gas prices, and is combining that with relief measures for struggling households.  Asked whether rising prices could trigger social unrest, Scholz said: “No, I don't think that we will see unrest in this country in this form, on the grounds that Germany is a welfare state... This welfare state has to take effect in this situation by way of saying that we will not leave anybody alone.”  6 a.m.: Britain will supply Ukraine with more multiple-launch rocket systems that can strike targets up to 80 kilometers (50 miles) away, Reuters reported.   Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said the supply of weapons would help Ukraine defend itself against Russian heavy artillery.  “This latest tranche of military support will enable the Armed Forces of Ukraine to continue to defend against Russian aggression and the indiscriminate use of long-range artillery,” Wallace said in a statement.  “Our continued support sends a very clear message, Britain and the international community remain opposed to this illegal war and will stand shoulder-to-shoulder, providing defensive military aid to Ukraine to help them defend against Putin’s invasion.”  5:30 a.m. The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Mariano Grossi, will brief the United Nations Security Council on Thursday about the nuclear safety and security situation at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzya Nuclear Power Plant and efforts to lead a mission to the site as soon as possible, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. The meeting, scheduled to start at 3pm EST (9 pm CET), takes place a few days after shelling at the ZNPP sparked alarm about the potential risk of a severe nuclear accident at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, which has six reactors. 5:25 a.m.: The Russian foreign ministry said on Thursday that Switzerland could not represent Ukrainian interests in Russia and Moscow’s interests in Ukraine because it is no longer a neutral country, Reuters reported. “Switzerland... has stopped being a neutral state and joined sanctions (against Russia),” Russian foreign ministry official Ivan Nechayev said. 5:05 a.m.: Denmark will increase its financial aid to Ukraine by $113.6 million (110 million euros) at an international donor conference held in Copenhagen, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. 4:45 a.m.: Latvia’s parliament on Thursday designated Russia as a “state sponsor of terrorism” over the war in Ukraine and called on Western allies to impose more comprehensive sanctions on Moscow in order to bring an end to the conflict.  “Latvia recognizes Russia’s actions in Ukraine as targeted genocide against the Ukrainian people,” the Baltic nation's parliament said in a resolution.  Western nations should increase their military, financial, humanitarian and diplomatic backing for Ukraine and support initiatives condemning Russia's actions, it added.  Millions of Ukrainians have fled their homes and thousands have been killed since Russia's invasion in February.  Moscow says it does not deliberately target civilians in what it calls its “special military operation” aimed at safeguarding Russia’s security and protecting Russian speakers in Ukraine.  Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he was grateful for the Latvian parliament's resolution.  “Ukraine encourages other states and organizations to follow suit,” Kuleba tweeted.    3:30 a.m. Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Governor Valentyn Reznichenko reported that Russian forces shelled Nikopolsky overnight, killing two and injuring seven, including a 13-year-old girl, according to The Kyiv Independent. The attack also damaged high-rises, schools, vehicles and shops, said Reznichenko. 2:40 a.m.:   1:30 a.m.: A businessman known as “Putin’s chef” has developed “a taste for business in blood,” according to a leading Russian campaigner for prisoners’ rights. Olga Romanova, head of the Russia Behind Bars nongovernmental organization, said she’s seen reports from trusted inmates in at least three prisons. They say that Kremlin-connected businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin had personally visited to recruit convicts as mercenaries to fight in Ukraine. Prigozhin is often connected with the shadowy Russian Wagner Group, a mercenary paramilitary organization, as well as catering companies. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has this story. 12:05 a.m.: Coca-Cola Co.'s bottler, Coca Cola HBC, will on Thursday detail the cost of stopping production and sales of Coke in Russia, a goal that has taken five months to reach as the company used up its existing supplies, according to Reuters. Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Co., which relied on Coca Cola HBC to manufacture and distribute its sodas in Russia, said in March it would suspend production in the country. The Swiss-based bottler, in which Coca-Cola has a 20% stake, has since then been using up its remaining stock. It placed its last orders for concentrate in March. Coca-Cola HBC last week in a statement on its website said it had stopped making and selling Coke-branded products in Russia and had no plans to re-introduce them. The bottler instead is re-naming its business in Russia Multon Partners and focusing on local brands including Dobry, Rich and Moya Semya. Some information in this report came from Reuters and Agence France-Presse.

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