The nine eastern NATO members want the military alliance to officially name Russia as a threat in the future.In the future, Ukrainian military technology will be repaired and modernized in Slovakia.All developments in the live blog.We are closing the live blog for today.Thanks for your interest.Russia continues its attempts to tie occupied Ukrainian territories closer to itself.In the parts of the Zaporizhia region controlled by Russian troops, Russian passports are to be handed out from Saturday.The recipients would then be considered full citizens of Russia, a member of the occupation authorities Vladimir Rogov told Rossiya-24 TV channel.According to Rogow, more than 70,000 people have applied in the area.President Vladimir Putin simplified the procedure for obtaining Russian passports in May.Russia also distributes them in other occupied territories and introduces the ruble there as a means of payment.Ukrainian authorities accuse the occupiers of forcing people into Russian citizenship and fear an annexation of the occupied territories.Russia has left the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).The government in Moscow published a corresponding order.Russia's membership in the United Nations agency was suspended by the UN General Assembly at the end of April because of the attack on Ukraine.Shortly before, Moscow had already announced its withdrawal from the UNWTO.This was justified with a "politicization" of the organization.More than 150 countries belong to the UNWTO, which is based in Madrid.The declared goal is the development of responsible, sustainable and generally accessible tourismEstonia has summoned the Russian ambassador to protest Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin's statements on the history of the Baltic country.In a speech, the Russian president alluded to the 18th-century conquest of the city of Narva, now in Estonia.On Thursday, Putin compared the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine with the Great Northern War under Tsar Peter I and spoke of a repatriation of Russian soil.Peter I did not conquer the area around today's metropolis of St. Petersburg from the Swedes, but rather won it back.The same applies in a similar way to Narva, which is right on the border with Russia.The Estonian Foreign Ministry in Tallinn spoke of "completely unacceptable" statements.With almost 60,000 inhabitants, Narva is the third largest city in EU and NATO member Estonia.Many residents have Russian roots.Statements by Putin about recaptures have caused concern in Estonia: Narva is right on the Estonian-Russian border.For the eleventh time, Ukraine and Russia have handed over prisoners to each other.This is reported by a Ukrainian governor on Telegram.Four Russians and five Ukrainians were exchanged for each other.One of those released is a Ukrainian mayor who was kidnapped by Russian troops on March 10.Former US President Barack Obama has called for continued support for Ukraine.You are experiencing a war that is reminiscent of Europe's darkest history, but also the heroic resistance of the Ukrainian people against Russian aggression, he said at the Copenhagen democracy summit of the Alliance of Democracies foundation founded by ex-NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen."Our support for Ukraine must remain strong, steadfast and sustained until this conflict is resolved," Obama said.Serbia has defended its policy of not joining European sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine war, despite its bid to join the EU."We have a different position there for many reasons," said Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic after a meeting with Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) in Belgrade. He pointed out that the Serbs "have had different relationships with the Russian side for centuries ".According to a "Spiegel" report, the federal government wants to change direction in the export of armaments.According to the key points from the Ministry of Economics for the planned arms export control law, the recipient country and its domestic and foreign policy actions are to be weighted as criteria for the export of military goods, the magazine reported on Friday in advance.So far, it has been important not to export any military equipment that could be misused to violate human rights.This made it possible, for example, to export warships to autocratic states.The deputy leader of the Greens, Agnieszka Brugger, told the "Spiegel" that a new law should bring more clarity and consistency.Accordingly, countries like Ukraine, which are peaceful and represent Western values, should be treated less restrictively when it comes to exports.At the same time, the federal government must "end the security policy stupidity of rewarding aggressive autocrats and human rights violators with German weapons."Chancellor Olaf Scholz has called on EU candidate country Serbia to comply with the European Union's sanctions against Russia."We expect that the sanctions will also be implemented by those countries that are in the process of joining the EU," he said in Belgrade after talks with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.He referred to the "very complicated" situation in his country's energy supply, which gets almost all of its gas from Russia.Serbia is an EU candidate and at the same time maintains close ties with Russia.Olaf Scholz urges Serbia to join sanctions against Russia.Image: dpaIn the future, the Ukrainian army will be able to have damaged military technology repaired in an armaments company in eastern Slovakia near the border.As Slovak Defense Minister Jaroslav Nad said during a visit to the TASR news agency, the armaments in the state-owned company in Moldava nad Bodvou are not only repaired, but also modernized.Both countries had signed a contract for this, explained Nad.He did not provide any further information on what type of military technology the agreement applies to.The state-owned company constructa-defence is best known for the self-propelled howitzer Zuzana 2 it produces, which is also to be delivered to the Ukraine in the near future.The repair department is primarily specialized in artillery and rocket technology, it said.The Eastern European NATO countries have spoken out in favor of the military alliance clearly naming Russia as a threat in its new strategic concept.Romania's President Klaus Iohannis said at a meeting of the nine eastern NATO members that they would like to see a corresponding decision at the next NATO summit meeting in Madrid at the end of June.One would also like NATO to further strengthen its combat groups on the eastern flank.The Eastern European NATO countries have formed the "Bucharest 9" format in order to speak with one voice to the larger Western NATO countries.The "B9" countries include Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and the three Baltic republics.France would be ready to take part in a possible operation in the Black Sea to secure Ukrainian grain exports and end the blockade of the port of Odessa.The aim would be to allow ships to pass through to export the grain stored in Ukraine, the Elysée Palace said.President Emmanuel Macron had previously announced that he would visit Ukraine's neighboring countries, Romania and Moldova, next week.However, there has not yet been an appointment for a visit to Kyiv.Poland wants to expand the options for transporting grain from Ukraine."If we work very hard on it, we can reach 1.5 million tons per month in the near future," said Agriculture Minister Henryk Kowalczyk after a meeting with EU Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski.At present one is in the process of increasing the clearance capacities at the Polish-Ukrainian border crossings.Ukraine has expressed the expectation of being able to export up to five million tons of grain overland via Poland.However, Kowalczyk conceded that this could not be done because Poland was not technically prepared for it.The biggest problem is the different track widths of the railways - in the Ukraine, tracks are laid in Russian broad gauge.In addition, there is a lack of containers for transport, said Poland's Minister of Agriculture.Germany and Poland want to support Ukraine in exporting grain.British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv.During a two-day, unannounced visit this week, Wallace Selenskyj pledged continued military aid to his country, the Defense Ministry said in London.In addition to Zelensky, the minister also met his Ukrainian counterpart Oleksiy Reznikov.Great Britain is one of the countries that delivered the largest number of arms to Ukraine.Most recently, the government in London, like that in Washington, had also promised multiple rocket launchers.According to information from Kyiv, Russian troops have continued to advance in the ongoing heavy fighting in eastern Ukraine.According to the Ukrainian General Staff, the newly captured towns are only about ten kilometers south-west of the Bakhmut transport hub.The Russians could now soon cut off supply routes for the important administrative center of Sievjerodonetsk.French President Emmanuel Macron plans to travel to Moldova and Romania next week, sources at the Elysee Palace said.France wanted to show its solidarity with its European allies, who were most exposed to the war in Ukraine.Macron will visit French troops in Romania on Tuesday and continue his trip to Moldova on Wednesday.According to pro-Russian separatists, the Azot chemical plant in the heavily contested eastern Ukrainian city of Sieverodonetsk is completely surrounded."A small group of Ukrainian formations on the territory of the Azot chemical plant can no longer leave the plant. All escape routes are cut off for them," wrote the ambassador of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic in Moscow Rodion Miroshnik on the social network Telegram.Miroshnik admitted the possibility that civilians could still be staying on the besieged Azot site.The Ukrainian side had recently spoken of several hundred people who used the factory basement as an air raid shelter and were now stuck.After more than three months of war, Russia has already occupied more than 90 percent of the Luhansk region, in which Sieverodonetsk is located.Information on the course of the war, shelling and casualties provided by official bodies of the Russian and Ukrainian conflict parties cannot be directly checked by an independent body in the current situation.After declining slightly in April, US consumer price inflation has accelerated again, reaching its highest level in more than four decades.In May, the inflation rate reached 8.6 percent compared to the same month last year, as announced by the Department of Labor in Washington.The reading of 8.6 percent marks the highest level since December 1981, when inflation was 8.9 percent.High inflation is currently affecting many countries around the world.Since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, food and energy prices have risen significantly in many places;in Germany, inflation is expected to have reached around 7.9 percent in May.The US inflation data at the end of the week caused a price slide on the stock exchanges.Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth has opposed a boycott of Russian artists against the background of the war in Ukraine."I would definitely find it wrong to say that we are now conducting a cultural boycott against everything that is Russian. Because it is often the artists who try to maintain or expand the last areas of freedom," Roth said in a "Spiegel "-Interview.It actually becomes "difficult" when it comes to cases like that of the conductor Valeri Gergiev, who clearly supported Putin's actions in Georgia, Crimea and Syria - or Anna Netrebko, who has been very close in the past pointed to Putin and had his picture taken with the so-called separatists of the Donbass region," emphasized Roth.According to Ukrainian government adviser Mykhailo Podolyak, up to 200 Ukrainian soldiers die every day in the war in Ukraine.Only heavy weapons from the West could change this situation and "force Moscow to the negotiating table," said Podolyak.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently spoke of around 100 deaths on the Ukrainian side per day.Podolyak emphasized that the number is now outdated.According to Governor Serhiy Hajday, the Ukrainian defenders are still holding the industrial area on the outskirts of the city in the heavily contested Sieverodonetsk in Luhansk in eastern Ukraine.Some other areas are still under Ukrainian control, Hajdaj told the AP news agency.In the city there was fighting house by house and street by street.Hajdaj further said that part of the city had been literally reduced to rubble by Russian artillery fire.However, an advance by Russian ground troops into the city center was repelled.Sieverodonetsk is the last major Ukrainian bastion in the Luhansk region, which is part of Donbass in eastern Ukraine.At the start of his trip to the Balkans, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) called for reconciliation between Kosovo and Serbia.It is important that the EU-led dialogue between the two neighboring countries progress, Scholz said after a meeting with Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti in Pristina.The Chancellor praised Kosovo's clear stance on the Ukraine war and addressed warning words to the Serbian government, which maintains its close ties to Russia.During his visit to Kosovo, Chancellor Scholz called for a political solution to the conflict with Serbia.The Diakonie and the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) demand equal rights for refugees with disabilities.Since June 1st, refugees from the Ukraine have been able to access social benefits in Germany, but they are often denied the help they need because of their disability, the Diakonie and the EKD criticized in a joint statement.According to Diakonie, many applications for so-called integration assistance would be rejected.After a visit to the von Bodelschwingh Foundation Bethel in Bielefeld, EKD Council Chairwoman Annette Kurschus emphasized that many people with disabilities and health problems remained in the Ukraine and needed help there."We must not lose sight of the fate of these people who were particularly affected by the cruel war of aggression".The blockade of Ukraine's Black Sea ports could trigger starvation among millions next year.This means hunger for 11 to 19 million people, explains a director of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.This estimate is based on the decline in food exports from Ukraine and Russia.The two countries account for almost a third of global wheat shipments.Poorer countries in North Africa and the Middle East are particularly affected.Russia's war against Ukraine is also driving the price of wheat to new heights - including in Lebanon.Despite Ukrainian calls for more clarity on the timing of the delivery of heavy weapon systems to the country attacked by Russia, the German government is still keeping a low profile.For organizational reasons and security issues, it is tricky to talk about schedules, said government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit.The federal government has promised the delivery of heavy weapons, he emphasized.Hebestreit recalled the planned delivery of anti-aircraft vehicles such as the Gepard, the Panzerhaubitze 2000, the Iris-T anti-aircraft system and the Mars multiple rocket launcher.He understands the impatience, but these questions have to be clarified and examined very thoroughly "before you make a statement that you may not be able to keep".The Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, Andriy Melnyk, had previously criticized that there was no clarity as to when the Mars multiple rocket launchers from Bundeswehr stocks would be handed over.In addition, one unit of the Iris-T air defense system is not enough.In the medium term, Ukraine needs at least ten more such systems, including ammunition, to strengthen its defense capabilities.What has actually been promised so far - and for when?Against the background of the Ukraine war, Finland wants to strengthen the border barriers with neighboring Russia.The country needs to protect itself against "hybrid threats," Anne Ihanus, senior adviser at Finland's Interior Ministry, told AFP.A "robust fence with a real barrier effect" is planned, explained Sanna Palo, head of the legal department of the Finnish border guard.Behind this is the concern that Moscow could use migration movements to exert political pressure.So far, the 1,300-kilometer-long border with Russia has primarily been protected by light wooden fences.The war in Ukraine added to the "urgency" of the matter, Ihanus said.The planned border fence will "in all likelihood" not extend across the entire border, explained Palo.If there is a large migration movement, for example of asylum seekers, specific checkpoints could be set up at the border.The measures planned by the government in Helsinki on the border with Russia should be implemented "as soon as possible".According to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Switzerland is also adopting the new European Union sanctions against Russia and Belarus.This sixth EU sanctions package includes, among other things, an embargo on crude oil and certain petroleum products from Russia and will gradually come into force by early 2023.In addition, Switzerland is subjecting a good 100 people and organizations to financial and travel sanctions.This included oligarchs and their family members.Finally, Switzerland approved the exclusion of four banks, including Sberbank, from the Swift messaging system.Under pressure from Greek shipping companies, the EU caved in to the oil embargo.With this, Putin can even expand his business.A statement by Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner was made public on Thursday, according to which a return to nuclear power must also be discussed in the current debate about more independence in energy supply.Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke contradicted this.In an interview with SWR, Lemke emphasized that Germany had decided "to phase out nuclear power with good reasons in a cross-party consensus".The operators themselves also said that continued operation of the power plants would only be possible if there were major technical and security risks, according to Lemke.Zumde Lemke referred to the war in the Ukraine, during which "nuclear power plants that were drawn into this war were fired on".It is clear that nuclear power plants are never designed for a war, for such attacks.In addition, many plants were running with fuel elements from Russia.The German Foreign Ministry sees the death sentences in the pro-Russian separatist region of Donetsk as shocking and a clear violation of international law.Three foreign fighters from Ukraine's armed forces were sentenced to death in the region this week, two Britons and a Moroccan.The Russian central bank has eased its monetary policy again despite the ongoing sanctions against the country.The central bank in Moscow announced that the key interest rate would be reduced by 1.5 percentage points to 9.5 percent.On average, economists had expected a somewhat less significant interest rate cut to 10.0 percent.It is the fourth rate cut in a row.The central bank announced further cuts this year.The Russian central bank has lowered the key interest rate to the level before the attack on Ukraine.The UK considers it justified that the two British nationals who fought for Ukrainian troops and who have now been sentenced to death in the separatist region of Donetsk are entitled to the protection of the Geneva Conventions.This was emphasized by a spokesman for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in an interview with the Reuters news agency.At the same time, the spokesman made it clear that Britain would primarily discuss the fate of the two men with Ukraine.Foreign Minister Liz Truss has already spoken to her Ukrainian counterpart about this."Our priority is to work with the Ukrainian government" to ensure the release of the two Britons "as soon as possible".When asked whether negotiations should also be held with Russia, the spokesman merely said that the British government had no "regular interaction" with Russia.Truss himself confirmed the phone call shortly thereafter and also denounced the violation of the Geneva Conventions by the death sentences imposed.Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has described the death sentences in the pro-Russian separatist region of Donetsk as a decision by an independent state.These trials take place on the basis of the legislation of the "Donetsk People's Republic".The separatist region in eastern Ukraine is internationally recognized only by Russia as an independent state.A court in Donetsk yesterday sentenced two Britons and a Moroccan who fought for Ukraine to death as mercenaries.The defense has announced an appeal against the verdict.Pope Francis received EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen in the Vatican.The focus of the half-hour conversation was the war in Ukraine.Both agree that this war must end "so that peace can return to Europe," von der Leyen tweeted afterwards, "We stand by those who are suffering from the destruction in Ukraine."Ukraine is apparently slowly starting to export more grain abroad again, as reported by the Reuters news agency, citing EU Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski.According to this, almost two million tons could now be delivered from Ukraine to other countries.Federal Economics and Climate Protection Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) has launched an energy saving campaign with a broad alliance of associations."We need to say goodbye to fossil fuels in order to become more independent and achieve the climate goals," it said in a published joint statement.The campaign calls on all 80 million citizens to work together to save energy.Leading business and municipal organizations, the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB), the environmental umbrella organization Deutscher Naturschutzring (DNR) and the Federation of Consumer Organizations (vzbv) are all involved in the campaign.At an energy saving summit, they decided on a joint declaration to reduce energy consumption and achieve greater efficiency.A central element is the "80 million together for the energy transition" campaign, which the Ministry of Economic Affairs is launching this month.In addition to tips and guides, new funding programs and advisory services are also planned.The Economics Ministry is also taking part in the campaign with energy-saving measures for heating, cooling and lighting.The petrol station interest group (TIV) has accused the oil companies of exploiting the current situation to boost profits."The petroleum companies are cashing in on a climate in the market that allows relatively high petrol prices," said a spokesman for the association of the "Stuttgarter Zeitung" and the "Stuttgarter Nachrichten".The mineral oil association Fuels and Energy rejected the criticism, but the Federal Cartel Office sees open questions in the pricing.The tax cut for fuel has been in effect for a good week.According to their own statements, the Russian armed forces attacked an airport and a tank factory in eastern Ukraine during the night."At the Dnipro airport, high-precision surface-to-air missiles were used to destroy aircraft of the Ukrainian armed forces, and in the Kharkov area production capacities for the repair of weapons technology," said the spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry, Igor Konashenkov.At the front, more than 500 Ukrainian soldiers were killed by Russian air, rocket and artillery strikes, 13 armored cars, nine artillery pieces, six rocket launchers and 16 military vehicles were disabled and 16 ammunition depots were destroyed.In addition, Konashenkov reported on the shooting down of two fighter jets and five drones.This information cannot be verified independently.Information on the course of the war, shelling and casualties provided by official bodies of the Russian and Ukrainian conflict parties cannot be directly checked by an independent body in the current situation.The British government has asked Russia to take responsibility for the trial of two Britons held captive in Ukraine.Education Secretary Robin Walker said the men, aged 28 and 48, were prisoners of war.Britain will use all diplomatic channels to ensure that they are treated as such.A court in the so-called Donetsk People's Republic of pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine had found the two Britons and a man from Morocco guilty of attempting a violent coup and sentenced them to death.They were also charged with mercenary activities and terrorism.The Supreme Court of the separatist region of Donetsk has sentenced two Britons and a Moroccan to death.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged the EU to speed up his country's accession.When a survey shows that 71 percent of Europeans see Ukraine as part of the European family, he wonders why there are still skeptical politicians who are reluctant to do so, he said in a video message at the Copenhagen Democracy Summit .Zelenskyy criticized that the Ukrainian people had been told for so long that they had to remain in the gray area between the European Union and Russia.This gray area, which is so tempting for Russia, must be eliminated.Action must be taken in the coming weeks and days.Shortly after the start of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, Zelenskyy applied to join the EU.The EU Commission is expected to make its recommendation next Friday on whether Ukraine should be granted EU candidate status.According to the recommendation, the EU summit on June 23-24 plans to discuss Ukraine's application.A decision on whether to grant candidate status must be taken unanimously by the EU member states.Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) had made it clear that there should be no shortcuts for Ukraine on the way to the EU.In order to join the EU, states must meet certain requirements.The Federal Ministry of Health has announced details of how Germany intends to support Ukraine with medical care.The aim is to promote the production of prostheses from the manufacturer Ottobock in the Ukraine.In addition, 200 surgeons and emergency physicians are ready to work in Ukraine through the German Medical Association.The accident hospital in Berlin also trains Ukrainian doctors to treat burn injuries.In addition, the Robert Koch Institute, in cooperation with the Berlin Charité, will connect several hospitals in Ukraine to telemedical advice for the treatment of seriously injured people in the coming weeks.For more than a month, the village of Yahidne in the Chernihiv region was occupied by Russian troops.ARD correspondent Andrea Beer reports on the clean-up work in town and how the residents are dealing with the war experience.Residents of a village in the Chernihiv region continue to clear mines and rebuild.According to the Ukrainian army, it has attacked Russian military positions in the Cherson region in southern Ukraine.According to the Ukrainian General Staff, the air force attacks targeted equipment and personnel locations and field depots near five towns in the region.The Kherson region has been almost completely controlled by Russian troops since the early days of the Russian invasion.Information on the course of the war, shelling and casualties provided by official bodies of the Russian and Ukrainian conflict parties cannot be directly checked by an independent body in the current situation.Federal Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir met his counterpart Mykola Solskyj in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv for talks.Central topics are to be, on the one hand, help to stabilize agriculture in Ukraine and, on the other hand, possible export routes for Ukrainian grain away from the shipping routes across the Black Sea.The ports there are blocked by Russia.Özdemir then wants to visit farms to get an idea of ​​the situation on the farms and the current needs of the Ukrainian agricultural sector.Agriculture Minister Özdemir and Health Minister Lauterbach traveled to Ukraine for talks.Despite the tax cut on fuel that came into force last week, the price of diesel continues to rise: According to the ADAC, the fuel cost a nationwide daily average of 2.012 euros per liter - 0.5 cents more than yesterday.The price of super petrol E10, on the other hand, fell slightly.Compared to yesterday, it fell by 0.6 cents to an average of 1.942 euros per liter.Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach has arrived in Lviv and, according to his ministry, is taking part in a donor conference there to set up a rehabilitation center for war invalids.Lauterbach also wants to visit several local hospitals."Children step on mines and lose limbs," said the SPD politician."The humanitarian consequences" of this war are "immeasurable."That is why Germany is also helping people in a targeted manner with health care.In addition to the Bundesbank, Austria's central bank is also anticipating further increases in inflation.The Institute expects consumer prices to rise by an average of 7.0 percent this year.In March, the central bank had forecast an increase of 5.6 percent.In 2023, the inflation rate (HICP) calculated according to uniform EU standards should then fall to 4.2 percent and in 2024 to 3.0 percent.However, it would remain well above the two percent mark that the European Central Bank (ECB) is aiming for.The Bundesrat has approved the planned special fund for the Bundeswehr and the necessary amendment to the Basic Law.This allows loans of 100 billion euros to be taken out, bypassing the debt brake, in order to better equip the armed forces.The necessary two-thirds majority was achieved in the vote in the Bundesrat.The countries in which the Left Party is part of the government abstained: Berlin, Bremen, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Thuringia.The special fund planned to strengthen the Bundeswehr has cleared the last hurdle.It sounds paradoxical at first: people who are fleeing from Ukraine because of the Russian war of aggression - to Russia.In the ARD morning show, the Russian human rights activist Swetlana Gannuschkina, who has been committed to helping Ukrainian refugees for years, describes how many of those affected have no alternative:But there are also refugees who voluntarily go to Russia.Reasons are the language or relatives who live in Russia.In a speech to the Swedish parliament, the country's foreign minister, Ann Linde, reaffirmed Turkey's willingness to assuage Turkey's concerns about Sweden and Finland joining NATO.Sweden is aiming for constructive progress in talks with Turkey about the membership application, which has found "broad support" among the remaining NATO members.Given the superiority of the Russian troops in terms of equipment such as artillery and ammunition, Ukraine is dependent on rapid supplies of weapons from the West, warns military expert Gustav Gressel.However, they came too hesitantly.Without arms deliveries, the Ukrainian army would lack firepower, according to military expert Gressel.The Federal Cartel Office is keeping a close eye on the currently permanently high fuel prices.But the authority can only intervene under strict conditions, said Andreas Mundt, President of the Federal Cartel Office in the ARD morning magazine - in the case of illegal agreements between oil companies.According to the Bundesbank, the rapid rise in energy and food prices as a result of the Ukraine war will cause inflation to rise further this year.The annual average inflation rate could be more than seven percent, said Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel.For the current year, the Bundesbank is now anticipating inflation of 7.1 percent - in December the institute had still expected 3.6 percent.The cost of living is expected to increase by 4.5 percent in 2023 and by 2.6 percent in 2024.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused the Russian military of wanting to destroy the communications system in Ukraine with its attacks.As an example, Selenskyj cited the television tower in Kharkiv, which had been destroyed by Russian attacks.In the meantime, the transmission of Ukrainian stations is running again."The occupiers' tactic is to shoot at TV stations, destroy communication channels, isolate people," said Zelenskyy in a video message: "You can't help it, because openness and honesty are also weapons against everything the Russian state is doing. "According to the British Ministry of Defense, there could be a cholera outbreak in Russian-controlled Mariupol.Medical care in the Ukrainian port city is on the verge of collapse.In Cherson, too, there is a critical shortage of medicines.The World Health Organization warned last month that there was a risk of cholera spreading in Mariupol.In a radio interview, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban again warned of serious damage to the EU economy as a result of the sanctions imposed on Russia.In his own country, there is a risk of inflation of 16 percent if price caps are not allowed.Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach is currently on his way to Ukraine.According to his own statement, he will be accompanied by a team of surgeons and specialists."So much misery has been caused by this barbaric war of aggression," said Lauterbach, currently still in Poland, in the ARD morning magazine.The goal is to support medical care in Ukraine, but also to train the doctors and helpers there, for example in the treatment of patients with severe burns.But according to Lauterbach, options such as help via telemedicine, for example during serious operations, should also be developed.The situation in Ukraine is getting worse because "the infrastructure is crumbling while the number of injured is constantly increasing," the SPD minister warned.In the heavily contested Donbass, the Russian military is also advancing on the town of Bakhmut.This was announced by the Ukrainian General Staff.The city is considered an important hub through which the supply of the city of Sievjerodonetsk could be cut off.In the nearby towns of Vozdvyschenka and Roty, Russia has already achieved success and taken positions.The road from Bakhmut to Sievjerodonetsk could also be shelled from there with heavy equipment.Shaded in white: advance of the Russian army.Shaded in green: Russian-backed separatist areas.Crimea: annexed by Russia.Image: ISW/09.06.2022Chancellor Olaf Scholz will be received by Serbia's head of state Aleksandar Vucic today.The visit is unlikely to be entirely uncomplicated: Serbia is looking to get closer to the West and wants to become a member of the EU.But this is offset by close business ties with Russia.Chancellor Scholz wants to make the deadlocked EU perspectives a top priority during his visit to the Balkans.The Federal Council will decide today on the planned EUR 100 billion special fund for the Bundeswehr.In the state chamber, as in the Bundestag, a two-thirds majority must be achieved.The approval of the panel is considered certain.The special assets are to be used, among other things, for new equipment for the Bundeswehr, including helicopters, tanks and ammunition.The Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, Andriy Melnyk, once again pushed for rapid arms deliveries from Germany in the "Tagesspiegel" and at the same time criticized when the federal government would deliver the weapon systems it had promised so far.So far there is no clarity as to when the Mars multiple rocket launchers will be handed over from Bundeswehr stocks, said Melnyk.The Ukrainian troops urgently need this equipment "to protect the Ukrainian civilian population from barbaric attacks by Russia".Russia's "enormous military superiority" must be broken urgently.At the same time, Melnyk warned that further arms deliveries were needed: Ukraine needed at least ten more of the Iris-T air defense system, including ammunition.Melnyk emphasized:Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has described the situation in the war against Russia as continuing to be difficult.There were no "significant changes" at the front, he said in his daily video message.The strategically important town of Sievarodonetsk and its neighboring city of Lysychansk, as well as other cities in the Donbass that Russian attackers currently consider key targets in the east of the country, could defend themselves effectively."We are gradually moving forward in the Kharkiv region and liberating our country."Information on the course of the war, shelling and casualties provided by official bodies of the Russian and Ukrainian conflict parties cannot be directly checked by an independent body in the current situation.According to calculations by the Ukrainian statistical office, the country's gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 15.1 percent in the first quarter compared to the same period last year.The Russian attack began on February 24th.The World Bank expects Ukraine's GDP to collapse by 45.1 percent in 2022 because of the war.In 2021, economic output in Ukraine had grown by 3.4 percent.In view of the destroyed cultivation areas, the Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Agriculture has warned of crop failures.The US estimates that Russia makes more money from energy exports than it did before the war.The developments on the war against Ukraine in our live blog.