UPDATE ON THE SITUATION – Le Figaro provides an update on the latest information from journalists, Ukrainian and Russian statements, Western sources and international organizations.
By Le Figaro with AFP
Posted update
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Europe and the G7 countries launch a register of damage caused by Russia, Hungary blocks the reimbursement of weapons supplied by the EU to kyiv, a Chinese envoy in Paris in “early next week»… Le Figaro takes stock of the situation of the war in ukraine this Wednesday, May 17.
A Chinese envoy to kyiv then Paris to discuss a “political settlement” of the conflict
A Chinese envoysent by Beijing to Europe to discuss a “political settlement“of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, will be in Paris”early next week“, announced Wednesday the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Catherine Colonna. He will also travel to Warsaw, Poland on Friday.
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Li Hui was sent from Beijing to kyiv on Wednesday. He spoke with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytry Kuleba, who insisted on the “respect for territorial integrityfrom Ukraine. The country judgesimportant” there “participationof China to peace efforts, he also said.
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Europe and G7 countries launch register of damage caused by Russia
The United States, Japan, Canada and almost all European countries signed a damage register of war caused by the Russian invasion in Ukraine, a prelude to demands for reparations and lawsuits against Moscow, announced the Council of Europe meeting in Iceland.
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Launched on Tuesday on the occasion of a summit of heads of state and government of the pan-European organization, this census is intended to be a first step in view of the demands for reparations addressed to Moscow for the thousands of victims and the billions of euros of destruction.
Budapest blocks reimbursement of weapons supplied by the EU to Kyiv
Hungary refuses the release of a new tranche of 500 million euros from the European Peace Facility to reimburse the weapons provided by the EU to Ukraine, Budapest and several delegations in Brussels said on Wednesday.
The Hungarian government has confirmed that it has not approved the disbursement of this new envelope because “he does not agree with the European Union, which has other instruments, using the European Peace Facility exclusively for Ukraine“. “There would then not be sufficient resources left to promote EU interests in other regions (e.g. the Balkans, the Sahel region, North Africa)“, he argues.
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Budapest maintained this objection during the meetings organized on Tuesday and Wednesday to prepare for the meeting of EU foreign ministers on May 22 in Brussels, several delegations confirmed on Wednesday. Hungary does not block deliveries of arms and ammunition requested by the Ukrainian armed forces to repel the Russian army. But it prevents their reimbursement to the Member States, it was specified.
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Grain agreement: Ukraine “grateful” to Turkey and the UN after the extension
Ukraine said on Wednesdaygrateful» towards the Türkiye and the UN, sponsors of negotiations with Russia on the export of Ukrainian cerealsafter the extension for two months of this crucial text for the food supply of countries in Africa and Asia.
“We are grateful to our partners, the UN and Turkey, for their efforts to strengthen global food security“, indicated the Deputy Prime Minister for the Restoration of Ukraine, Oleksandre Kubrakov, who is following the file. “The main challenge now is to make the agreement effective by removing artificial barriers“, he added on Twitter. Ukraine hailed the “unwavering and determined positionof its partners and specified that it had exported to date 30.4 million tons of agricultural products under the terms of this agreement.
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Russia, another major world exporter of agricultural products, criticizes the agreement for not taking into account its interests, while its production is targeted by Western sanctions. The agreement helped alleviate the global food crisis caused by the war in Ukraine.
Ukraine joins NATO cyber defense center
Ukraine has joined NATO’s cyber defense center, the Estonia-based structure announced on Wednesday, with kyiv calling the decision “important step on the wayof joining the Atlantic Alliance. The NATO Cooperative Cyber Defense Center of Excellence (CCDCOE), located in Tallinn, added that it has also hosted Iceland, Ireland and Japan.
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“We are particularly happy to see Ukraine among ussaid Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur, quoted in a CCDCOE statement. “This provides a unique opportunity to simultaneously contribute to Ukraine’s defense in Russia’s brutal war and learn from the cyber battlefield to improve cyber security for all members.“, he underlined.
F-16 delivery: London and Berlin throw the ball back to Washington
The British and German Defense Ministers estimated on Wednesday in Berlin that he was returning “to the White Houseto decide on a possible delivery to kyiv of F-16 combat aircraft.
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“We don’t have F-16s and we’re not going to deliver Typhoon (planes) but obviously we can help with training and support, within the limits of the fact that we don’t have F- 16“, explained the British Minister Ben Wallace in Berlin during a joint press conference with his German counterpart Boris Pistorius.
Volodymyr Zelensky has been asking his Western allies for months to provide him with planes that would allow the Ukrainian army to strike Russian troops in depth, without however constituting a miracle solution in the conflict.