Did you miss the latest events on the war in Ukraine? 20 minutes takes stock for you every evening at 7:30 p.m. Between the strong declarations, the advances on the front and the results of the battles, here are the main points of the day.
The fact of the day
kyiv gets its revenge. Ukrainian Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk said Friday that his forces had, “for the first time,” “destroyed a long-range strategic bomber Tu-22M3, carrying X-22 cruise missiles.” According to Ukrainian military intelligence (GUR), this is an aircraft that took part in the night bombings and “was shot down as a result of a special operation”.
Russian nighttime strikes killed at least eight people, including children, in the Dnipropetrovsk region. In the Ukrainian district of Synelnykové, southeast of Dnipro, the regional capital, “more than ten houses were damaged” and “six people died,” Ukrainian Interior Minister Igor Klymenko said on Telegram. In the city of Dnipro, two people died, he added, warning that the toll was likely to rise. The head of Ukrainian diplomacy Dmytro Kouleba specified that “two children”, aged 14 and 8, were among the dead.
“This year we can no longer wait for decisions to be made. I ask you to take our requests into consideration as quickly as possible,” Volodymyr Zelensky insisted on Friday during a videoconference speech to NATO members. The Ukrainian president notably requested seven additional Patriot anti-aircraft systems to counter Russian strikes.
The number of the day
143. This is the contribution of the European Union to Ukraine in billions of euros, Charles Michel, President of the European Council, said this Friday. He intended to respond to the allegations of Donald Trump who asked Europe on Thursday to “move” to support kyiv. “How is it that the United States has committed more than 100 billion dollars to the war in Ukraine, more than Europe, while an ocean separates us! “, he exclaimed on his network, Truth Social. “Fake news!” », Charles Michel could have added.
Today’s statement
“ Without additional help, the situation is much more dire. […] The risk is very real that the Ukrainians will lose on the battlefield by the end of 2024, or at least that [le président russe Vladimir] Putin is in a position to dictate the terms of a political settlement. » »
CIA boss Bill Burns was not mega optimistic Thursday during a speech at the George W. Bush Center. He thus intended to put pressure before the vote, scheduled for Saturday, by the American House of Representatives on a package of 61 billion dollars in aid to Ukraine. “With the momentum – both practical and psychological – that military aid would provide, I think the Ukrainians are perfectly capable of holding on in 2024,” he added. To illustrate the Ukrainian army’s lack of ammunition, Bill Burns claimed that two brigades – units of more than 2,000 soldiers – had only “15 artillery shells per day” and a total of “42 shells per day.” of mortar”.
Today’s trend
China’s attitude towards Russia has always been closely followed by Westerners given the industrial power of the communist state. However, in recent times, Chinese goodwill has had difficulty getting across, particularly to Washington’s side. Thus, American Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused China on Friday of indirectly “fuelling” the conflict in Ukraine: “If China wants to have friendly relations with Europe and other countries on the one hand, it cannot fuel on the other hand what is the greatest threat to European security since the end of the Cold War.
Our file on the war in Ukraine
And the foreign ministers of the G7 countries, meeting in Capri in Italy, went in the same direction in their final communiqué: “We express our strong concern about transfers to Russia, from companies in China, of dual-use materials and weapons components that Russia uses to strengthen its military production. »
Washington has set a red line for China – not directly supply weapons to Russia for its war in Ukraine – and has so far had no evidence to the contrary. But the United States is increasingly denouncing Beijing’s backdoor support for Russia.