Did you miss the latest events on the war in Ukraine? 20 minutes takes stock for you every evening at 7:30 p.m. Who did what ? Who said what? Where are we ? The answer below:
news of the day
Since the beginning of the conflict, almost a year ago, Bakhmout has been the scene of the longest and bloodiest battle. “Over there, it’s like Verdun,” sighs Ivan, a nurse stationed in this city in the east of the country. As in 1916 in eastern France during the First World War, the Battle of Bakhmout is extremely violent and deadly. Moscow wants to secure its first significant victory after months of setbacks, but kyiv is determined to hold on. And as both sides entrench themselves, the human cost, to troops and civilians alike, has overshadowed the strategic importance of controlling this crumbling former industrial city in its eastern, northern and southern quarters.
sentence of the day
The Russian state will be more authoritarian and militarized (in the years to come). There is no going back. »
These are the words of Lars Nordrum, spoken during the presentation of an annual assessment of the risks weighing on Norway, a NATO member country and bordering Russia. The number two Norwegian military intelligence said that China and Russia were the two main threats to his country. “Russian interests will not be compatible with those of the West,” analyzed the Nordic leader.
The number of the day
-25.1%. Weighed down by international sanctions, Russian exports collapsed last year, according to the Russian deputy prime minister in charge of energy. The collapse of gas exports is due “to the refusal of European countries to buy Russian gas, as well as to the sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines”, estimates a specialist. At the same time, Russian oil exports increased by 7.6% over the same period.
The trend of the day
Ukraine uses more ammunition than NATO produces, warns Jens Stoltenberg. The leader of the political-military alliance, who wants to leave office in October, called on the allies to increase their production capacity. “It puts our defense industries under pressure,” he said. “Yes, we have a problem, yes, it’s a challenge”, he admitted, stressing that the Alliance had started to act, referring to both the short-term increase in capabilities – with weekend work for example – but also, in the medium term, investments in production capacities.
The subject will be discussed Tuesday during a meeting of the support group for Ukraine led by the United States, then by the Ministers of Defense of the States of the Alliance, he specified. Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov will take part in both meetings and will inform the allies of the needs of the Ukrainian forces.