Did you miss the latest events on the war in Ukraine? Do not panic, 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.
The fact of the day
Russia claimed on Wednesday that it had targeted a building the previous evening where “French mercenaries” were deployed in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second city, located in the north-east of the country. “On the evening of January 16, Russian armed forces carried out a precision strike on a temporary deployment point of foreign fighters in Kharkiv, the core of which consisted of French mercenaries,” the Russian Defense Ministry said on Telegram . According to Moscow, the “strike completely destroyed the building where the mercenaries were stationed” and left more than 60 dead and 20 injured.
These claims were immediately unverifiable from independent sources. The Kharkiv authorities reported on Tuesday evening a Russian strike using two S-300 surface-to-air missiles on this northeastern city, close to the Russian border. This bombing, according to them, damaged apartment buildings and injured at least 17 civilians.
Today’s statement
“The priority is to drive Russia out of the sky because whoever controls the sky will determine when and how the war ends.”
This is the priority set by Dmytro Kouleba, Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs, this Wednesday at the conclusion of the World Economic Forum in Davos (Switzerland). “We defeated them in 2022 on land, we defeated them in 2023 at sea and we are focusing on defeating them in the air in 2024,” added the minister, warning that defeating Moscow would take “time” and would require the continued aid from Westerners. This call comes while Americans and Europeans are procrastinating over the continuation of the aid to be provided to kyiv. Ukraine fears that these hesitations could lead to a freezing of the conflict, favorable to Russia which occupies nearly 20% of its territory.
The number of the day
40. This is the number of Scalp missiles (long-lasting) which will soon be delivered to the Ukrainian army by France, the Elysée announced. Several hundred bombs will also be delivered, without specifying the model concerned. Emmanuel Macron will reaffirm Friday with the French armies “the principles which guide France’s support for Ukraine”, where he plans to go in February for the second time since the start of the war according to the Elysée.
“National and European production is extremely weak, the economy set up does not live up to Ukrainian expectations,” complains Cédric Perrin, president of the Senate Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, who traveled with a delegation to Warsaw and Kiev between December 19 and 21. The Ukrainians shoot between 5,000 and 8,000 times daily, compared to 10 to 15,000 shots on the Russian side, he said during a press conference. He recalled that France produced 20,000 155 mm shells per year, “the equivalent of three or four days of fighting in Ukraine”.
Today’s trend
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed doubts on Wednesday about the possibility of achieving a ceasefire in Ukraine. “We don’t see it,” he said of this scenario at the World Economic Forum in Davos. “We are always open and attentive to it, because the Ukrainian people want it more than anyone else,” he added. “But Russia must have the will to engage, to negotiate in good faith, on the basis of the fundamental principles which have been called into question by its aggression: territorial integrity, sovereignty, independence,” underlined the head of American diplomacy. “If and when Russia is ready to negotiate on this basis, it will find Ukrainians who want to do so and it will certainly find the support of the United States,” Blinken assured.