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:
news of the day
A crucial visit, on a sensitive file. The director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, arrived on Wednesday at the Ukrainian nuclear power plant in Zaporozhye, occupied by Russian forces and for the safety of which the international community has great fears.
“I try to prepare and propose realistic measures that will be approved by all parties,” he said during a visit organized by the Russian authorities. “The idea is to agree on certain principles, certain commitments, including not attacking the plant,” continued the director, once again asking Moscow not to store military equipment there.
sentence of the day
Only Sweden decides its national security policy, no one else”
These are the words of the head of Swedish diplomacy, Tobias Billström. This statement follows threats against the Nordic country after its desire to join NATO with Finland, motivated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Finland and Sweden will become “legitimate targets” of “reprisals” from Russia once they become NATO members, warned the Russian ambassador.
Helsinki is only waiting for Turkish ratification to enter the political-military alliance. For its part, Stockholm is facing a veto from Erdogan, but is aiming for membership before the next NATO summit in July.
The number of the day
6. Like the number of heavy tanks that Spain promises to deliver to kyiv after Easter. Spain had announced at the end of February the sending of these tanks. Stored in a military base in Zaragoza, these Leopard 2A4s had not been used for many years and had to be repaired.
The Spanish army, which has trained Ukrainian soldiers in their use, is currently carrying out final tests on these devices before they are delivered, said the minister. These tanks, requested for a long time by Ukraine, arrive in time for the spring offensive which it plans to carry out against the Russian army.
The trend of the day
Germany announces a significant increase in its aid to Ukraine. Parliament’s budget committee on Thursday validated new military aid to kyiv, up to 8 billion euros. The funds released by 2032 now reach 12 billion euros in total, both in direct aid to Kiev and in favor of the German army, victim of under-investment before the Russian offensive.
This additional envelope marks a “very important step which clearly shows that we support Ukraine in the long term in its fight against Putin”, said Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.