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
He was only 32 years old and risked his life to bring back the images of the war in Ukraine. Agence France-Presse (AFP) journalist Arman Soldin was killed in a shelling near the besieged town of Bakhmout on Tuesday evening. An investigation was opened on Wednesday for a war crime, said the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office. Entrusted to the gendarmes of the Central Office for the Fight against Crimes against Humanity and Hate Crimes (OCLCH), it will aim to determine the circumstances of the death of this French journalist born in Sarajevo.
From the president to parliament via London or kyiv, many tributes have been paid to him. “With courage, from the first hours of the conflict he was at the front to establish the facts. To inform us, ”tweeted Emmanuel Macron. On behalf of the government, Elisabeth Borne also expressed on Wednesday her “emotion” and her “solidarity” to her family and loved ones, “to her colleagues at Agence France-Presse” and “to all journalists”. The Senate observed a minute of silence in the hemicycle.
Ukraine’s Defense Ministry also offered its “sincere condolences to his family and colleagues”, adding, “He dedicated his life to reporting the truth to the world”. The British government also hailed the journalist’s “vital” work. “Journalism continues to bring light to the darkness of this war, and Arman’s work has been vital to that,” a spokesman for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said.
sentence of the day
It is necessary for China to use its relations with Russia to make Russia better understand that it is at an impasse and to ask it to come to its senses. »
French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna called on China on Wednesday to use “its relations with Russia” to bring it on the path to peace, shortly before a meeting with her Chinese counterpart Qin Gang. Speaking during the report of the Council of Ministers, she recalled that “on China and concerning Ukraine”, France’s positions were “known”. “We talk about it openly, directly, with the frankness that friendship allows,” she added.
Catherine Colonna and Qin Gang “will discuss international crises, in particular the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, as well as global issues, particularly in view of the Paris Summit on a new global financial pact”, declared Anne- Claire Legendre, spokeswoman for the Quai d’Orsay, in a press release.
The number of the day
7.4. This is the number in billions of Swiss francs (about 7.6 billion euros) of assets and reserves of the central bank of Russia immobilized in Switzerland, the Swiss Ministry of Economy said on Wednesday. Transactions related to the management of the reserves and assets of the Russian central bank have been prohibited since March 25, 2022. “The assets of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation are therefore fixed assets”, specifies the ministry (SECO) .
Discussions are underway within the European Union to possibly use the assets of the Russian Federation’s issuing institution for investment purposes and to allocate their income to the reconstruction of Ukraine. “Switzerland is following the file closely,” said the ministry.
The trend of the day
After months and months of intensive battle in Bakhmout, the Ukrainian army is not giving up. While the Russians have repeatedly announced an imminent capture of the city, a senior Ukrainian military official said on Wednesday that Kiev forces carried out counterattacks in this epicenter of the fighting in the east of the country, and forced the troops Russians to retreat in some places.
The battle for this devastated city now almost 95% controlled by Russian forces is the longest and deadliest since the beginning of the Russian invasion. If the Russian troops, and in the first place the fighters of the paramilitary group Wagner, have gradually and slowly gained ground in recent months in Bakhmout, the Ukrainian resistance to the west of the city therefore remains fierce. “We are carrying out effective counter-attacks. In some areas of the front, the enemy could not resist the onslaught of the Ukrainian defenders and withdrew at a distance of up to 2 kilometers,” said on Telegram Oleksandre Syrsky, commander of the ground forces of the Ukrainian army. According to him, Wagner’s fighters on the spot have been replaced in some places by units of the Russian regular army, which are less well prepared.