kyiv tackles “mad dictator Putin” and Russia relaunches “cooperation” with Iran

Did you miss the latest developments on the war in Ukraine? 20 minutes gives you an update every evening. Between strong statements, advances on the front and the results of the fighting, here is the essential information from this Monday, August 5, the 894th day of conflict.

The fact of the day

The European Union has tightened its sanctions against Belarus by adding the names of 28 individuals to a list of individuals banned from entering the EU due to their involvement “in internal repression and human rights violations” in the country. “These regime propagandists have been deliberately providing the Belarusian public with false information about the repression by state authorities, […] and encouraged hatred towards the democratic opposition and civil society,” added the statement from the Twenty-Seven.

After the new additions, these sanctions – namely an asset freeze and a travel ban from the EU – now concern 261 individuals and 37 entities. This vast blacklist was established from August 2020, after the contested re-election of President Alexander Lukashenko. The latter and members of his family are among those sanctioned. And it should be noted that Lukashenko is a close ally of Vladimir Putin, so other EU sanctions were decided after the start of the Russian offensive in Ukraine in February 2022. Minsk is notably accused by the EU of having allowed Russia to use its territory, in particular for its forces heading towards kyiv.

The number of the day

1.9. That’s the billions of euros in lost revenue from the break with the West after the Kremlin’s offensive against Ukraine, according to a senior official at the Russian space agency Roscosmos. “The refusal of contracts by hostile states cost Roscosmos 180 billion rubles,” the agency’s first deputy director general, Andrei Elshaninov, was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency.

As part of the sanctions imposed on Moscow after the Russian military offensive in Ukraine in February 2022, Western countries have ended their partnership with Roscosmos in the space sector. For example, the European Space Agency (ESA) has definitively ended its cooperation with Russia on the joint Mars exploration mission ExoMars. For its part, Roscosmos has suspended its space launches of Soyuz rockets from the Kourou space base in French Guiana.

Quote of the day

The common goal of all Russians should be to liberate Russia from the mad dictator Putin and his regime, not to fight sanctions.” »

These are the words of Andriy Ermak, chief of staff of President Volodymyr Zelensky. “Sanctions should be strengthened as long as Russia continues its armed aggression […] “Sanctions are what is holding back the regime’s military machine,” he also insisted, a few days after the release of several prominent Russian opponents following a vast exchange between Russia and the West.

Today’s trend

A senior Russian official, former Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, arrived in Tehran on Monday for a visit aimed at deepening cooperation between Russia and Iran, amid threats of military escalation with Israel. Shoigu, who serves as secretary general of the Russian Security Council, is expected to discuss strengthening bilateral relations, economic and security issues, and the regional and global situation, Russian news agencies reported. He is scheduled to meet with Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Ali Akbar Ahmadian and Army Chief of Staff Mohammad Bagheri.

Our file on the war in Ukraine

The visit comes as diplomatic maneuvers intensify to try to avoid a military escalation in the Middle East between Iran and its allies on the one hand and Israel on the other, and against a backdrop of fears of a conflict in Lebanon. And, as a reminder, Moscow and Tehran have strengthened their cooperation since the start of the Russian offensive in Ukraine in February 2022, with Iran notably accused of having supplied explosive Shahed drones used by the Russian army.

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