kyiv accuses Russia of detentions and executions of civilians in the Kharkiv region, where Moscow’s forces are on the offensive.Follow the latest information.
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More than two years of war in Ukraine
POWER OUTAGES = BLACKOUT
According to the office of Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, numerous power cuts are expected in the country at least until next August. In question ? Bombings in recent days on several power plants, reducing the country’s energy capacity. A difficult situation which could continue in the following months, the same source mentioning Kyiv Independenta winter “definitely difficult” next year.
WOUNDED MILITARY LEADER
The military head of the Vovchansk administration, targeted by the Russian offensive, was injured in a strike, according to Ukrainian authorities.
KHARKIV: RUSSIA ACCUSED OF DETENTIONS AND EXECUTIONS OF CIVILIANS
The Ukrainian Interior Minister accused the Russian army this Thursday of arbitrary detentions and executions of civilians in the town of Vovchansk in the Kharkiv region (north-east), the target of a Russian assault for a week. “According to reports from the intelligence services, the Russian military, who are trying to gain a foothold in the city, are not letting residents evacuate: they have started kidnapping people to take them to cellars,” the minister said on Telegram. Igor Klymenko, who also reported information on “first executions of civilians” by the Russian army.
RUSSIA AND CHINA SAY WANT TO AVOID “ESCALATION” IN UKRAINE
Russia and China assured this Thursday that they wanted to avoid any further “escalation” in Ukraine, half-heartedly pointing to Western responsibility, according to a joint statement published by the Kremlin after the meeting in Beijing between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping. The text says that Beijing and Moscow consider it “necessary” to avoid any decision likely to “contribute to the prolongation of hostilities and a further escalation of the conflict”, a formulation seeming to target Europeans and Americans, with the Kremlin constantly saying that it is the arms deliveries from the West to Ukraine that are prolonging the war.
PUTIN AGAINST A “CLOSED” ALLIANCE IN ASIA-PACIFIC
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday deemed “harmful” any “closed” political and military alliance in the Asia-Pacific region, where its Chinese ally is in competition with its American rival, which cooperates with Australia and the United Kingdom to counter the influence of Beijing.
“There is no place for closed military-political alliances. We believe that it is very harmful and counterproductive to create such alliances,” he said during a press conference in Beijing alongside his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, on the first day of a state visit.
RECORD TERRITORY GAIN FOR RUSSIA IN A YEAR AND A HALF
The Russian army took 278 km² in one week in eastern Ukraine, mainly in the Kharkiv region, its largest gain of Ukrainian territory in a year and a half, according to an analysis Thursday by AFP in based on data provided by the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
Between May 9 and 15, 257 km² were conquered in the region of Kharkiv (north-east) alone, the epicenter of the Russian offensive where Moscow claimed the capture of several localities. The other 21 square kilometers won by the Russian army were at different points on the front line, including the symbolic village of Robotyné in the south of the country.
PUTIN “GRATEFUL” TOXI JINPING
Vladimir Putin, visiting China, says he is “grateful” to Beijing for its peace “initiatives” regarding the conflict in Ukraine, which the Russian army invaded more than two years ago. “We are grateful to our Chinese friends and colleagues for the initiatives they are putting forward to resolve this problem,” declared the Russian president alongside his counterpart Xi Jinping. Beijing, which has never condemned Russia, calls for respect for the territorial integrity of all countries, including Ukraine, while urging consideration of the concerns of its Russian ally.
UKRAINE STOPPED THE RUSSIAN “ADVANCE”
The Ukrainian army indicated Thursday morning that it had stopped the Russian “advance” in certain areas of the Kharkiv region (north-east) where Russia launched a surprise attack on May 10, occupying new territories.
“The situation in the Kharkiv sector remains complicated and is developing dynamically. Our defense forces managed to partially stabilize the situation, the enemy’s advance in some areas and localities was stopped, but he is still trying to create the conditions for further advances,” the spokesperson for Ukrainian forces in the region, Nazar Voloshin, indicated on television.
“POLITICAL SOLUTION”
China and Russia agree on the need for a “political solution” to the conflict in Ukraine, says Chinese President Xi Jinping, after discussions in Beijing with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
“Both sides agree that a political solution to the crisis in Ukraine is the way forward,” Xi declared, speaking to the press alongside Putin.
WE TAKE STOCK
– RUSSIAN BREAKTHROUGH : Vladimir Putin welcomed yesterday the advances in Ukraine by the Russian army which claimed the capture of several localities in the Kharkiv region (north-east) where it has been leading an offensive for a week.
– RUSSIAN MEDIA : EU member states agreed yesterday to sanction four Russian media outlets accused of disseminating pro-Kremlin propaganda, despite a warning from Moscow which threatened to retaliate against Western media outlets.
– CHINA-RUSSIA : Vladimir Putin asserts today in Beijing that the relationship between his country and China is a factor of “stability”, during a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.
GOOD MORNING
Welcome to this live broadcast devoted to the war in Ukraine since the Russian invasion of February 24, 2022. Find here the latest information and strong images linked to this conflict.
The goal is clear for Vladimir Putin. The Russian president arrived in China on Thursday, May 16, to meet his counterpart and “dear friend” Xi Jinping, whom he will try to convince to provide greater support for the Russian war effort in Ukraine. According to images broadcast on Russian television, the head of the Kremlin was greeted Thursday around 4:30 a.m. in Beijing (8:30 p.m. GMT Wednesday), when he got off his plane, by Chinese officials and a guard of honor, before taking his place in a black limousine.
The two-day visit marks Vladimir Putin’s first foreign trip since his re-election in March and his second to China in just over six months. This Asian giant is a crucial economic lifeline for Russia, plagued by heavy Western sanctions taken to punish it for its military offensive in Ukraine. Having just returned from a tour of France, Serbia and Hungary, Xi Jinping defended the right to maintain normal economic ties with his Russian neighbor. China benefits in particular from cheap Russian energy imports.
The two countries celebrated in early 2022, just before the outbreak of the invasion of Ukraine, a bilateral partnership described as “limitless”. “This is Putin’s first trip after his inauguration and is therefore intended to show that Sino-Russian relations are moving to another level,” independent Russian analyst Konstantin Kalachev told AFP. “Without forgetting the visibly sincere personal friendship between the two leaders.”
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But these close ties are viewed with growing suspicion among Westerners. The United States is thus threatening to sanction foreign companies, in particular banks, which work with Russia. The Kremlin said this week that the two presidents would discuss “the key areas of development of Russian-Chinese cooperation, while also exchanging their views on international and regional issues”.