The head of French diplomacy believes that there is no division between France and Germany despite the obvious differences between President Emmanuel Macron and Chancellor Olaf Scholz over Ukraine.Follow the latest information.
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Volodymyr Zelensky, the former comedian turned warlord
INVESTIGATION INTO POSSIBLE TAPPING
The German Defense Ministry said on Saturday it was investigating possible wiretapping of confidential discussions between high-ranking officers of its air force on the war in Ukraine.
“We are examining whether communications linked to the air force have been tapped, military counter-espionage (BAMAD) has taken all necessary measures,” a spokesperson told AFP. of the ministry.
The case emerged after the broadcast, according to German media, on Russian social media accounts close to the Kremlin, of what strongly resembles the recording of a conversation between German officers.
The latter speak in particular of the hypothesis of the use by the Ukrainian forces of long-range Taurus missiles, of German manufacture, of their possible impact, in particular if they were to target targets such as the Crimean bridge connecting the peninsula of Kerch, Crimea, to the west, and Russian territory.
“NO FRANCO-GERMAN CLASH”
The head of French diplomacy believes that there is no division between France and Germany despite the obvious differences between President Emmanuel Macron and Chancellor Olaf Scholz over Ukraine.
“There is no Franco-German clash, we agree on 80% of the subjects”, assures Stéphane Séjourné in a daily interview The world published Saturday.
The most visible bones of contention currently concern the form of aid to be given to Ukraine in the face of the Russian steamroller, at a time when a vital envelope of more than 60 billion dollars remains blocked in the United States.
During the support conference for kyiv organized by Paris on Monday, the French head of state appeared to implicitly attack countries like Germany, which has long hesitated to deliver certain heavy weapons to kyiv.
“I spoke with my German counterpart, Annalena Baerbock, we will see each other next Tuesday in Paris. There is a desire to talk to each other,” continues Stéphane Séjourné. “There is no drama there since we have the same objective of supporting Ukraine,” he also underlined.
TWO DEAD IN RUSSIAN DRONE ATTACKS IN UKRAINE
Russian drone attacks left at least two dead during the night from Friday to Saturday in Ukraine, in the regions of Kharkiv (north-east) and Odessa (south), Kiev authorities reported.
A young man was killed and several people, including a three-year-old child, were injured when a Russian drone struck an apartment building in the port city of Odessa, authorities said.
“The three-year-old child suffers from abrasions on his leg and is under medical supervision,” declared the governor of the region, Oleg Kiper, who reported six adults also injured.
A house was hit by a drone in the village of Velykyi Burluk, located about 100 kilometers from Kharkiv, resulting in a fire. The body of a 76-year-old man was pulled from the rubble, police said.
Thousands of people attended the funeral of Alexeï Navalny, Vladimir Putin’s main detractor, who died on February 16 in troubled circumstances in prison, on Friday March 1 in Moscow. During the day, the police proceeded to “at least 67 arrests in sixteen cities”including six in the Russian capital, during rallies in tribute to the former anti-corruption activist, according to the specialized NGO OVD-Info.
Emmanuel Macron will bring together the heads of the main parties at the Élysée on Thursday morning to discuss “the situation in Ukraine”AFP learned from the presidency and several political leaders.
France is doing everything possible to avoid a collapse of Ukraine without waging war on Russia, insisted the head of French diplomacy. “Everything we do is to avoid war and obviously not to add a level of worry to the French”assured Stéphane Séjourné, questioned about the possibility of sending European soldiers to Ukraine mentioned at the start of the week by the French president.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte signed a security agreement with Ukraine on Friday during a trip to Kharkiv, the country’s second city battling a Russian invasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced .
The head of Russian diplomacy Sergei Lavrov began a two-day visit to Turkey on Friday, whose leaders are trying to once again bring together Russian and Ukrainian officials around a table. The Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs participated in the Diplomatic Forum in Antalya (south), an annual meeting to which countries friendly to Ankara are invited, where he met with his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan.