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.
The fact of the day
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will pay an “official visit” to Russia “in the coming days”, the Kremlin announced on Monday. The dictator’s armored train “seems” to be on its way to Russian territory. “Respected comrade Kim Jong-un will meet and hold talks with comrade Putin during the visit,” Pyongyang state media said.
This visit comes as Washington suspects Russia, largely isolated since its assault on Ukraine and in search of armaments, of wanting to acquire military equipment from its North Korean ally. According to the American daily The New York Timesthis meeting is to take place in Vladivostok, about 700 km from Pyongyang.
The number of the day
70%. Like the percentage of votes claimed by Vladimir Putin’s “United Russia” party, which organized elections, particularly in the occupied Ukrainian territories. These elections are considered illegal by Ukraine and its allies. The European Union warned Russia on Monday that there would be “consequences” for all those involved in the organization of these elections which it deemed illegal.
Sentence of the day
It would be good for the words of a former head of state to be in line with the principles defended by France: sovereignty, the territorial integrity of States, the inviolability of borders…”
On Monday, Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna deemed Nicolas Sarkozy’s statements on the war in Ukraine “incomprehensible”. In an interview with Figaro In mid-August, the former president considered that Ukraine should “remain neutral” and join neither NATO nor the European Union. He also judged that in Crimea, annexed in 2014 by Moscow, “any return to the past is illusory”.
Today’s trend
The counter-offensive continues with difficulty. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense on Monday claimed “success” on the southern front, where its army has made slight progress in recent weeks, and in the east near Bakhmout. “Over the past week, about 2 km2 of territory has been liberated” near Bakhmout, and “a total of 49 km2 has been liberated” on the flanks of the city since the start of the Ukrainian counter-offensive in June, according to Deputy Defense Minister Ganna Maliar.
Ukraine also congratulated itself on Monday for having taken over from the Russians an oil and gas platform in the Black Sea controlled by Moscow since 2015. During the operation, “fighting took place between the Ukrainian special forces on board boats and a Russian Su-30 fighter plane,” he added, saying that “the Russian plane was damaged and had to retreat.