Have you missed the latest events on the war in Ukraine? 20 minutes takes stock for you every evening at 7:30 p.m. Between the strong declarations, the progress on the front and the results of the battles, here is the main part of the day.
The fact of the day
Ukrainian Defense announced on X that it had struck a rescue ship of the Russian military fleet in the Black Sea, in the annexed Crimean peninsula. Launched in 1915 and having participated in both world wars, the Kommouna is responsible for high-seas rescues, sunken submarines or lost cargo, and is one of the oldest Russian military ships still in operation, kyiv said. Ukrainian navy spokesman Dmytro Pletenchuk said he did not know the precise nature of the damage caused by the attack, but that the ship was “no longer capable of performing its tasks.”
The number of the day
39. This is the number of young athletes from Kharkiv, a city in eastern Ukraine, who have been welcomed since Saturday in Lille (North) for a “respite stay” while their city is regularly under bombs. These 23 boys and 16 girls, aged 11 to 16, practice judo, football or rhythmic and sports gymnastics.
Today’s statement
“ This aid will strengthen Ukraine and send a strong signal to the Kremlin that this will not be a second Afghanistan. » »
These are the words of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky who, in the broadcast Meet the Press of the American channel CBS, added: “the United States will stand by Ukraine, protect Ukrainians and protect democracy around the world. »
Today’s trend
Russia assured this Sunday that it had taken control of the town of Bogdanovka in eastern Ukraine, increasing its pressure towards Chassiv Yar. Bogdanivka, a very small town of less than 100 inhabitants before the war, is located less than 10 kilometers from Chassiv Iar, a target town for the Russian army after the conquest of Bakhmut, further east, in spring 2023.
The town of Chassiv Iar, a hot spot on the eastern front, extends mainly less than 30 kilometers southeast of Kramatorsk, the main city of the Donetsk region under Ukrainian control which is an important railway and logistics hub for the Ukrainian army. Seizing it would offer Russian soldiers a chance to advance in the region.
Moscow’s announcement comes the day after the vote in Washington in favor of military and economic aid of nearly $61 billion to kyiv. Aid which should “thousands and thousands of lives”, according to Volodymyr Zelensky. Because on the ground, the Ukrainian forces lack ammunition, in addition to having difficulty recruiting new volunteers, after more than two years of a war which has exhausted the troops and damaged morale.
Our file on the war in Ukraine
However, if the American envelope should allow the Ukrainian troops to catch their breath in the face of a more numerous Russian army, the first deliveries of promised shells and ammunition will not affect the fighting “for several weeks”, warned the American Institute for the Study of War in its latest bulletin. In the meantime, the Russians could take advantage of the window left for a few weeks to continue shelling Ukrainian energy infrastructure, in addition to ground assaults, particularly in Donbass, a priority target for the Kremlin.
A Kremlin which has already warned that the new American aid would change “nothing” on the front.