Did you miss the latest events on the tensions in Ukraine? 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:
news of the day
The statement should not delight Vladimir Putin. This Tuesday, the Secretary General of NATO affirmed that Ukraine will become a member of the Atlantic Alliance “in the long term”. “NATO countries agree to Ukraine becoming a member of the alliance but, at the same time, it is a long-term prospect”, declared Jens Stoltenberg during a visit to Finland , calling for a “framework” to be built to prevent it from being attacked again in the future.
Ukraine’s entry into NATO is an absolute red line for Moscow, which invoked the risk of such integration occurring to explain its offensive. “The current question is to ensure that Ukraine remains an independent and sovereign nation and for that we must support Ukraine,” Jens Stoltenberg added to the press.
sentence of the day
Ukraine has always been Europe, Ukraine will always be Europe. »
This is a statement by Volodymyr Zelensky, one year to the day after kyiv applied for European Union membership. “This year, it is time to decide on the launch of accession negotiations” while Ukraine “brought the EU together like never before”, added the Head of State.
The number of the day
634 million euros. This is the cost of welcoming Ukrainians in 2022 according to the estimate of the Court of Auditors on Tuesday. The body notes exceptional care which represents on average double the budget allocated to “classic” asylum seekers. The nearly 115,000 displaced Ukrainians who have arrived in France over the past year have been received in “satisfactory conditions”, thanks to the unprecedented “temporary protection” regime which has enabled them to settle freely while benefiting from an unprecedented burst of social rights.
The trend of the day
The Ukrainian army reported on Tuesday an “extremely tense” situation around Bakhmout, at the epicenter of the fighting in eastern Ukraine where Russian troops are trying to encircle this city. Despite a strategic importance disputed by experts, Bakhmout has become a symbol of the struggle for control of the industrial region of Donbass. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who went there in December, had sworn to defend this fortress city “as long as possible”.
According to the commander of the Ukrainian ground forces, Oleksandre Syrsky, the Russian paramilitary group Wagner, on the front line in this battle, is trying to “break through the defense of our troops and encircle the city”. Wagner’s boss, Evguéni Prigojine, has claimed in turn in recent weeks the capture of localities around Bakhmout. Soledar fell in January, then Krasna Gora in February, and Saturday Yaguidné, located at the gates of the city.
As a result of this slow Russian push, three of the four routes allowing the Ukrainians to supply Bakhmout have been cut off, leaving only the one leading west towards Chassiv Iar, south of which the Russians are also trying to advance. .