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
Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson… Russia celebrated this Friday the first anniversary of the claimed annexation of four regions of Ukraine. Thousands of people gathered at the emblematic Red place.
In the crowd, a veritable sea of Russian flags, which were distributed to the participants. In front of them, the stage is surrounded by screens bearing the slogan “one nation, one family, one Russia”, the title of the concert. And just above, sits the inscription “Donbass is the New Russia”, a reference to the project aimed at creating a Russian territory in the Ukrainian South and East, denounced as “imperialist” by Kiev.
A year ago, shortly after signing the documents ratifying the annexation of these four Ukrainian regions, Vladimir Putin spoke during a festive concert on this same Red Square, declaring to the inhabitants of these territories : ” Welcome to the house “. The Russian president was not expected on Red Square this Friday, but the presenter of the event preached the same speech. “Exactly one year ago, historical justice triumphed,” he said before the start of the concert.
The number of the day
8. The number of years in prison – eight and a half years to be precise – that Russian blogger Alexander Nozdrinov received for a publication criticizing his country’s assault on Ukraine. Alexander Nozdrinov was found guilty of “spreading false information” concerning the Russian army, an article of the Penal Code introduced at the start of the Russian offensive in Ukraine, reported the specialized NGO Net Freedoms Project.
According to the NGO Memorial, this blogger from the region Kuban (south) published in March 2022 on Telegram a photo of a damaged apartment building in kyiv with the ironic message: “Ukrainian cities after the arrival of the liberators”. Alexandre Nozdrinov, arrested shortly after and who has been in pre-trial detention since, denies being the author of this message, according to the same source.
According to OVD-Info, yet another NGO, nearly 20,000 people have been arrested in Russia since the start of the offensive in Ukraine for their opposition to the war, and sometimes sentenced to heavy sentences. Memorial counts 601 political prisoners currently behind bars in Russia
Sentence of the day
“Is it appropriate to start negotiations with a country at war?”
The question is asked by Viktor Orban. This Friday, the Hungarian Prime Minister, reluctant to welcome Ukraine into the European Union, warned Brussels against opening accession discussions due to the many uncertainties linked to the Russian invasion. “We do not know the dimensions of the territory due to the ongoing war. Nor the size of its population given the flow of refugees,” he stressed.
Hungary maintains tense relations with kyiv: although a member of NATO, it refuses to provide any military contribution and maintains links with the Kremlin. Budapest also continues to fan the embers of an old dispute, relating to the rights of the Hungarian minority in western Ukraine. It has some 100,000 members, who became Ukrainians after the dismantling of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the end of the First World War.
Today’s trend
Vladimir Putin asked a former lieutenant of Yevgeni Prigojine, boss of the Wagner group who died in the crash of his plane at the end of August, to train volunteers to fight in Ukraine.
According to Vladimir Putin, Andrei Trochev, nicknamed “Sedoï” (gray hair, in Russian), has the experience to carry out such a mission, three months after the paramilitary group’s failed attempt at rebellion in Russia.
A retired colonel, he is often described as one of the founders of Wagner and is under European sanctions for having been “directly involved in the group’s military operations (…) in Syria”, according to an EU document dated end of 2021.
“You know the questions that must be resolved in advance so that the combat work takes place in the best way and with the most success possible,” the Russian president, for his part, argued to the former soldier. Vladimir Putin’s request, made official in the presence of his Deputy Defense Minister, further demonstrates the integration of Wagner veterans into the Russian army.