Did you miss the latest events on the war in Ukraine? 20 minutes takes stock for you every evening. Between the strong declarations, the advances on the front and the results of the battles, here are the main points of the day.
The fact of the day
A local official of the Russian occupation in the Ukrainian region of Lugansk (East), Valéri Tchaika, died this Monday during the explosion of a “car bomb” in Starobilsk, pro-Russian authorities said. He was killed by “the detonation of an unidentified device” in the car, said the local Investigative Committee.
Valéri Tchaika held a management position in the administrative services of the Starobilsk district. An investigation was opened for a “terrorist act”, according to the same source, who added that the circumstances of the incident were being established.
In the past, car bombings blamed on Ukraine have repeatedly targeted pro-Russian officials in occupied Ukrainian regions. “Our comrade is dead,” Starobilsk city administration head Vladimir Chernev wrote on Telegram, adding that an investigation was underway.
The number of the day
15 years. This is the number of years in prison to which Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva could be sentenced. This reporter for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), a media outlet funded by the US Congress, was arrested last year for not having registered as a “foreign agent”, an infamous term. imposed by Russian justice which imposes heavy administrative constraints on the persons or entities concerned. According to her media, she is also accused of spreading “false information” about the Russian army.
This Monday, a court extended his detention until June 5, according to an AFP journalist present at the hearing. During the hearing on Monday in Kazan, capital of the Republic of Tartastan, Alsu Kurmasheva appeared smiling, but complained about her conditions of detention due to the poor state of her cell.
Sentence of the day
“ We expect China to send very clear messages to Russia” »
French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné on Monday called on Beijing to send “very clear messages to Russia” on the war in Ukraine and defended the maintenance of strong economic relations with the Asian giant. Because “obviously China plays a key role in independence, respect for international law including the sovereignty of Ukraine,” he said.
China, which presents itself as a neutral party but whose relationship with Russia has deepened since the start of the conflict, advocates a political settlement to end the fighting. It is regularly called upon by Western countries to play a more active role in this conflict, using its influence over Moscow.
Today’s trend
The Russian human rights organization Memorial expressed concern this Monday about the deterioration in the state of health of dissident Oleg Orlov, imprisoned for denouncing the offensive in Ukraine, accusing the authorities of subjecting him to “treatment inhuman.”
Oleg Orlov, aged 70, is “losing his hearing”, the NGO Memorial, co-winner of the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize and dissolved by Russian justice, reported on Telegram, for which the dissident worked. Although he asked the prison administration for medical help, Oleg Orlov “still cannot see a prison doctor due to having to leave his cell before lunch and not returning until late at night” due to ongoing legal proceedings to appeal his conviction.
Our file on the war in Ukraine
According to Memorial, the dissident fell ill because of these trips to court but justice “requires” that he continue to go there from his prison. A leading figure in the defense of human rights, Oleg Orlov was sentenced at the end of February to two and a half years in prison for having publicly denounced the offensive in Ukraine, an illustration of the implacable repression which has already driven almost all opponents Russians behind bars or in exile. Unlike many other critics of the Kremlin, he decided to stay in Russia to “continue the fight”.