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2:43 p.m. : The leader of the “Republic” Pro-Russian separatist from Donetsk, at war with Ukraine, announced the evacuation of civilians to neighboring Russia, accusing Kiev of planning an invasion after an outbreak of clashes. “First, women, children and the elderly must be evacuated”said Denis Pushilin in a video posted on Telegram.
2:38 p.m. : What content should we not miss today on our site? Here are some suggested readings:
• Yesterday on France 2, Yannick Jadot made some declarations which deserved checks. Our article.
• To decipher the decision to withdraw French troops from Mali and its consequences, franceinfo interviewed Caroline Roussyresearcher at the Institute of International and Strategic Relations.
• Can we currently speak of a “Ukrainian conflict” when the old one has never been settled? In this article, we attempt to explain why the conflict with pro-Russian separatists was never resolved in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
2:30 p.m. : “With a concentration of Russian troops around Ukraine, I am deeply concerned about rising tensions and speculation of a military conflict in Europe.”
It would be “catastrophic” that the crisis between Russia and Ukraine is degenerating into war, Antonio Guterres said during his opening speech at the Munich Security Conference, which brings together many international leaders. He added that“there is no alternative to diplomacy”.
2:02 p.m. : It is 2 p.m., here is an update on the news:
• The gusts of wind, linked to storm Eunice, are strengthening to reach a peak during the afternoon with winds ranging from 120 to 140 km/h in the north of France, Meteo France alert. Five departments are still on orange alert.
• A war would be “catastrophic”has just warned the head of the UN. Earlier in the day,The bombings took place in Stanytsia Luganska, a city in eastern Ukraine under the control of government forces, noted AFP journalists on the spot. Follow our live.
• The First Lady Brigitte Macron summoned to court from Paris two women who spread transphobic rumors against him, learned France Télévisions from a judicial source.
• After new apologies pronounced by Nordahl Lelandais this morning, the Isère Assize Court withdrew to decide the fate of the accused, tried in particular for the kidnapping and murder of Maëlys De Araujo in 2017. Yesterday, the public prosecutor’s office had requested life imprisonment.
1:18 p.m. : US President Joe Biden will hold a videoconference today on the Ukraine crisis with several leaders, European sources have confirmed. Justin Trudeau (Canada), Ursula von der Leyen (President of the European Commission), Charles Michel (President of the European Council), Mario Draghi (Italy), Jens Stoltenberg (head of NATO), Olaf Scholz (Germany) will participate. , Andrzej Duda (Poland), Klaus Johannis (Romania), Boris Johnson (United Kingdom) and Emmanuel Macron, said the Elysee.
1:08 p.m. : The United States is still observing more Russian troops moving towards the border regions with Ukraine, declared in Warsaw the American Secretary of Defense, LLoyd Austin. “Although Russia has announced that it is bringing its forces back to garrison, we have not seen it yet”he said after a meeting with his Polish counterpart Mariusz Blaszczak.
11:57 : According to AFP journalists on site, new shelling is underway near Stanytsia Luganska, a town in eastern Ukraine under the control of government forces fighting pro-Russian separatists.
11:38 : In this context, Russia announces that Vladimir Putin will supervise, tomorrow, important military maneuvers, including the firing of ballistic and cruise missiles. “A planned exercise”underlines Moscow, which intends “test the reliability of strategic nuclear and non-nuclear weapons”. No apparent connection to the Ukrainian crisis, but a show of force nonetheless.
11:32 am : Are you a little lost on the conflict between the Ukrainian government and the pro-Russian separatists? We explain to you why tensions continue in the Donetsk and Luhansk regionseight years after the takeover by rebels in these territories of Donbass.
(ALEXANDER NEMENOV / AFP)
11:26 : Accused by Russia of preparing an attack against the separatist territories in the East or the annexed peninsula of Crimea, Ukraine denies. “We are strengthening our defense, but we do not intend to carry out any offensive”assures Kiev.
(EyePress News / AFP)
11:22 : How many Russian soldiers are there on the Ukrainian borders? According to Kiev, the ground forces sent by Moscow amount to 129,000 and the total rises to 149,000 including the naval and air forces. Washington, for its part, reported a deployment of more than 150,000 Russian soldiers.
11:16 a.m. : Could France intervene militarily in the event of a Russian invasion of Ukraine? The Minister for the Armed Forces recalls that “several hundred” of French soldiers currently in Estonia in the ranks of NATO could be “deployed in Romania”a member country of the Atlantic Alliance and bordering Ukraine.
10:12 a.m. : Meanwhile, on the ground, the Ukrainian army and pro-Russian separatists accuse each other of new bombardments in the east of the country, plagued by a new outbreak of violence. Yesterday, a kindergarten was hit in Stanitsa Luganska, a small town under government control. Three school employees were injured.
10:08 : “I wish we could see that it’s not about rotations but about withdrawals.”
Despite the “inflections announced” by Russia, the head of French diplomacy calls on Moscow to “inflections made”with notable departures of troops massed on the Ukrainian borders.
08:03 : These new announcements of Russian withdrawals come as the annual Munich security conference opens. US Vice President Kamala Harris, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are expected to attend. This year, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has no plans to go there.
08:01 : Russia announces the withdrawal of troops and tanks deployed near the Ukrainian border, which return to their garrisons. Moscow also says it has withdrawn ten bombers positioned in annexed Crimea.