Did you miss the latest events on the war in Ukraine? 20 minutes takes stock for you every evening. 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
Russia is gaining ground. This Wednesday, Moscow claimed progress on two fronts, which Vladimir Putin welcomed. “Our troops are constantly, every day, improving their position in all directions,” the Kremlin leader said during a meeting broadcast on television.
The Russian army would have succeeded in taking three new localities including Glibokié and Lukiantsi, located on the northeastern front, in the Kharkiv region. These two villages are located to the south of several other localities already conquered in recent days, a sign of the Russian push in this area in the face of Ukrainian soldiers lacking arms and ammunition. It also claims to have retaken the completely destroyed village of Robotyné, near Zaporizhzhia. A symbolic place because it was one of the rare Ukrainian conquests during the counter-offensive in the summer of 2023.
To slow down this breakthrough, kyiv announced the sending of reinforcements to the region. “Reserves are available,” said the president’s spokesperson. As for Volodymyr Zelensky, he canceled all his trips abroad, including the one planned for Friday in Madrid.
Sentence of the day
“ Only one word is enough to describe this evening: inappropriate »
Traveling to kyiv since Tuesday, the head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken took a moment of relaxation in a bar that same evening, where he grabbed a guitar to sing Rockin’ in The Free World by Neil Young. A choice which is not insignificant since it was a question of paying tribute to the struggle of the Ukrainians against the invasion of Russia. Except that many residents considered this performance inappropriate in the midst of Moscow’s offensive in the Kharkiv region.
Svitlana Matvienko, director of a Ukrainian NGO, said on Facebook that this evening was “inappropriate”, citing a “total lack of understanding of the situation” and “empathy” on the part of American officials.
“The message is not complicated but it does not get through,” said Bogdan Yaremenko, a deputy from the presidential party and ex-diplomat. “With all respect, it’s a mistake,” comments Valéry Tchaly, a former Ukrainian ambassador to the United States, in the same vein.
The number of the day
8,000. This is the number of people who have been evacuated from the Kharkiv region since May 10, the start of the surprise Russian ground offensive. “Most of them are women, elderly people, people with reduced mobility, people with disabilities and children,” emergency services said in a message posted on Telegram.
Today’s trend
The pro-Russian media Voice of Europe soon to be banned from broadcast? In any case, this is the wish expressed by the 27 ambassadors of the European Union. On Wednesday, they reached an agreement to this effect.
In March, Czech intelligence indicated that it had uncovered a network financed by Moscow which aimed to spread propaganda favorable to Russia in Europe, particularly targeting the European Parliament before the European elections in June.
The group used the information website Voice of Europeheadquartered in Prague, to disseminate information intended to dissuade the EU from sending aid to Ukraine.