Did you miss the latest events on the war in Ukraine? 20 minutes takes stock for you every evening at 7:30 p.m. 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
The head of Ukrainian diplomacy said on Tuesday that imminent “measures” would be taken to bring back to Ukraine men of fighting age who were abroad, a decision which immediately sparked criticism. Ukraine, which has been fighting the Russian invasion for two years, is in dire need of soldiers, especially as kyiv expects Russia to launch a new offensive in the coming weeks or months.
“The fact of staying abroad does not exempt a citizen from his duties towards his homeland”, justified Dmytro Kouleba s, announcing that he had ordered “measures to restore equity between men of age to be mobilized in Ukraine and those abroad. He did not specify the nature of these measures, limiting himself to saying that the ministry would “soon provide clarification” on new procedures to follow for “access to consular services”.
Ukraine bans men of fighting age from traveling abroad with few exceptions. But according to media estimates, tens of thousands of men have fled the country illegally to avoid going to the front. Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians also lived abroad before the invasion.
A number of Ukrainian personalities criticized the minister’s announcement, deeming it ineffective or even illegal. “This will not force any man who has gone abroad (…) to return to Ukraine and go to fight,” said Serguï Petoukhov, former deputy minister of Justice. Popular economist Serguiï Foursa denounced this decision as “revenge” and “populism” on the part of the government which, according to him, risks “dividing society” instead of organizing mobilization.
Today’s statement
“ Let’s not drag things out, let’s not make our friends around the world wait another moment »
Chuck Schumer, Democratic leader of the American Senators, calls on his counterparts this Tuesday to quickly vote on the enormous aid plan for Ukraine, adopted on Saturday in the House of Representatives after months of painful negotiations. Joe Biden promised his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday to send him military aid “quickly”, once the text was adopted in the Senate and then signed by him.
The number of the day
£500 million, or 619 million dollars or 580 million euros. This is the amount of additional aid for Ukraine announced this Tuesday in Warsaw by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. The United Kingdom must provide 60 boats, more than 1,600 missiles, among other things for anti-aircraft defense, as well as long-range Storm Shadow missiles. Added to this are nearly four million rounds of small arms ammunition, according to the British Ministry of Defense.
President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked London for this assistance “in terms of defense which emphasizes maritime and long-range capabilities”.
The United Kingdom will also significantly increase spending on its own armies by 2030, Rishi Sunak announced. The latter explained that this “greatest strengthening of national defense in a generation” was necessary when “an axis of autocratic states like Russia, Iran and China are increasingly working together to undermine democracies and reshape world order”.
The trend
In recent weeks, Russia has carried out several waves of devastating bombings on Ukraine’s power grid. And the fear of bombs invades the employees concerned. Of Ukraine’s 15 thermal power plants, at least 12 were damaged, forcing authorities to impose restrictions on consumption and import electricity from the European Union.
These attacks also put more pressure on Ukrainian nuclear power plants, which accounted for around half of electricity production before the Russian invasion launched in 2022. The country’s largest nuclear power plant, that of Zaporizhia (south), is occupied by Russian forces and its six reactors are shut down.
“Nuclear power plants may not be able to cope with this overload. The consequences will be very serious,” worries Oleksandre, production director of a coal-fired power plant managed by the operator DTEK. The latest strikes took place after dark and damaged facilities that had been repaired after previous bombings. The day after the attack, workers were already busy repairing offices, covering windows and replacing lamps.
At the time of the strike, most employees had gone to shelters, while essential workers remained at their posts in safer areas of the factory, barricaded behind sandbags. “Everyone who works here understands that it is possible that a similar attack could happen again,” notes Oleksandre. “How can we not be afraid when we know that the missile is flying directly towards us? », confides Youri, team leader. “We can be courageous, but everyone is afraid,” he adds.