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:
news of the day
This is the end of the “test phase” for the resumption of Ukrainian grain deliveries. Arriving in Istanbul on Tuesday evening, the ship carrying the first shipment of Ukrainian grain exports since the start of the war was inspected for just under an hour and a half in Istanbul on Wednesday. Turkish, Russian and Ukrainian experts took care of it.
The cargo of 26,000 tons then resumed its journey to Lebanon. According to kyiv, 16 other ships loaded with grain are waiting to leave Odessa, the main Ukrainian port which before the war concentrated 60% of the country’s port activity.
The phrase
This tense and absurd situation has been caused by restrictions and sanctions”
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has accused Russia of being responsible for blocking the delivery of a turbine needed by the Nord Stream gas pipeline. The Russian operator Gazprom points to Siemens Energy for not having sent the necessary documents to allow the turbine to be restarted, which the company denies. For Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, this situation is caused by Western sanctions against Moscow.
The number
1.5 billion euros. This is the huge loss recorded by Société Générale in the second quarter, affected by an exceptional charge for the sale in May of its Russian subsidiary Rosbank. Its net banking income (NBI), equivalent to turnover, amounted to 7 billion euros from April to June, up 12.8% over one year, driven by all businesses.
Excluding the Russian impact, the bank’s result amounted to +1.5 billion euros. This is more than in the second quarter of 2021.
The trend of the day
Shortly before midnight on Tuesday, the French Parliament ratified the accession protocols of Sweden and Finland to NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), by a vote of the National Assembly. France joins “20 allies” who “have already ratified the protocols,” said French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna.
Sweden and Finland, however, need ratification by the organization’s 30 member states to benefit from the protection of Article 5 of the NATO Charter in the event of an attack. And Turkey is threatening to “freeze” the process, accusing the two Scandinavian countries of benevolence towards the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and its allies that Ankara considers terrorist organizations.