“The war in Ukraine has reached a turning point. These are the words of Joe Biden who, on Thursday, during a meeting at the White House assured that “the Russians are not (relaxing) in anything” before announcing an increase in American support for Ukraine. Before him, Emmanuel Macron, on Wednesday, announced the good news by telephone to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky: France will deliver French-made AMX-10 RC (cannon wheel) light combat tanks to its ally. A first which delighted Volodymyr Zelensky, who split a “Thank you my friend! on Twitter towards his French counterpart. And if on the cooperation front the news is good, on the ground, in Ukraine, the duels continue. The New Year’s Eve strike against Russian soldiers in Makiivka marked the spirits and, despite the truce, fighting continued in the east of the country.
Here is a point in four infographics on this new week of tensions, ending this Friday, the 316th day of conflict, when for the first time a major truce is announced in Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022 .
Strikes despite the truce
Artillery duels still took place this Friday in Bakhmout, the epicenter of the fighting in eastern Ukraine (see infographic above), despite the entry into force of a ceasefire. unilateral fire decreed by Russia on the occasion of Orthodox Christmas. The deputy head of the Ukrainian presidential administration, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, also reported two Russian strikes on Kramatorsk (east) having hit a residential building without causing any casualties. Earlier, before the truce, he had mentioned a Russian bombardment on Kherson (south). The pro-Russian separatist authorities in eastern Ukraine, for their part, reported several Ukrainian bombardments on their stronghold of Donetsk after the theoretical entry into force of the ceasefire.
Vladimir Putin, for his part, called on the Ukrainian forces on Thursday to respect this truce in order to give the possibility to the Orthodox, the majority confession in Ukraine as in Russia, “to attend services on Christmas Eve, as well as on the day of the Nativity of Christ”. This ceasefire must continue until midnight on January 7 and, for its part, the Russian army ensures that it is respecting its truce, accusing the Ukrainian troops of “continuing to bombard Russian towns and positions”.
Critics after Makiivka
Critics mounted this week in Russia after the New Year’s Eve strike against Russian soldiers in Makiivka, eastern Ukraine (see infographic above). The death toll is 89 according to Moscow, which has questioned the use of mobile phones by the military.
The Ukrainian general staff confirmed having carried out this strike and the strategic communications department of the Ukrainian army claimed a much heavier toll in the Russian ranks, amounting to 400 dead and 300 wounded. This assertion, however, has not been confirmed by the staff. The United States has not commented on these figures either. But John Kirby, spokesman for the US National Security Council, said there is “no lament from the (US) administration. It’s the war. (The Ukrainians) have been invaded and they are fighting back and defending themselves”.
Russian General Sergei Sevrioukov assured Wednesday that “the necessary measures are being taken to avoid such tragic events in the future” and that “those responsible will be held to account”. It is the heaviest toll in a single attack admitted by Moscow since the start of the offensive in February, which comes after a series of embarrassing military setbacks on the ground.
Hundreds of tanks
The United States and Germany will deliver to Ukraine infantry armored vehicles, of the Bradley type on the American side and of the Marder model on the German side, taking a new step forward in Western military support to kyiv in the fight against the invasion Russian. Germany, under international pressure to beef up its military assistance to Ukraine, has also pledged to provide a Patriot anti-aircraft defense battery, as the United States has already done. The two countries remained vague on how many tanks they will supply to kyiv and on the delivery schedule, but Pentagon spokesman General Pat Ryder said the Bradleys were part of a new tranche. aid to Ukraine to be announced on Friday. According to the magazine Der Spiegelthe number of Marder armor provided will be between 20 and 40.
France, for its part, promised Ukraine on Wednesday to deliver AMX-10 RC light combat tanks, which had further increased the pressure on the German Chancellor, regularly accused of dragging his feet when it comes to to support Ukraine militarily. Mobility, speed, agility, etc. These French, American and German armored vehicles promised by Paris, Washington and Berlin to Ukraine are supposed to allow a breakthrough against the Russians, which the Ukrainian army is now deemed capable of by Westerners.
Good news… on the inflation front
The good news is confirmed on the inflation front in Europe, with a slowdown in the rise in prices at the end of 2022 which continues during this first week of 2023. The annual inflation rate in the euro zone has fell in December for the second consecutive month, to 9.2%, after 10.1% in November, Eurostat announced on Friday. Driven by gas, oil and electricity prices, and to a lesser extent by food prices, inflation worsened from spring 2022 with market disruptions linked to the war in Ukraine .
This week, as we can see in the infographic above, consumer price inflation has fallen back below the symbolic 10% mark for the first time since October, when it hit a record high of 10.6. %, after a year and a half of uninterrupted rise. The ebb is stronger than anticipated by analysts from Bloomberg and Factset, who forecast inflation at 9.5% and 9.7% respectively in December.
The fall in inflation reinforces the idea “that the most apocalyptic scenarios envisaged a few months ago will be avoided”, commented this Friday Andrew Kenningham, expert of Capital Economics for Europe. The latter expects a “sharp decline” in inflation in 2023, in particular thanks to the recent fall in wholesale gas prices.