Did you miss the latest events on the tensions 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
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday promised “victory” to his people from the strategic town of Izium, recaptured from the Russians during a surprise counter-offensive. This is the first trip by the Ukrainian head of state to the Kharkiv region since the liberation of the area this month, almost entirely reconquered by his forces in barely 15 days.
Izioum, a city of nearly 50,000 inhabitants before the war, had been the subject of deadly fighting in the spring before being taken by the Russians who made it a strategic node for the supply of their troops. Its reconquest by kyiv is therefore a major setback for the Russian army, which has retreated to Donetsk, an area under Kremlin control since 2014. “We are only advancing in one direction, forward, towards victory”, wrote Volodymyr Zelensky on Telegram.
sentence of the day
Two weeks ago, I would have said that the whole of Donbass would be in Russian hands in six months. Today, I say that they will not succeed”
This is the observation of the inspector of the German army, General Eberhard Zorn. However, he called on Wednesday for caution about the Ukrainian counter-offensive, which he said was insufficient to “roll back Russia on a broad front”.
The number of the day
$300 million. This is the sum that Russia would have committed since 2014 to influence the elections of more than twenty countries, according to American intelligence. The United States “considers these to be minimum estimates, and that Russia likely secretly transferred more funds that were not detected,” a senior US official said.
The trend of the day
Promising Europe’s “unwavering solidarity” with Ukraine and firmness with Moscow, the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen assured on Wednesday that the EU would initiate “an in-depth reform” of the electricity to help citizens and businesses overcome soaring prices.
During her “state of the EU” speech, an exercise inspired by American politics, Ursula von der Leyen honored Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska, before announcing her departure for kyiv.
During her visit to Ukraine, the President of the European Commission must discuss “in detail” the continuation of European aid with President Volodymyr Zelensky. The time was “not for appeasement” with Russia and “the sanctions are not about to be lifted”, she underlined in a serious tone.