Did you miss the latest events on the war in Ukraine? Don’t 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
Tributes, minutes of silence, rallies… In many cities in Western countries, as well as in Ukraine, the beginning of the war was commemorated in many ways. In Paris, the Eiffel Tower was illuminated Thursday evening in the colors of the Ukrainian flag. In Berlin, the carcass of a Russian tank was installed in front of the Russian Embassy, the gun turned towards it. Strong symbols to remember that a year ago to the day, the Russians launched their invasion of the country.
The UN Security Council, for its part, observed a minute of silence on this occasion, including the representative of Russia, in memory of all the victims of the war. It was first the head of Ukrainian diplomacy Dmytro Kouleba, at the end of his speech, who rose to ask for this minute of silence “in memory of the victims of the aggression” in Moscow, before the Russian Ambassador Vasily Nebenzia does not rise in turn for “all the victims of what has happened in Ukraine since 2014”.
sentence of the day
If the partners keep their word and meet the deadlines, an inevitable victory awaits us”
Volodymyr Zelensky is aiming for an “inevitable victory” this year against Russia. The Ukrainian president, who has become the face of the Ukrainian resistance all over the world, has set the goal of defeating the Russian giant “this year”.
“If the partners keep their word and meet the deadlines, an inevitable victory awaits us,” he said in the afternoon during a press conference on the occasion of the first anniversary of the Russian invasion. “If the general [et chef d’état-major américain Mark] Milley wants us to repel the enemy faster, he must speed up the delivery of weapons, ”he added, seated in an armchair, dressed in a black sweater and khaki pants, flag and coat of arms of Ukraine behind him.
In Moscow, the number two of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev also promised “victory”, saying that Russia was ready to go to the “borders of Poland”.
The number of the day
A dozen Swedish Leopard tanks have been promised to kyiv. Sweden also announced the delivery of anti-aircraft systems. “The model we have is called 2A5,” said Defense Minister Pål Jonson. Germany announced for its part the delivery of four additional Leopard type 2A6 tanks, in addition to fourteen already planned, according to the Ministry of Defense. The tanks will therefore be sent as part of the German coordination group.
This Swedish promise comes the day after neighboring Finland announced that it would send three of its Leopard tanks. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also urged his allies on Friday to deliver the promised tanks to kyiv, after long hesitating to allow them to be sent to Ukraine.
The trend of the day
Alongside these new promises to deliver heavy tanks to Ukraine, the first Leopard 2s from Poland have arrived at their destination. “Today, the Polish Leopards are already in Ukraine,” said Mariusz Blaszczak, Polish Minister of Defense, during a meeting of the National Security Council, without giving details on the number of tanks handed over to Kiev. Poland is thus the first country to have offered to send these tanks of German design to Ukraine.
Warsaw has also said it is “ready” to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter planes. “Yes, we are ready to conduct training on F-16 fighter jets in Poland,” Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told reporters during his visit to Kyiv. “I emphasize that this must be agreed within the wider coalition, but Poland is ready to carry out such training,” he said.