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
Volodymyr Zelensky traveled on Tuesday to Bakhmout, a city in the east of his country ravaged by intense fighting against Russian forces which have been trying to take it since the summer and currently the hottest point on the front.
This surprise visit by the Ukrainian president close to the fighting appears as a challenge to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin who, at the same time, was presenting decorations in the Kremlin to pro-Russian soldiers and separatist leaders in eastern Ukraine. . The Ukrainian head of state “met soldiers, spoke with them” on the spot, said the press service of the presidency, without further details.
A video broadcast by the Ukrainian state channel Freedom showed him taking a photo of himself alongside soldiers in a building and giving them medals. “Here in the Donbass, you protect all of Ukraine. It’s not just Bakhmout, it’s the Bakhmout fortress,” he told the soldiers.
The number of the day
100,000. This is the number of employees in the information technology sector who have left Russia this year, according to Russian authorities. This significant figure illustrates the risk of brain drain in the midst of the offensive against Ukraine. “Up to 10% of IT company employees have left the country and not returned. In total, some 100,000 IT specialists are abroad,” said Minister of Digital Development Maksout Shadayev, quoted by Russian news agencies.
According to him, 80% of those who left Russia, however, continue to work for a Russian company, such jobs being particularly compatible with remote work. Many of those who have left Russia have settled in Turkey, Georgia, Armenia, the United Arab Emirates or even Central Asia, from where they can continue to work and therefore receive their salary to meet their needs.
sentence of the day
“Are we capable of protecting our independence on our own, without Russia? Nope ! “.
The shock sentence was launched Monday by the Belarusian president after talks with Vladimir Putin in Minsk. “Russia can do without us, and we cannot do without her,” he also assured. “And if someone thinks that he could separate us today, drive a wedge between us, they will not succeed,” added Alexander Lukashenko.
The trend of the day
Vladimir Putin will set his army’s goals for the year 2023 during a meeting with senior military officials on Wednesday, in the ninth month of Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine. “Vladimir Putin will hold an expanded meeting of the Russian Ministry of Defense (…). The results of the activities of the Russian Armed Forces in 2022 will be summarized, the tasks for next year will be defined,” the Kremlin said in a statement.
The Russian Minister of Defense, Sergei Shoigu, will participate in this meeting in particular to “report on the progress of the special military operation” in Ukraine and the deliveries of armaments to the armed forces, added the Kremlin. About 15,000 Russian army officials will take part in this event by videoconference.