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.
The fact of the day
Surprise visit by Volodymyr Zelensky to NATO headquarters. The Ukrainian president thus participated in a meeting of NATO defense ministers. “We need the support of the leaders, that is why I am here,” declared Zelensky who had said the day before he was worried about the consequences on the contribution of the allies to his country of the war between Israel and Hamas.
“Dear friends, we must win the winter battle against terror,” he declared before the member countries of the Ramstein Group. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, whose country is the main contributor to the Ukrainian war effort, wanted to reassure him at the start of the meeting. “We are here to deliver what it takes, for as long as it takes,” he said.
He announced new American military aid amounting to $200 million for Ukraine in the form of anti-aircraft defense systems, a crucial need for Ukraine before the winter. This aid will bring the total of American military support to 43.9 million dollars, he assured. “Anti-aircraft defense is a significant part of the response,” Zelensky said, thanking his allies for the help already received.
The number of the day
2. Like the number of informants that the Ukrainian services (SBU) say they have identified after the strike on the village of Groza, which killed 55 people. According to an SBU press release, “two local residents: Volodymyr Mamon, 30, and his younger brother, Dmytro Mamon, 23” collected and gave the Russians the information necessary for this strike. The two men “fled to Russia” in September 2022 after the region was liberated by the Ukrainian army. From there, they “formed their own network of informants” in order to inform the Russian army about operations in areas controlled by kyiv, according to the same source.
Sentence of the day
Mines and shells [non explosés] Russians in Ukraine are a problem that must be solved together »
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Chmygal called for more aid for mine clearance at a donor conference hosted by Croatia. He said some six million people are directly at risk of mines after a large-scale mining campaign carried out in combat zones since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Around 30% of Ukraine’s territory is estimated to be contaminated, according to figures from Kiev. Unless the demining process is accelerated, “it will take several decades to demine Ukraine,” added Denys Chmygal. Responding to this call, the British Ministry of Defense announced on Wednesday that Ukraine would benefit from new support of more than 100 million pounds sterling (115 million euros), including mine clearance systems.
Today’s trend
Who gains the upper hand in Avdiïvka? The Russian army assured on Wednesday that it had “improved” its positions thanks to its large-scale offensive around this town in eastern Ukraine, without giving further details. For its part, Ukraine reported “massive attacks” by Russian soldiers, warning that they were trying to surround Avdiïvka, before saying at the end of the day that they had succeeded in “preventing the loss of positions”.
Avdiïvka, built around a large coking plant, is located 13 km from Donetsk, the capital, under Russian control, of the eponymous region whose annexation Vladimir Putin claimed a year ago. It has been close to the front line since 2014, when the war began between the Ukrainian army and separatists led and armed by Russia, following the annexation of the Crimean peninsula. This area is therefore particularly fortified.