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06:44 : The Board of Directors of the World Bank yesterday approved an immediate additional assistance program for Ukraine, dubbed “Financing the recovery from an economic emergency in Ukraine” Where “Free Ukraine”with an immediate disbursement of $489 million.
06:41 : The Ukrainian general staff affirms this morning that the Russian army suffered losses and had to beat a retreat while trying to take Izium, a city in eastern Ukraine, near Donbass. He accuses Russia of bombing civilian infrastructure. Ukraine also accuses Russia of continuing to deploy new soldiers to Kiev, Mariupol and Kharkiv.
06:31 : Yesterday evening Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky released a new video in which he addresses his people, appearing in his office in Kyiv for the first time since the start of the Russian invasion: “I’m staying in Kiev (…) I’m not hiding. And I’m not afraid of anyone”, he says in particular. He also condemned the strike against an industrial bakery in Makariv, which left 13 dead. A translation of his speech in English has been posted online by the Presidency.
06:24 : The US Department of Defense announced last night the dispatch of 500 additional soldiers “in several places in Europe” in order to “strengthen NATO’s deterrence and defensive capabilities“. They are in addition to the 12,000 American soldiers sent to Europe in February, and to all those who are usually stationed there.
06:23 : For its part, Russia has sent to Ukraine almost all of the troops massed in recent months on the border between the two countries, more than 150,000 soldiers, the Pentagon estimated last night.
06:20 : According to the Ukrainian Parliament, President Volodmyr Zelensky has ordered the recall of all Ukrainian servicemen taking part in operations abroad to reinforce the national army.
06:17 : We will see this morning if the humanitarian corridors already promised by Russia yesterday materialize. They must be cleared at 8 a.m. Paris time (9 a.m. in Ukraine) around five cities: Kiev, Sumy, Kharkiv, Chernihiv and Mariupol. Evacuation routes were to be communicated last night by Moscow to Ukraine, but nothing has filtered since. Yesterday, the proposal for corridors leading mostly to Russia or Belarus was rejected by Ukraine and the international community.
06:26 : Here is an update on the main information of the last few hours:
Finally humanitarian corridors in Ukraine? Russia has promised ceasefires allowing the evacuation of civilians in five cities of the country, at 8 am (Paris time). Yesterday evening, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Moscow of having thwarted similar operations on several occasions. Here is the recap of the day yesterday.
For his first campaign trip, Emmanuel Macron has announced his wish to abolish the audiovisual license fee. He confirmed that he would not participate in any debate with the other candidates before the first round.
This March 8 is international day women’s rights. Calls to demonstrate have been launched in several cities in France. Yesterday, a barometer from the High Council for Gender Equality recalled the omnipresence of sexism in the daily lives of French women.