The Russian armed forces threatened, Wednesday, April 13, to strike again the Ukrainian capital, yet returned to Ukrainian control since April 2. These threats of reprisals follow “attempts of sabotage and strikes by Ukrainian forces on targets on the territory of the Russian Federation”according to the Russian Defense Ministry. Franceinfo takes stock of what to remember from this day.
Zelensky finds Macron’s refusal to call the situation “genocide” ‘very hurtful’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky did not welcome the refusal of his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, to denounce a “genocide” in Ukraine by the Russian army. “If true, such comments are very hurtful to us”the Ukrainian president said at a press conference on Wednesday.
US promises new military aid
A refusal which goes all the more badly as earlier in the day, it was the American president, Joe Biden, who assured that he “is increasingly clear that Putin is simply trying to erase the very idea of being able to be a Ukrainian”.
In addition to this statement, the Head of State also assured that aid of 800 million dollars was released on Wednesday. “IIt could be heavy equipment refused so far for fear of causing an escalation with Russia, such as armored vehicles”according to the daily the worldciting several American media.
For its part, Moscow has forbidden its territory to 398 members of the United States Congress, in retaliation for a similar action taken by Washington on March 24.
A humanitarian ceasefire impossible according to the UN
The secretary general of the organization, Antonio Guterres, was pessimistic on Wednesday. He hoped for a humanitarian ceasefire in Ukraine, but at a press conference he clarified that the UN was still awaiting responses from Russia to concrete proposals for the evacuation of civilians and guaranteeing the delivery of humanitarian aid to war zones.
Ukraine ‘is a crime scene’, ICC says
ICC prosecutor Karim Khan of Britain called the country a “crime scene”during a visit to Boutcha, near kyiv, where hundreds of civilian bodies were found after the departure of the Russian troops. “This is the first time that a prosecutor at the International Court has traveled to an area where war is taking place”explained on franceinfo the lawyer in the Paris office and specialist in international law, Emmanuel Daoud.
“We are here because we have good reason to believe that crimes within the jurisdiction of the court are being committed”justified Karim Khan. “We must pierce the fog of war to get to the truth.”