• “As Jacques Chirac said throughout his life, it’s time to fight against extremism.” Claude Chirac, the daughter of Jacques Chirac, launches a “Clear and clear call for the Macron vote”. Follow the situation in our live on the eve of the debate between the two rounds.
• Return match. Marine Le Pen claims to have learned the lessons of her failed debate in 2017 when it came to finding Emmanuel Macron for a new confrontation. But can this debate between the two rounds between the two finalists really change the result of the election? Response elements.
• New phase in the war in Ukraine. Russia launched its offensive on the Donbass last night. For the third consecutive day, no evacuation corridor for civilians could be organized this morning in Ukraine, for lack of an agreement with Russia. Follow the situation in our live.
• The city of Shanghai, confined since the beginning of the month, has announced seven new deaths from Covid-19 in the past 24 hours. This brings the total of deaths in the Chinese economic capital to 10.
08:54 : “Today, April 19, there is unfortunately no humanitarian corridor. Intense shelling continues in Donbass”Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk says on Telegram as Russia launched an offensive on Donbass last night.
08:52 : For the third consecutive day, no evacuation corridor for civilians could be organized this morning in Ukraine, for lack of an agreement with Russia.
07:55 : ? Can the Ukrainian resistance hold? ➡️ “In this region, it can hold out. Firstly because they are the best troops, and they are very well prepared”, according to General Dominique Trinquand.Follow the live ? https://t.co/0naQZOp7fu https: //t.co/6wQSApDK4g
07:55 : ?LIVE – ? V. Putin launches the Battle of Donbass ➡️ “It starts with extremely intense artillery preparations”, explains General Dominique Trinquand, for whom the Russian army “does not have the means to carry out the attacks on the ground that would allow him to “win.” https://t.co/t8nCiaUOw2
07:55 : Guest of franceinfo, General Dominique Trinquand believes that Russia “does not have the means to carry out ground attacks that would allow it to” win in the Donbass.
07:39 : On the road to Izyum, north of Sloviansk, very little information how far the Russians were able to push. Some villages are still under Ukrainian control but the troops are not present inside these villages, they stand ready in ambush in the forest.
07:39 : According to the authorities of Severiodonetsk, the Russians have still not entered the city, they remain on the outskirts, the Ukrainians fear an offensive at the beginning of the afternoon. Fighting in Lyman, 10km from Sloviansk. This is where the Russians seem to have made the most progress.
07:39 : Small update this morning regarding the Russian offensive: fighting on the entire front line of Donbas in the night but no Russian breakthrough. The Ukrainians were ready and for the moment they are resisting.
07:38 : A journalist who is in the Donbass draws up a balance sheet after the start of the Russian offensive on eastern Ukraine.
07:30 : “What is incomprehensible is that the self-proclaimed ex-Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk were already won over to the Russian cause”, notes Valéria Faure-Muntian. On February 21, three days before the start of the Russian offensive in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized the independence of these two pro-Russian separatist territories in eastern Ukraine. In the aftermath, the Russian deputies unanimously approved “agreements of friendship, cooperation and mutual aid” with two territories. We talked about it in this article.
06:46 : ? LIVE – ? Russian offensive on Eastern Ukraine➡️ “Last night, Russia sent back what it had free forces to Donbass because Vladimir Putin needs to post a victory”, says Valéria Faure-Muntian, LREM deputy born in Ukraine. https://t.co/M4w7g0WVuM
07:30 : “Last night, Russia returned what it had free forces (…) to the Donbass because Vladimir Putin and the Russian Federation need to show a victory”declares on franceinfo Valéria Faure-Muntian, LREM deputy born in Ukraine.
07:33 : While Russia has launched, according to Ukraine, its offensive on the Donbass, Joe Biden must participate in a virtual meeting devoted to the Russian offensive in Ukraine. The US President will discuss, “with allies and partners” of the United States, the “continued support for Ukraine and efforts to hold Russia to account”said a White House official.
07:34 : Let’s start the day with a first reminder of the titles:
• The Ukrainian President affirmed last night that the Russian army had begun its offensive in eastern Ukraine. This new phase of the invasion was announced by Moscow several weeks ago.
• On the eve of the big debate between the two finalists, Emmanuel Macron is ahead of Marine Le Pen by 12 points in the voting intentions for the second round, according to the daily barometer produced by Ipsos-Sopra Steria for franceinfo and Le Parisien-Today in France.
• The city of Shanghai, confined since the beginning of the month, has announced seven new deaths from Covid-19 in the past 24 hours. This brings the total of deaths in the Chinese economic capital to 10.
• L’israeli army carried out the first airstrikes in months on the Gaza Strip. This is retaliation for a rocket attack from this Palestinian enclave.