The corridor to evacuate civilians from the besieged port of Mariupol in southeastern Ukraine, “did not work”, said Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk on Wednesday 20 April. She accused the Russians of violating the ceasefire and blocking buses, while an agreement “preliminary” had been obtained, she said. Franceinfo takes stock of what to remember from this day of war in Ukraine, where diplomatic announcements were numerous.
kyiv did not receive entire combat aircraft
Ukraine has received spare parts from the United States for its fighter jets to strengthen its air force, but not entire aircraft, said Pentagon spokesman John Kirby. He had however assured Tuesday that kyiv had received devices to strengthen. “I was wrong. They did not receive whole planes from another country”did he declare. “That said, the Ukrainians have received (…) enough spare parts and additional equipment to make more planes operational” than three weeks ago. “I regret this mistake”he confided.
The fall of Mariupol draws near
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense pointed out that the Russian army “focused most of his efforts on taking Mariupol and continued his assault attempts near the Azovstal steel plant”, the last island of resistance in this strategic port city, located on the Sea of Azov, at the southern end of the Donbass. Sviatoslav Palamar, deputy commander of the Azov battalion, one of the two Ukrainian formations still resisting in Mariupol, stressed in a video message on Telegram that the situation was “critical” in the factory shelled by the Russian air force with “super powerful bombs”. He called on international leaders to “save first” civilians in the factory.
Donbass undergoes “assault attempts”
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense has also reported “assault attempts” on the localities of Sulyguivka and Dibrivne, in the Kharkiv region (East), as well as on Rubizhne and Severodonetsk, in the Luhansk region (East). “The situation is getting more complicated every hour”wrote on Telegram the governor of Luhansk, Serguiï Gaïdaï, renewing his calls for civilians to evacuate. “Get to safety (…). Leave!”he wrote.
Russian intercontinental missile launch ‘not a threat’
John Kirby, spokesman for the US Department of Defense, assured that the firing of a Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile by Russia was an attempt to “routine” and did not constitute “not a threat” for the United States or its allies. Moscow has “suitably informed” Washington of this test, in accordance with its obligations under the nuclear treaties, and it was therefore not a “surprise” for the Pentagon. Vladimir Putin, for his part, welcomed this new generation missile launch “which will ensure Russia’s security in the face of external threats”.
Charles Michel assures that the Twenty-Seven will remain united
European Council President Charles Michel was the latest European leader to visit Kyiv. He assured that the EU would “everything possible” so that Ukraine “win the war”. “You are not alone, we are with you”, he assured. Russian President Vladimir Putin “will neither succeed in destroying the sovereignty of Ukraine nor in dividing the European Union”, he added. He hailed the ability of the Twenty-Seven to “making decisions together, unanimously” on several waves of severe sanctions adopted against Moscow.
More than a million Ukrainians have chosen to return to their country
More than a million Ukrainians have returned to their country since the start of the conflict, announced the spokesman of the Ukrainian service of the border guards, Andriy Demtchenko. He did not specify whether they were refugees who left during the Russian invasion or Ukrainians who were already living abroad before the war began on February 24. At the same time, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) announced that the number of Ukrainians who fled abroad has exceeded the symbolic threshold of five million.
Russian and Belarus players banned from Wimbledon
Wimbledon has excluded Russians and Belarusians from the 2022 edition of the London Grand Slam tournament due to the war in Ukraine. This is the first tennis tournament to individually dismiss these players, a decision heavily criticized by the ATP and WTA. Thus, Daniil Medvedev, world number 2, Andrey Rublev (8th), Aryna Sabalenka (4th and semi-finalist last year), Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (15th) and Viktoria Azarenka (ex-number 1, today 18th) will not be able to therefore not defend their chances on the London lawn.