Gazprom announces it will stop using a key gas pipeline for transit through Poland

Find here all of our live #UKRAINE

4:25 p.m. : The European Commission will help Ukraine to unblock its grain exports. How ? By creating a “connection platform”. As Russia imposes a blockade on Ukrainian ports, “20 million tons of grain stored in silos must leave Ukraine within three months [d’ici les prochaines récoltes] via EU infrastructure (…). We must optimize supply chains, avoid bottlenecks” at the borders, explains Transport Commissioner Adinea Valean.

3:05 p.m. : “We see this above all by looking at a sharp rise in inflation in Europe, which is approaching 20% ​​in some countries.”

Vladimir Putin is convinced of this: the West suffers more than Russia from the sanctions imposed on it. The authors of these sanctions, “guided by their inflated and blind ambitions and by Russophobia, deal a much harder blow to their own national interests, to their own economies and to the prosperity of their own citizens”, said the master of the Kremlin during a meeting devoted to economic issues.

2:50 p.m. : Gazprom will stop using a key gas pipeline for the transit of gas to Europe via Poland. The Russian gas giant took this decision in response to Western sanctions. The adoption of Russian counter-sanctions “means a ban on the use of a gas pipeline belonging to EuRoPol GAZ [qui exploite la partie polonaise du gazoduc Yamal-Europe] to transport Russian gas through Poland”the group said in a statement on Telegram.

1:38 p.m. : The evidence of abuses committed by Russian soldiers in Ukraine is accumulating. CNN has authenticated CCTV footage from a car dealership showing Russian soldiers gunning down unarmed civilians. (Warning, the video may offend the sensitivity.)

1:16 p.m. : It’s time for our best-of. Here are the contents that should not be missed on our site:

“I worked as a banker, travel agent, psychologist…” : behind the beautiful stories, our journalist Raphaël Godet investigated the difficulties of the French who welcome Ukrainians

Our journalist Pierre-Louis Caron takes stock of the health rules still in force.

Our journalist Benjamin Illy tells how the Finns tipped in favor of NATO.

1:13 p.m. : The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has managed to raise 1 billion euros to help Ukraine. This sum is added to the 2 billion euros already released at the start of the Russian invasion.

12:05 : At noon, here is a new point on the news:

Eric Zemmour announces his candidacy for the legislative elections in the 4th district of Var. Follow our live.

#NATO Finland’s president and country’s prime minister say they support membership “without delay” to NATO.

“The mask is still recommended”declares Olivier Véran on BFMTV, after the announcement of the end of the obligation to wear a mask in public transport from Monday.

Russia is “the most direct threat to world order”, says Ursula von der Leyen. Follow our live.

11:24 : A Russian airstrike on the city of Novgorod-Siversky, in northeastern Ukraine, left at least three dead and twelve injured last night, according to local emergency services. “The enemy carried out an airstrike, probably from a [chasseur] Su-30SM”communicate the Ukrainian forces.

11:01 a.m. : The transit of Russian gas to Europe via Ukraine will experience a drop of almost a third today compared to the previous day, according to the Russian giant Gazprom. Supplies are affected for the second consecutive day by the conflict.

10:39 : The world should not not run out of oil in the short term despite Russia’s growing isolation, the International Energy Agency estimates. An increase in production elsewhere than in Russia coupled with a “Slower demand growth, particularly in China, should fend off any acute short-term supply shortfalls.”she judges.

09:39 : The head of Ukrainian diplomacy asks that a place be “reserved” for his country in the European Union, even if the accession negotiations must last a long time. “We often hear that Ukraine belongs to the European family and now it is important to reserve this place” for the country in the EU, he believes.

09:31 : “Being a member of NATO would strengthen Finland’s security. As a member of NATO, Finland would strengthen the alliance as a whole. Finland must apply for NATO membership without delay.”

The Finnish President and the Prime Minister therefore say they are in favor of joining “without delay” to NATO, specifying that the decision of the Nordic country would be announced on Sunday to the transatlantic alliance.

09:31 : For its part, Sweden, which for almost two centuries has maintained an official policy of neutrality, should also take a stand on Sunday. The two countries could then together submit their candidacy to NATO at the beginning of next week. The ratification can then theoretically take several months, but the other countries of the alliance should logically accept this request.

09:32 : Finland will officially announce its decision on NATO membership Sunday. This is a small revolution for the country, neutral since the end of the Second World War and which has 1,300 km of common border with Russia.

09:33 : At 9 o’clock, here is a new point on the news:

Jean Castex will visit the Vatican on Sunday. Enough to fuel speculation on the timing of the appointment of the new government, the reshuffle could therefore take place at the beginning of the week. Follow our live.

“The mask is no longer compulsory in transport, but it remains recommended”declares Olivier Véran on BFMTV, after the announcement of the end of the obligation to wear a mask in public transport from Monday.

One person was killed and three others injured in southwestern Russia after shelling from Ukraine, according to Russian authorities. Russia is “the most direct threat to world order”, says Ursula von der Leyen. Follow our live.

North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un orders nationwide lockdown after first official case of Covid-19 detected. Until now, the dictatorship has boasted of keeping the virus at bay and has not vaccinated any of its 25 million inhabitants.

07:32 : French people are “generous and supportive” with the Ukrainians, but will give less for other causes. According to the Apprentis d’Auteuil barometer, among people who made a donation in 2021, one in five French people plan to give less than usual for other causes because they have already donated for Ukrainians.

07:58 : The situation of civilians in Ukraine is still just as worrying. The Pentagon says more than a million Ukrainian citizens have been deported in recent weeks. Volodymyr, who works in the humanitarian field, agreed to testify for franceinfo. “I had my hands permanently tied behind my back”confides this Ukrainian deported to Russia.

(RONALDO SCHEMIDT / AFP)

07:18 : “You almost find yourself adopting a family. I hadn’t properly measured the organizational impact.”

Lucie begins to scrutinize her accounts. Since March, she has been lending her 70 m2 three-bedroom apartment, which she usually rents for 1,200 euros per month, to two Ukrainian couples and their children. “I am faced with a dilemma: on the one hand, I would like to be able to recover the accommodation to re-let it by this summer; on the other, it is impossible for me to put them out.”

07:19 : Isabelle, Laure, Emmanuelle and Lucie helped a little, a lot, enormously the Ukrainian refugees who settled in France. More than two months after the start of the war, they regret absolutely nothing, neither the time nor the energy spent, except the impression of sometimes being overwhelmed by events, of having “banker, travel agent, shrink…” My investigation for franceinfo.

(ELLEN LOZON / FRANCEINFO)

06:30 : @elonmusk people say you come from another planet to teach people to believe in the impossible. Our planets are next to each other, as I live where it is nearly impossible to survive. Help us get out of Azovstal to a mediating country. If not you, then who? Give me a hint.

07:22 : A Ukrainian commander who is in the Azovstal factory in Mariupol calls for help from the American billionaire Elon Musk to intervene to save them. “People say you come from another planet to teach people to believe in the impossible. (…) Where I live, it is almost impossible to survive”the commander of the 36th Mariupol Marine Brigade wrote on Twitter.

07:24 : “[La Russie] is today the most direct threat to the world order with the barbaric war against Ukraine and its disturbing pact with China.

While traveling in Japan, the President of the European Commission spoke about the situation in Ukraine: “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is not just about Europe, but it is shaking the heart of the international order, including Asia. It must not be tolerated.”