The Belgorod region, in Russia, was the scene of new bombardments on Sunday, October 16, a territory increasingly affected by these strikes. France has announced, through its Minister for the Armed Forces, that it will train “up to 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers”, in particular on the specific needs of the forces in kyiv. Franceinfo takes stock of the day’s news on the the war in Ukraine.
New strikes on the Belgorod region, near Ukraine
Incidents have multiplied in recent days: new bombings have hit the Russian region of Belgorod, bordering Ukraine, causing at least four injuries, a type of incident that has multiplied in recent days. On Telegram, the governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said that three members of the same family had been injured during a bombardment on Belgorod, the capital of the eponymous region. Two of the injured, hit by shrapnel, were taken to hospital.
In a statement, the Russian Investigative Committee said that “nearly 16 explosions” had been heard on Sunday in this city of 330,000 inhabitants which, since the start of the offensive in Ukraine, had rarely been hit by shots.
Saturday, the governor Vyacheslav Gladkov announced a bombardment on an oil depot near Belgorod. The day before, a power plant had been hit in Belgorod, causing a power outage. This large city had so far been little affected by fire, unlike other localities in the region closer to the Ukrainian border, where deadly strikes have already taken place on several occasions in recent months.
France will “train up to 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers” on its soil, announces a minister
On French soil, the authorities will train “up to 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers” on its soil, announced the Minister for the Armed Forces, Sébastien Lecornu, in an interview with Parisian (article subscribers).
These soldiers “will be assigned to our units for several weeks”he explained, stressing that the training will cover three levels: “the general training of the combatant”, “then on specific needs reported by the Ukrainians, such as logistics”and “a third level of training on the equipment provided”.
The UN has shown its limits with the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, according to the pope
Pope Francis calls for reform of the United Nations which has “shown its limits” with the war in Ukraine, according to a new book by the Argentine pontiff whose daily La Stampa published an excerpt on Sunday. “When we talk about peace and security at the global level, the first organization we think of is the United Nations (the UN) and, in particular, its Security Council. The war in Ukraine has once again put highlights the need to ensure that the current multilateral structure finds more agile and effective paths towards conflict resolution”believes François.