A note from the British Ministry of Defense on Sunday noted “excessive alcohol consumption” in the ranks of the Russian army.
Rarely, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke by telephone on Sunday April 2 about the arrest of an American journalist in Russia. At the same time, in Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky hailed the resistance of his people in the town of Boutcha. Franceinfo takes stock of what to remember from the day on the conflict.
Washington calls for the “immediate” release of an American journalist arrested by Moscow
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke on the phone with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. asking for release “immediate” of an American journalist arrested this week in Russia on suspicion of espionage, he “expresses the great concern of the United States about the unacceptable detention” said reporter, said State Department spokesman Vedant Patel. For its part, Moscow denounced a “uproar” media. “It is unacceptable that Washington officials and Western media are creating a fuss with the clear intention of giving this matter a political dimension,” denounced the Russian Foreign Ministry in a statement. On the phone with his American counterpart, Sergei Lavrov recalled the accusations of espionage made by Russia against the journalist.
New deadly strikes in eastern Ukraine
The chief of staff of the Ukrainian presidency, Andriy Yermak, announced on Sunday on Twitter (in English) that the Russians had “carried out a massive bombardment” on Kostiantynivka, near Bakhmout, where fighting is raging, in the east of the country. “Residential buildings were damaged.he says, reporting a balance sheet of“at least three dead and six injured”.
Volodymyr Zelensky hails Ukrainian resistance against ‘the greatest force against humanity of our time’
“Ukrainian people! (…) You have stopped a force that despises and wants to destroy everything that matters to people,” launched the Ukrainian president on Sunday. “We will liberate all our lands. We will return the Ukrainian flag to all our cities and towns,” he also supported, while Russia still controls more than 18% of Ukrainian territory. Volodymr Zelensky spoke in Boutcha, one year to the day after the discovery of the bodies of civilians killed in this city which has become a symbol of the atrocities committed by the Russians. Moscow, for its part, has repeatedly denied any involvement and evoked a “staging” of Ukraine and its allies.
The Russian army plagued by “excessive alcohol consumption” in its ranks, according to the British authorities
A memo from the British Ministry of Defence, published on Twitter (in English) and relayed by the newspaper The Guardian (in English) noted on Sunday 2 April that “On March 27, 2023, a Russian Telegram news channel reported an ‘extremely high’ number of alcohol-related incidents, crimes and deaths among deployed Russian forces” in Ukraine. “Russian commanders likely consider pervasive alcohol abuse to be particularly detrimental to combat effectiveness,” the ministry continues, who notes that “Other leading causes of non-combat casualties are likely to include poor weapons practice, road accidents, and weather-related injuries, such as hypothermia”.