An African mission is expected in kyiv on Friday June 16, then in Saint Petersburg the next day for peace mediation aimed at resolving the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. Four African heads of state, a prime minister and a special envoy are due to start talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, then his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
However, this mediation intervenes in the midst of the Ukrainian counter-offensive with an intensification of the fighting on the ground. “In times of escalating conflict, the search for a peaceful solution must be accelerated at the same time”said South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. But the last minute withdrawal of several members of the delegation seems to reduce the chances of success. Follow our live.
“Serious” but stabilized situation in the Zaporijjia power plant. “We can observe on the one hand that the situation is serious, the consequences are there and they are real”said Thursday the director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, after spending three hours at the Zaporizhia power station, occupied since last year by the Russians.
Slight Ukrainian “advances” on the front. In the south, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Ganna Maliar claimed Thursday a “gradual but sure progress” soldiers from kyiv. Ukrainian forces have also advanced by “more than three kilometers” in the last ten days in the Bakhmout area
Local elections in the occupied territories in September. The Russian electoral commission announced Thursday the organization of local elections on September 10 in the territories that Russia occupies in Ukraine and of which it claimed the annexation in September 2022. These polls aim, according to this body, to elect regional assemblies and municipal councils, even as fighting rages there.