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11:25 p.m. : “Russian balloons” shot down over Kiev, request for 5.2 billion euros for humanitarian aid by the UN… Here is the main information on the war in Ukraine this Wednesday.
10:31 p.m. : Did you miss them? Here is a selection of articles that should not be missed on our site today:
• Russia adopts the “Okulus” system, a tool for censoring online content. An instrument that marks a new stage in web monitoring. Explanations.
• Suspicion of interference with BFMTV: behind the case of Rachid M’Barki, the “Story Killers” investigation reveals the role of an Israeli disinformation agency
• Faced with soaring prices, five families open their fridges and reveal their new eating habits. Here are their testimonials.
10:14 p.m. : Good evening @Grenobledu77, thank you for your question. Ukraine announced during the day that the city of kyiv was flown over by six balloons carrying metal reflectors hanging from a rope, according to local authorities. Most have been destroyed. The authorities will collect the remains of the destroyed objects to analyze them, specified the regional military administration of Kiev, which suspects Russia of sending these balloons to activate the Ukrainian anti-aircraft defense systems and locate them. For more information, I invite you to follow our live.
10:13 p.m. : Good evening. “Russian balloons” shot down in Ukraine?
8:11 p.m. : “This announcement marks a step forward in the massification of censorship, with an automation of control”, comments Kevin Limonier, lecturer at the French Institute of Geopolitics. Find more explanation in this article.
8:10 p.m. : The software will accelerate the targeting of visual content violating Russian legislation: extremist theses, calls for illegal demonstrations, incitement to suicide and drug use, and LGBT propaganda.
8:10 p.m. : There Russia adopts the “Okulus” system, a tool to censor online content. Officially, the objective is to combat violations of Russian law, but above all this instrument marks a new stage in web surveillance.
5:10 p.m. : The city of kyiv was flown over by six balloons carrying metal reflectors hanging from a rope, announce the local authorities. Most have been destroyed. Some observers refer to Russian intelligence missions, but others refer to mere decoys. “The enemy wants us to spend our resources” anti-aircraft on inexpensive targets, Yuri Ignat, spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force, explained yesterday.
5:03 p.m. : The UN calls for more than 5 billion euros for humanitarian aid in 2023. The United Nations humanitarian agencies call for:
• 3.9 billion dollars (3.62 billion euros) to help 11.1 million people in Ukraine.
• 1.7 billion dollars (1.57 billion euros) for refugees living elsewhere in Europe.
4:50 p.m. : All forces of the Ukrainian army are now concentrated in Bakhmout, in the east of the country. The fights are particularly intense.
(FRANCE TELEVISION)
5:02 p.m. : “It’s not easy for our soldiers in the east but it’s not for nothing that we speak of the ‘Bahmut fortress’. Our fortress is alive.”
This was stated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a press conference in kyiv with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.
5:00 p.m. : Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov retains his post. “The president made this decision”, he said on the sidelines of the summit of allies of kyiv in Brussels (Belgium). Oleksiy Reznikov had been at the heart of reshuffle rumors for ten days, after corruption scandals marred his ministry. Yesterday, three new deputies were appointed.
(NURPHOTO VIA AFP)
5:47 p.m. : At 87, Oleksandra is preparing to go alone, in the middle of the war, into enemy territory: her grandson, Dima, 15, has been taken by the Russians behind the front line. The journalists of “Special Envoy” accompanied this Ukrainian grandmother to the station who will leave her village near Kharkiv for the first time for a long journey. Here is an excerpt from the subject which will be broadcast tomorrow evening on France 2.
(SPECIAL ENVOY / FRANCE 2)
4:29 p.m. : The American company Viatris has stopped delivering Viagra tablets to Russia, the Ministry of Industry and Trade warns the Interfax agency (in Russian). This decision was announced last December, but it takes effect today. The Russian government, however, assured that projects were underway to find a substitute product, using the same active substance (sildenafil).
1:31 p.m. : And ten. The European Commission is preparing a tenth set of sanctions to mark a year of Russian invasion, announces its president, Ursula von der Leyen. The Iranian regime will be targeted in particular, in connection with the “drones made in Iran that Russia uses on the battlefields in Ukraine”.
10:52 : Several announcements have already been made, yesterday, during the first meeting day of this “group of Ramstein”. One concerns the supply of a Mamba anti-aircraft defense system (SAM-T), the equivalent of the Patriot, by France and Italy. A weapon worth 500 million euros.
(Thomas SAMSON / AFP)
10:51 a.m. : “Combat planes are not the most pressing issue but a discussion is underway”assures the head of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg. “The issue of anti-aircraft defense and the issue of ammunition resupply are much more important”insists Germany.
10:51 a.m. : On the military level, NATO members are continuing their discussions today in Brussels to speed up their arms deliveries to Ukraine. There is talk of artillery, armor and anti-aircraft defense, but not yet of the combat aircraft claimed by kyiv.
10:50 a.m. : “The suffering of the Ukrainian people is far from over. They continue to need international support.”
The UN is asking for 5.6 billion dollars (5.2 billion euros) to cover the humanitarian needs this year of the population in Ukraine and of the refugees, as well as those of their host communities in Europe.