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3:15 p.m. : “Our guys are brave and defend the fortress, but it’s really difficult.” Vadim Boïtchenko, mayor of Mariupol, assures that “fierce fighting” are underway at the Azovstal site in the city. Moscow had assured at the beginning of the afternoon not to carry out an assault on this huge factory where Ukrainian fighters are entrenched.
1:44 p.m. : @Manprod In the context of the war in Ukraine, some therefore expect a bang by that date. Ukrainian intelligence services have now suspected Moscow of preparing a military parade in the long besieged port of Mariupol for May 9. “The main avenues of the city are urgently cleared, the debris and the bodies of the dead removed, as well as the ammunition which did not explode”says Ukrainian intelligence.
1:30 p.m. : Hello @Manprod. Celebrated every year in Russia, May 9 commemorates the surrender of Nazi Germany to the Allies in 1945. Traditionally, Vladimir Putin takes advantage of this date to deliver a speech glorifying Russia’s place on the international scene and its military power. The feast of May 9 is also each year the occasion of a great military parade in Moscow, on Red Square.
1:29 p.m. : Hello. Do you have any information or hypotheses on a possible extension or transformation of the Ukrainian conflict on May 9? thank you for your work
1:41 p.m. : Germany could experience “disturbances” in its oil supply, warned the German Economy Minister, faced with the EU’s desire to gradually ban its imports of Russian oil. He also said he expects to see prices “increasing significantly over a period of 180 days”.
12:51 p.m. : According to a Kremlin spokesman, Moscow forces are besieging the site and only intervene to “stop attempts very quickly” of Ukrainian fighters remaining on the spot to join “shooting positions”.
1:15 p.m. : The Kremlin this afternoon denied launching an assault on the Azovstal steelworks, still controlled by Ukrainian forces in the port city of Mariupol.
12:23 p.m. : It is noon, here is the point on the news:
• The PS and LFI are on the verge of an agreement for the legislative elections. “There is now an agreement in principle between the ‘rebellious’ and socialist delegations”, said this morning on franceinfo the “rebellious” deputy Adrien Quatennens. The text must now be approved by the authorities of the PS.
• The sixth package of sanctions against Russia was presented this morning to the European Parliament. These new retaliatory measures against the Kremlin still have to be adopted by the 27. They include in particular a gradual embargo on Russian oil and the exclusion of three new Russian banks from the Swift system.
• After the revelations of the American press, franceinfo explains why the constitutional right to abortion in the country could soon be overturned by the Supreme Court.
• The 38-year-old woman suspected of having committed violence against a firefighter during the May 1 demonstration will be tried in immediate appearance by the Paris Criminal Court today, the Paris prosecutor’s office told France Télévisions.
12:17 p.m. : In Severodonetsk, almost emptied of its inhabitants, the Ukrainian fighters try to resist the Russian attacks. Franceinfo met one of them, nicknamed “Ninja”.
(FARIDA NOUAR / FRANCEINFO)
12:17 p.m. : Russia denies access to its territory to more than 60 Japanese officials, including the Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, in retaliation for the sanctions imposed by Japan against Moscow for its offensive in Ukraine.
12:05 : The European Union has the “to have to” to support Moldova, declared this midday the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, on a visit to the capital of this country, Chisinau. A statement made days after attacks in the pro-Russian Moldovan separatist territory of Transnistria fueled fears of a widening conflict outside Ukraine.
11:42 : Another sanction in this new series of retaliatory measures against the Kremlin: the freezing of assets and a ban on entering EU territory for Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church. The new list of people sanctioned, which will still have to be approved by member states, includes 58 people, including many Russian soldiers, but also the wife, daughter and son of Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
09:19 : Proposed by the European Commission, this new package of sanctions against Russia must now be approved by the 27 Member States. This approval is expected by the end of the week.
11:40 a.m. : In this sanctions package, there is also a proposal to exclude three additional Russian banks, including Sberbank, the country’s largest institution, from the Swift international financial system. By hitting “banks of essential systemic importance for the Russian financial system”this will strengthen its “total isolation” and will undermine Moscow’s ability to finance its war in Ukraine, explains Ursula von der Leyen.
09:26 : “We will phase out Russian deliveries of crude oil within six months and of refined products by the end of the year.”
Here is Ursula von der Leyen’s statement on Russian oil. She did so during the presentation before the European Parliament of a sixth set of sanctions against Moscow.
12:24 p.m. : It is 9 a.m., here is the point on the news:
• The PS and LFI are on the verge of an agreement for the legislative elections. “There is now an agreement in principle between the ‘rebellious’ and socialist delegations”, said this morning on franceinfo the “rebellious” deputy Adrien Quatennens. The text must now be approved by the authorities of the PS.
• Brussels is proposing a gradual European embargo on Russian oil, announces Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission.
• After the revelations of the American press, franceinfo explains why the constitutional right to abortion in the country could soon be overturned by the Supreme Court.
• The 38-year-old woman suspected of having committed violence against a firefighter during the May Day demonstration on Sunday will be tried in immediate appearance by the Paris Criminal Court today, the Paris prosecutor’s office has announced to France Televisions.
09:07 : Brussels proposes a gradual European embargo on Russian oil, announces the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
09:06 : The battle around the Azovstal steelworks, Mariupol’s last pocket of resistance, continues in Ukraine. For researcher Edouard Jolly, this plant is “the only attainable goal” for the Russian army by May 9, the day of military remembrance in the country.
11:25 a.m. : “About half of the Ukrainians who have crossed the borders are children. That is to say, it is almost a child every second who, for two months, has crossed the borders of his country. (.. .) It is absolutely essential that we, neighboring countries – I’m talking about Europe in general – can welcome them in the best possible conditions.“
On franceinfo, this Unicef executive returned this morning to the Ukrainian exodus since February 24.
12:25 p.m. : We get up on the right foot with a first point on the news:
• No white smoke left. The negotiators of the PS and La France insoumise did not reach an agreement. Will negotiations continue today? Last night, Manuel Bompard (LFI) warned that no.
• After the revelations of the American press, franceinfo explains why the constitutional right to abortion could soon be overturned by the Supreme Court.
• The 38-year-old woman suspected of having committed violence against a firefighter during the May Day demonstration on Sunday will be tried in immediate appearance by the Paris Criminal Court today, the Paris prosecutor’s office has announced to France Televisions.
• On the 69th day of the invasion of Ukraine, the Russian army launched an assault on the Azovstal factory in Mariupol, a strategic port city in southern Ukraine. The last pocket of resistance in the city is pounded by the Russian army. Franceinfo takes stock of what to remember from yesterday’s fights.