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09:45 : Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison had precisely challenged China on its position, a few hours earlier: “No country would have a greater impact right now on Russia’s violent aggression towards Ukraine than China”that is to “choice time”did he declare.
09:43 : This mediation proposal did not prevent the head of Chinese diplomacy from asserting that his country’s friendship with Russia “is solid as a rock“. The two countries are close and China has certainly not explicitly supported the war waged by Moscow, but refuses to call it a“invasion”.
09:41 : China is “willing” to play a role in resolving the Ukrainian crisis, in particular by participating “if needed” international mediation, says Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
09:28 : The NGO OVD-Info updates its report: according to it, at least 5,000 people were arrested yesterday during demonstrations against the invasion of Ukraine, in 69 cities in Russia. At least 320 of these demonstrators spent the night in police custody, says this NGO specializing in monitoring repression in the country.
09:27 : Let’s recall the main news of this Monday:
The Russian army, which is continuing its offensive in Ukraine, said it would open humanitarian corridors this morning from four cities (Kiev, Mariupol, Kharkiv and Sumy). But some lead to Russia or Belarus. Negotiations between Ukraine and Russia are due to take place today.
The President of the Constitutional Council will formalize at noon the list of candidates who will be able to participate in the presidential election. Only uncertainty: the qualification or not of Philippe Poutou. Emmanuel Macron is going to Poissy (Yvelines) this evening for his first campaign trip.
• The French delegation won two gold medals this morning: Cécile Hernandez is titled in snowboard cross and Arthur Bauchet in super-combined. He had already been crowned downhill on Saturday.
09:09 : War in Ukraine: Bruno Le Maire (@BrunoLeMaire) calls on all French people to “make an effort” on their energy consumption https://t.co/RllpX7925i
09:25 : Moreover, when asked about the need for the French to reduce their energy consumption, Bruno Le Maire answers in the affirmative: “We will all have to make an effort”. The Minister of Economy calls for taking advantage of the crisis caused by the war in Ukraine to “build our total energy independence and be much less dependent on fossil fuels”.
09:25 : “We will provide a response to all French people who are most affected by the crisis”assures Bruno Le Maire on BFMTV. In particular, the government plans to extend the gas price freeze until the end of 2022, which it says would cost the state 10 billion euros. It does not specify whether other measures are on the table, or which ones.
08:58 : The Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, does not rule out new sanctions against Russia. “Should we go further? All options are on the table”he says on BFMTVwithout giving further details.
08:33 : Guest of Télématin on France 2 at the moment, the spokesperson for the Russian Embassy in France takes up all the elements of Vladimir Poutine’s speech. “Bombing, I would say that’s a big word, though”he says in particular about the Russian strikes on Kiev, refusing to talk about “war”. Russians arrested yesterday during demonstrations are arrested “because they are a disturbance to public order”he also said.
08:05 : Hello @jeunou. Some are, and this is indeed another important clarification, which clearly qualifies the attraction of these corridors for Ukrainian civilians. In detail, the Russian army announces, from Kiev, a single corridor towards Gomel in Belarus; in Kharkiv, a single corridor to Belgorod in Russia; in Soumy, two corridors, towards Belgorod (Russia) but also towards Poltava (Ukraine); finally, in Mariupol, two corridors towards Rostov-sur-le-Don (Russia) and Zaporijia (Ukraine).
08:05 : Hello. According to The Guardian, the humanitarian corridors would be destined for Russia and Belarus. Do you have any info on this? Have a nice day. Thank you.
08:04 : Some clarifications regarding the announcement by the Russian army of the opening of humanitarian corridors from four Ukrainian cities: the press release does not say whether they should open at 10 am Russian time or Ukrainian time, c i.e. at 8 a.m. or 9 a.m. in France (we have corrected our previous message). Russia also claims that they are a response to a “personal request” from Emmanuel Macron to Vladimir Putin, during their interview yesterday.
08:02 : I stop on one of the Echoes, devoted to the issue of Russian gas, which could be a target if Europe tightens its sanctions. The general manager of Engie, Catherine MacGregor, explains to the newspaper that there will be no supply problem this winter. “The real problem would be filling storage in spring and summer, in preparation for winter 2022-2023.she warns. It would be very difficult to find the necessary volumes and it would be very hard in the event of a long conflict in Ukraine.”
(THE ECHOES)
08:01 : The war in Ukraine is, of course, the front page of a large part of the national press this morning.
(THE PARISIAN)
(RELEASE)
(HUMANITY)
(THE CROSS)
07:59 : This morning, The Catalan Independent welcomes, in their own language, 111 Ukrainian refugees who arrived yesterday in Perpignan (Pyrénées-Orientales). In Saché (Indre-et-Loire), children who fled the Russian invasion “are already in school”tells on his side The New Republic.
(THE CATALAN INDEPENDENT)
(THE NEW REPUBLIC)
07:09 : The Russian offensive in Ukraine continues to affect the price of oil: the price of a barrel of Brent from the North Sea came close to 140 dollars this morning, not far from its historical record. Yesterday, the head of American diplomacy Anthony Blinken affirmed that the United States and the European Union were discussing “very actively” of a possible ban on imports of Russian oil.
07:06 : Mykolayiv at dawn. https://t.co/vrMcjC2n5d https://t.co/1t2tWSyYlU
07:06 : A correspondent for the British weekly The Economist posts on Twitter an image of two plumes of smoke on the horizon in Mykolaiv, the target of strikes this night.
07:02 : Two previous attempts to establish a humanitarian corridor in Mariupol had failed, including one yesterday, the Ukrainians accusing the Russian army of continuing its bombardments.
07:57 : “Russian forces, for humanitarian purposes, declare a ‘regime of silence’“i.e. a ceasefire, “and the opening of humanitarian corridors”, says the Russian Ministry of Defense in a press release. These corridors should open this morning.
06:53 : Russia says it will open humanitarian corridors this morning for the evacuation of civilians in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Mariupol and Sumy.
06:34 : In Kiev, a sergeant from a unit of Ukrainian volunteers tells AFP that the army is ready to blow up the last bridge linking the capital to its hinterland to the west: “If we get the order from above, or if we see the Russians advancing, we’ll blow it up…with as many enemy tanks as possible”.
07:54 : The Ukrainian General Staff says that the Russian forces are concentrating their efforts on four cities: Mykolaiv, which is on the road from Odessa in the south of the country, Kharkiv, in the North-East, Chernihiv, north of Kiev , and Sumy, halfway between Kharkiv and Chernihiv.
07:54 : Kharkiv, the second city of Ukraine, was once again the target of intense bombardments last night. The sports complex of a university and apartment buildings were affected, according to an AFP journalist on the spot. A journalist from New York Times (link in English) observes for its part intense artillery fire in Mykolaiv, in the south of the country, where the Ukrainian troops claimed yesterday to have succeeded in repelling the Russian army.
07:52 : Let’s start with a point on the main news of the day:
The Russian offensive continues in Ukraine. Last night, intense bombardments hit Kharkiv, the country’s second largest city in the north, and Mykolaiv in the south.
“France is not at war, NATO is not at war”, hammered yesterday the Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian on France 2, after a new telephone exchange between Emmanuel Macron and Vladimir Poutine. He said he was determined to achieve his goals. “by negotiation or by war” according to the Elysée.
Emmanuel Macron is going to Poissy (Yvelines) this evening for his first campaign trip. The President of the Constitutional Council will formalize at noon the list of candidates who will be able to participate in the election. Only uncertainty: the qualification or not of Philippe Poutou.