one year after the Russian invasion, follow Vladimir Putin’s annual grand speech in the presence of the country’s political elite

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10:00 a.m. : “I managed to reach her and I insisted on dissuading her. This trip would constitute a real risk-taking that I intend to convince her, for her safety, to avoid.”

The Minister of Sports in person dissuaded the French boxer Estelle Mossely from going to train in Russia, she explains in The Team. The boxer had obtained the approval of the French federation to go to Moscow in order to prepare for the Amateur World Championships which take place next month in New Delhi, India.

09:44 : A year ago, on February 21, 2022, Vladimir Putin announced his decision to recognize the independence of the Ukrainian territories of Donetsk and Luhansk. On the same day, the Russian President had signed two decrees, in which he ordered the Russian army to ensure “holding functions” in the two self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Lugansk.

09:43 : Vladimir Putin’s speech is particularly awaited in Russia, and the main television channels have been posting a count since yesterday. The speech will also be broadcast on giant screens installed in several major cities, says the Tass agency. Finally, posters appeared in Moscow, with the date of February 21 and these messages: “Russia’s borders stop nowhere”or : “Look and listen”.

09:56 : Even if it is extremely difficult to make predictions on the content of the speech, among the hypotheses on the table, Vladimir Putin could announce a new military reinforcement, while the mobilization of 300,000 men in September had led to the flight of about 700,000 Russians.

09:25 : Vladimir Putin had not addressed the Duma since April 21, 2021, specifies the Russian newspaper Kommersant. These speeches traditionally take place every year, even if the periodicity is not written into the law. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov explained that this event was canceled last year due to the “very great dynamics of events”.

09:23 : Vladimir Putin will deliver his message to the Duma in forty minutes, from the “Merchants’ Court” (Gostiny Dvor), a historic building located two cables from the Kremlin. This speech will be devoted in particular to the invasion in Ukraine, and will take place in front of an audience of handpicked guests, including parliamentarians and various officials. Denis Pushilin, leader of the separatist territory of Donetsk, has already arrived.

(KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP)

08:24 : The NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused the Russian army of a “war crime” in the missile attack on the train station in Kramatorsk, in eastern Ukraine, which in April 2022 killed a sixty civilians seeking to flee the region. The NGO adds that it has identified as “possible place of launch of the attack” the village of Kounié, in the Kharkiv region, then under Russian control.

08:09 : In Romania, a shelter welcomes about forty Ukrainian children deprived of their parents. This center, supported by local authorities and Unicef, has become their new home. Over the months, these children have found their bearings. “Now they are betterexplains director Andreea Corodescu to franceinfo, but a psychologist works with them every day. They kept the trauma of the war, but also those related to their families.

07:50 : The Truth Hounds association has looked into the attack on an administrative building in Mykolaiv, which it attributes directly to the Russian army. But the record of this “atrocious war crime” could take years to land on a judge’s desk.

(ASTRID AMADIEU / FRANCEINFO)

08:34 : On September 22, 2006, former President Jacques Chirac decorated Vladimir Poutine with the Legion of Honor to celebrate “friendship” between France and Russia. Today, with the war in Ukraine, the context has changed, to the point that the question of the withdrawal of this decoration arises today.

(VLADIMIR RODIONOV / ITAR-TASS / AFP)

07:06 : Le Figaro And Release look back on Joe Biden’s surprise visit to kyiv. The world takes stock of this first year of conflict. To note that Release also gives a large place to the death of Harlock’s father, Leiji Matsumoto.

07:56 : “We will continue to promote peace dialogue… and work with the international community to promote dialogue and consultation, address the concerns of all parties and seek common security.”

China, accused by the United States of wanting to supply arms to Russia, is “very worried” of the conflict in Ukraine, which “escalates and even gets out of control”Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said on Tuesday.