Moscow has denounced the call to ban Russian athletes from the 2024 Olympics. “The attempt to dictate the conditions for the participation of athletes in international competitions is absolutely unacceptable”, said Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin on Saturday, February 11. “We currently see an undisguised desire to destroy the unity of international sport”, he continued, quoted by Russian news agencies. The day before, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, estimated that the presence of Russian athletes at the Paris Games would be “a sign of violence and impunity”, trying during a meeting to convince sports ministers from several countries. Follow our live.
Massive attacks against Ukraine. Russia carried out an attack on Friday “massive” against energy sites in Ukraine, according to Ukrainian authorities. “Ukraine has temporarily lost 44% of its nuclear power generation capacity, 75% of its thermal power plant capacity and 33% of its cogeneration power plant capacity”detailed Prime Minister Denys Chmygal. “The vast majority of Ukrainians still have access to heating, water and electricity. (…) There are enough resources to get through the winter”he added, however. Above Kyiv, “10 missiles were shot down”said Mayor Vitali Klitschko, indicating that there was no “no casualties” but “damages” on the electrical network.
Joe Biden is going to Poland. A few days before the first anniversary of the Russian invasion, on February 24, the White House announced that the American president intended to visit Poland, a country bordering Ukraine, from February 20 to 22. His spokeswoman, Karine Jean-Pierre, said he will meet Polish President Andrzej Duda there. “to talk about our bilateral cooperation and our collective efforts to support Ukraine and strengthen NATO’s deterrent capabilities”.
Russia claims progress in the East. Kiev has been saying for several days that it expects a major offensive by the Russian army, which has increased pressure along the front line in the east of the country, where its forces are eating away at ground. A pro-Russian official, Denis Pouchiline, on Friday claimed progress north of Bakhmout, the epicenter of the fighting, and in Vougledar, also the target of an offensive.
Did missiles fly over Romania? kyiv claimed that two projectiles had crossed Romanian airspace (and therefore NATO airspace. But the Romanian Ministry of Defense denied, assuring “that no missile” had violated airspace. According to Bucharest, however, a missile passed 35 km from Romanian territory, which justified the dispatch of two fighter planes. Ukrainian President Volodmyr Zelensky, however, spoke of a “Challenge to NATO” from Russia.