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09:44 : The Russian army also fought near Irpin, in the suburbs of kyiv, according to Vadim Denisenko, adviser to the Ministry of the Interior. “At this stage, it cannot be said that the Russians are reducing the intensity of their operations in the directions of kyiv and Chernihiv”says the manager on Rada TV.
09:46 : The head of the Chernihiv regional administration, Vyacheslav Chaus, says that Moscow has not reduced its military activity in the region, as promised yesterday. The Russian army hit the town of Nijyn, he said, and attacked Chernihiv all night. “Civil infrastructure, libraries, shopping malls, many houses have been destroyed.”
09:25 : The Russian army has continued to carry out air strikes on Chernihiv, local authorities say, despite Moscow’s announcement yesterday to reduce its military activities in the region.
09:23 : Remembering the Russian intervention in Syria also helps to understand Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine, which looks like a miscalculation. “It is possible that he was galvanized by what is perceived as an operational success in Syria, and that he blinded himself”, believes Isabelle Facon. As he observed “impunity” with which his ally Bashar Al-Assad had been able to use chemical weapons. Far from the strong reaction of the West to defend Ukraine.
(AMEER AL-HALBI / AFP)
09:35 : “We are unfortunately still in the same Russian logic: (…) indiscriminate bombardments, so-called humanitarian ‘corridors’ designed to then accuse the adversary of not respecting them and talks with no other objective than to pretend to negotiate.”
Russia is also waging psychological warfare. In Syria, she knew how to play endless negotiations and procrastination on humanitarian corridors. This method is also applied to Ukraine, as explained by Jean-Yves Le Drian, but also the specialists we interviewed.
09:16 : In Mariupol as in Syria, “I don’t think the intention is to kill hundreds of thousands of civilians, but it is a question of terrorizing the populations”, explains Emile Hokayem, analysis of the Syrian conflict. Isabelle Facon, a specialist in the Russian army, sums up the strategy as follows: bombing relentlessly to “to erode support for the armed forces and cause the population to leave”.
09:13 : The Russian army says it has changed its strategy in Ukraine, but it continues to besiege Mariupol. The fate of the city, where Ukrainian authorities say they have recorded at least 5,000 dead, has invited comparisons with the siege of Grozny in Chechnya, but especially with the Russian intervention in Syria. I looked at the parallels between Russia’s modus operandi in the two countries.
(ANADOLU AGENCY / AFP)
09:07 : It’s past nine o’clock, here’s a new point on the news:
• After the death of Yvan Colonna, an investigation report that franceinfo was able to consult explains in part why no one intervened during his attack in Arles prison. Here is what you can read there.
• “I want to cap the price of gasoline”said this morning the candidate of Debout la France, Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, on franceinfo. Follow his interview in our live.
• “We will judge the actions, not the announcements“reacted Anne-Claire Legendre, spokesperson for the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, as Russia pledged to reduce fighting around kyiv and Cherniguiv in Ukraine, following talks of peace in Istanbul.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has condemned the “recent terrorist attacks” in Israel, after three attacks in a week that left at least 11 dead, calling for an immediate end to the violence.
10:13 a.m. : “We will judge the actions, not the announcements. (…) We must be very careful about the assessment that we make of the progress of the negotiations (…) We have seen in the past several rounds which did not give any results.”
Anne-Claire Legendre commented this morning on franceinfo on Russia’s announcement to reduce fighting around the cities of kyiv and Chernihiv, following peace talks in Istanbul.
07:27 : Several hundred Ukrainian children arrive every day in France. According to the Ministry of Education, there are 5,266 students, distributed 3,301 in schools, 1,508 in colleges and 439 in high schools. To organize their reception, a “Ukrainian unit” has been set up in rue de Grenelle. We tell you how its members work.
10:00 a.m. : Before the UN Security Council, Russia was accused yesterday of having provoked a “global food crisis” having started a war against Ukraine, the “breadbasket of Europe”. The French Ambassador to the UN, Nicolas de Rivière, stated in particular: “Russia’s aggression against Ukraine increases the risk of famine throughout the world. People in developing countries are the first to be affected.”
09:57 : Several dailies return to the announced Russian military withdrawal around kyiv and another large Ukrainian city, a “diplomatic enlightenment” promised by Moscow following peace talks in Istanbul. “Westerns are waiting for signs of military de-escalation on the ground”however moderate Release.
