On the 42nd day of the war in Ukraine, this Thursday, Russia begins its large-scale attack in the east of the country. The Ukrainian government has asked the inhabitants of these regions to evacuate as a matter of urgency. kyiv demands more weapons from NATO countries. The UN is due to vote on Thursday on Russia’s suspension from the UN Human Rights Council.
The essential
- Ukrainian government calls for more weapons from NATO countries
- UN General Assembly votes on suspending Russia from human rights council at 4 p.m.
- Russia steps up strikes in eastern Ukraine, kyiv calls on area residents to urgently evacuate
- Listen: Radio France’s daily podcast on the situation in Ukraine
The situation on the military front
The East is preparing for heavy fighting, the population called to evacuate
Eastern Ukraine, which has become the Kremlin’s priority target, is preparing for a massive offensive, which has already begun. This Wednesday, Russian forces have already bombarded several towns in these regions. The government has called on residents of the region to flee the looming fighting.
The governor of the Luhansk region also asked its population to leave the region: _“_I’m asking people to evacuate, because we clearly see that before going on the all-out offensive, the enemy is just going to completely destroy all these places.” he told Ukrainian television. “Please Go” while there is still time, he insisted.
– Visactu
Ukraine demands more weapons from NATO countries
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine calls for more weapons from NATO countries. “I come to ask for three things: arms, arms and arms. The faster they are delivered, the more lives will be saved and destruction averted.”he pleaded when he arrived at NATO headquarters in Brussels, for a meeting with the countries of the Alliance.
Britain plans to send tanks to Ukraine
According to the British daily The Times, Britain is drawing up plans to send armored vehicles to Ukraine. Options being considered by the MoD include sending in patrol vehicles, such as the Mastiff or the Jackal, the Times says.
Tens of thousands of victims in Mariupol?
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday accused Russia of block humanitarian access to Mariupol to hide the “thousands” of victims in this martyr city. “I think one of the main reasons why we cannot get humanitarian aid into Mariupol is that until everything has been ‘cleaned up’ by the Russian soldiers, they are afraid that the world will see what is going on there”, said the president in an interview with the Turkish television channel Habertürk.
“A week ago, conservative estimates put the death toll at 5,000,” said Mariupol city councilman. “But given the size of the city, the catastrophic destruction, the length of the blockade and the fierce resistance, there could be tens of thousands of civilian casualties in Mariupol,” he warned.
The diplomatic situation and international reactions
The UN votes this Thursday on an exclusion from the Human Rights Council
The General Assembly of the United Nations must vote this Thursday, at 4 p.m. French time, on a possible suspension of Russia from the Human Rights Council organisation. To suspend Russia, the vote must bring together a two-thirds majority of the 193 member states of the UN General Assembly. A country can be suspended for serious and systematic human rights abuses.
“Devastating” sanctions against Russia
The United States announced on Wednesday a new wave of economic and financial sanctions against Russia, which they describe as “devastating” and which aim in particular big banks and the daughters of Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to Washington, Russia could see its economy collapse by 15% this year.
Russia’s economy ‘starts to crack’
Risk of default, collapse of the automotive sector, inflation… After weeks of increasingly harsh sanctions, the Russian economy begins to crack, according to data released Wednesday. According to an American economic analyst, “Putin impoverishes Russia for years”.
Europe will have to impose sanctions on oil and gas “sooner or later”
European Council President Charles Michel said on Wednesday that the European Union should “sooner or later” impose sanctions on Russian oil and gas. But several European countries very dependent on Russian gas, such as Germany, are very reluctant to this measure, which would heavily penalize their economies.
The humanitarian situation and solidarity with Ukrainians
Evacuations from Mariupol
Evacuations of civilians from Mariupol remain difficult. A convoy of seven buses and about 40 private vehicles, under the protection of the International Committee of the Red Cross, arrived on Wednesday from southeastern Ukraine to Zaporozhye, in the south, noted an AFP journalist. . “Those who were part of the convoy had managed to flee Mariupol”, explained the Red Cross, one of whose teams helping to evacuate civilians had been “detention” Monday by the police.