(Kyiv) Ukraine promised Sunday “reprisals” after the Russian strikes on Odessa, which killed two people and destroyed a historic cathedral, while Vladimir Putin affirmed that the Ukrainian counter-offensive launched in early June had “failed”.
“There is no counter-offensive,” said Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, Russia’s leading ally in the conflict in Ukraine, whom his Russian counterpart receives in Saint Petersburg, in the north-west of Russia.
Mr. Putin then interrupted him and said: “There is one but it failed”.
PHOTO BY ALEXANDR DEMYANCHUK, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Russian President Vladimir Putin received his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko in Saint Petersburg on July 23.
Regularly targeted by Russian strikes, Odessa, on the Black Sea, whose historic center was listed earlier this year by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, was the target of a new night attack which left two dead and 22 wounded, including at least four children, according to the Ukrainian authorities.
Inside the largely destroyed Transfiguration Cathedral, debris lies on the ground as residents attempt to clear the area.
Collapsed walls, burnt icons, rattling chandeliers: this splendid building over 200 years old is devastated. “All the sets are practically destroyed. Only the bell tower is intact,” laments Father Myroslav, the cathedral’s deputy rector.
PHOTO OLEKSANDR GIMANOV, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
View of the interior of the Transfiguration Cathedral destroyed by a Russian attack
“There will definitely be reprisals,” promised President Volodymyr Zelensky.
In Paris, where it has its headquarters, UNESCO condemned “in the strongest terms” the “brutal strikes carried out by Russian forces”.
“These terrible destructions mark a new escalation of violence against Ukraine’s cultural heritage”, denounced the Director General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay.
“Broken Windows”
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry denounced “a war crime that will never be forgotten or forgiven”.
Oleksiï, a resident of Odessa, said he had “the windows of his room shattered” by one of the shots. “The kitchen has a hole in the roof,” he told AFP.
Ces frappes ont eu lieu peu après que Moscou a annoncé avoir effectué des manœuvres militaires en mer Noire, où les tensions se sont accrues depuis l’expiration d’un accord qui permettait les exportations de céréales ukrainiennes.
Odessa, dans le sud de l’Ukraine, est un port stratégique pour le transit maritime dans la région et a subi la semaine écoulée de nombreuses attaques nocturnes.
Vingt-cinq monuments ont été endommagés dans les frappes de dimanche, selon le gouverneur régional Oleg Kiper, qui a accusé l’armée russe d’avoir « délibérément dirigé ses missiles vers le centre historique d’Odessa ».
Dans une lettre adressée au patriarche russe Kirill et publiée sur les réseaux sociaux, l’archevêque Viktor du diocèse d’Odessa de l’Église orthodoxe ukrainienne a appelé dimanche à « arrêter les effusions de sang ! ». Avant de lancer : « Vos évêques et prêtres consacrent et bénissent les chars et les roquettes qui bombardent nos villes paisibles ».
L’armée russe assure ne viser que des sites militaires. Dimanche, elle a affirmé avoir bombardé des lieux où « des actes terroristes contre la Russie à l’aide de drones navals étaient en préparation ».
Selon la porte-parole de la diplomatie russe, Maria Zakharova, les destructions infligées à la cathédrale de la Transfiguration « sont également sur la conscience » de Kyiv qui, selon elle, place ses systèmes de défense aérienne dans des zones résidentielles.
Bain de foule pour Poutine et Loukachenko
Concernant le groupe Wagner, le président biélorusse a assuré dimanche à M. Poutine qu’il le « gardait » dans le centre de la Biélorussie, quelques semaines après l’arrivée dans ce pays de plusieurs de ses combattants.
« Ils demandent à “ aller vers l’ouest ” […] in Warsaw, Rzeszów”, exclaimed Mr Lukashenko in the presence of the Russian president, who sketched a slight smile. “But, of course, that I keep them in the center of Belarus, as we had agreed”, he added, saying however that he had noted “their bad mood”.
The Belarusian leader, presented as having been the mediator between the Kremlin and Yevgeny Prigojine at the time of Wagner’s abortive rebellion at the end of June, then appeared alongside Vladimir Putin during a rare walkabout for the two leaders, in Kronstadt, near Saint Petersburg. The two men posed with visibly enthusiastic onlookers.
SPUTNIK PHOTO, SUPPLIED BY REUTERS
Alexander Lukashenko and Vladimir Putin meet people in Kronstadt, near Saint Petersburg.
This scene, which AFP could not verify the degree of spontaneity, comes at a time when the Russian authorities have been trying to show since the aborted rebellion of Wagner that Vladimir Putin still enjoys the support of the population and the army.
Alexander Lukashenko also accused Warsaw of wanting to “transfer territories” from western Ukraine to Poland.
The head of Ukrainian diplomacy, Dmytro Kouleba, denounced “futile attempts” aimed at “digging a gap between Kyiv and Warsaw”.
“Unlike Russia, Poland and Ukraine have learned [les enseignement, NDLR] of history and will always remain united against Russian imperialism and the disrespect of international law”, assured the Ukrainian minister on Twitter.