Posted yesterday at 10:15 p.m.
No negotiation for the moment
Peace talks between Ukraine and Russia cannot take place as long as the Russian army occupies territories conquered over the past three months in eastern Ukraine. This was confirmed by President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday, speaking via video link at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “It is possible if Russia shows at least something. When I say at least something, I mean withdrawing troops to where they were before Feb. 24, the day the Russian invasion began, he said. I think that would be a correct step for Russia to take. The longer the war continues, the greater the price to be paid, not only for Ukraine, but also for the whole of the free world, Mr. Zelensky added. “That’s why providing heavy weapons to Ukraine – rocket launchers, tanks and other weapons – is the best investment to maintain stability. »
Pictures of the day
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PHOTO EDGAR SU, REUTERS
Dimitry, a member of the Ukrainian Territorial Defense Force, hugs his girlfriend Valentine before boarding a train from Kyiv station to fight the Russian invader.
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PHOTO IVAN ALVARADO, REUTERS
Vladimir Krayushkin lights a cigarette next to a destroyed Russian tank in his yard in Malaya Rohan’.
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PHOTO ALEXANDER ERMOCHENKO, REUTERS
Russian servicemen inspect the wreckage of a Ukrainian Armed Forces AT4 anti-tank they destroyed, near the city of Svitlodarsk.
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PHOTO ALEXANDER ERMOCHENKO, REUTERS
The Russian soldiers continue the bombardment of Donetsk, the first industrial city and the first economic center of Ukraine.
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PHOTO ANDRIY ANDRIYENKO, ASSOCIATED PRESS
A house destroyed during a Russian bombardment, in Kramatorsk
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PHOTO ARIS MESSINIS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Russian forces have been bombarding Kramatorsk for two weeks and are at the gates of the city.
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New Assaults in the East
Russian forces have launched new assaults on cities in eastern Ukraine, including Sievierodonetsk, which is more likely than ever to be surrounded. Aurélie Campana, professor in the political science department at Laval University, notes that Russia has a strike force far superior to that of Ukraine in this region. “Russia is moving forward, it has great depth. In the open, it has a superiority, despite the delivery of Western weapons to Ukraine. Vladimir Putin will try to consolidate his hold on the territories he conquered, but I believe that Ukraine will not accept that, because the Ukrainians themselves would not accept it. Ukrainians are more united than ever against this idea, and if the Ukrainian government were to hold a referendum on a negotiated agreement that would cede these territories, it’s a safe bet that it would not pass. »
Vladimir Putin visits soldiers in hospital
Pour la première fois depuis le début du conflit, Vladimir Poutine a rendu visite à des soldats russes à l’hôpital. La visite s’est déroulée à Moscou, et non près des zones de guerre, et les deux soldats rencontrés par M. Poutine n’avaient pas l’air sérieusement blessés : tout sourire, ils se tenaient debout sur leurs deux jambes, apparemment sans effort. Yakov M. Rabkin, professeur émérite au département d’histoire de l’Université de Montréal, souligne que M. Poutine parle normalement beaucoup plus d’économie que de l’invasion de l’Ukraine lorsqu’il apparaît dans les médias d’État. « À la télé russe, M. Poutine parle du réajustement de l’économie dans le contexte des sanctions, du remplacement des importations d’avions civils, de mesures compensatoires. Mais de la guerre, il n’en parle pas beaucoup », note M. Rabkin. Selon un rapport dévoilé lundi par le ministère de la Défense du Royaume-Uni, jusqu’à 15 000 soldats russes sont morts depuis le début de l’invasion, le 24 février, alors que des dizaines de milliers d’autres ont été blessés.
Passeports russes en Ukraine occupée
Vladimir Poutine a signé mercredi un décret permettant aux citoyens ukrainiens des régions occupées d’obtenir plus facilement un passeport russe, une mesure qui s’applique aux habitants des régions ukrainiennes de Kherson et de Zaporijjia, contrôlées par les soldats russes. Cela montre la volonté de la Russie d’intégrer ces territoires, mais la question est de savoir jusqu’où elle compte aller, note Aurélie Campana. « Si M. Poutine s’arrêtait là, ce serait un conflit gelé. Mais cela permettrait éventuellement à la Russie, bien plus tard, de relancer un conflit pour conquérir Kyiv. Donc l’État ukrainien n’évoluerait pas dans la sérénité ; au contraire, il serait obligé de s’armer de façon importante, et traverserait une zone d’incertitude et d’instabilité assez forte. »
Slovaquie : « Nous sommes les prochains »
PHOTO ARND WIEGMANN, REUTERS
Eduard Heger, premier ministre de la Slovaquie
« Si l’Ukraine devait tomber, la Slovaquie serait la prochaine. [Les Ukrainiens] must win. These are the blunt remarks made on Wednesday by Eduard Heger, Prime Minister of Slovakia, during a visit to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Mr. Heger accused the European Union of having for two decades sought to form partnerships with Vladimir Putin while ignoring his record on human rights and the invasion of neighboring states. “For too long, we’ve given up our values for cheap gas and oil,” Heger said. These compromises with Mr. Putin caused a war in Ukraine. An aggressive war, which kills citizens. Ukrainians are fighting and bleeding today for our values, so we don’t have to. Nearly 300,000 Ukrainians are currently refugees in Slovakia, a country which, unlike Poland or Hungary, is not a member of NATO.
What there is to know
- Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has accused NATO of “doing nothing” in the face of Russia’s invasion of his country.
- At least 56 Ukrainian schools have been destroyed or damaged by Russia since February, according to the Associated Press, which could amount to a war crime.
- Russia’s parliament on Wednesday voted to scrap the upper age limit for enlisting as a soldier in the army, previously set at 40.