The situation of the last pockets of resistance to the Russian invasion in Mariupol was once again at the heart of the news on Monday 25 April. Russia had announced its intention to cease hostilities, but kyiv replied that no such agreement had been reached.
>> Follow live the latest information on the situation in Ukraine
New Russian strikes also targeted the Vinnytsia region. Franceinfo takes stock of what to remember from this day of war in Ukraine.
Railway facilities targeted by Russian strikes
At least five people were killed and 18 others injured in Russian strikes on railway installations in the Vinnytsia region (center-west), announced the local prosecutor’s office.
The explosion of a missile also sparked a fire on Monday morning in the Krasne railway station, near Lviv, in western Ukraine, according to the regional governor, who indicated that he had no information on d possible immediate victims.
“No agreement” for an evacuation in Mariupol
No agreement was reached on Monday to create a humanitarian corridor allowing the evacuation of civilians holed up with Ukrainian fighters in the besieged Azovstal metallurgical complex in Mariupol (southeast), kyiv said. “The advertised corridor offers no security, so there is no evacuation”said Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk. Russia had announced a little earlier its intention to cease hostilities at 2 p.m. (1 p.m. in Paris), to allow the evacuation of these civilians.
The immense Azovstal factory is the last reduced controlled by the forces of kyiv in Mariupol, a large port city ravaged by the bombardments after several weeks of siege. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that about a thousand civilians and hundreds of wounded were still entrenched there, in catastrophic conditions.
Ukraine ‘can win’ the war, says Washington
Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin for his part assured that Ukraine could win the war, the day after the first visit to kyiv by American leaders since the Russian invasion. “They can win if they have the right equipment, the right support”he said after meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, along with Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
The two ministers announced the gradual return of an American diplomatic presence in Ukraine with the appointment of an ambassador and new direct and indirect military aid of $700 million.
Moscow expels 40 German diplomats
Russia announced the expulsion of 40 German diplomats, in retaliation for a similar measure taken recently by Germany in the face of the Russian offensive in Ukraine. This decision is not “in no way justified”reacted the head of German diplomacy, Annalena Baerbock.
More than 5.2 million refugees
The number of Ukrainian refugees who have fled their country since February 24 has exceeded 5.2 million, according to the UN High Commissioner. In addition, more than 7.7 million people have left their homes but are still in Ukraine, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), also attached to the UN.