Three days after the announcement of the release of Kherson, Volodymyr Zelensky visited this key city in southern Ukraine, Monday 14 November. The Ukrainian president notably sang the Ukrainian anthem there, while Russia still claims this locality. Franceinfo looks back on the day on the war front in Ukraine.
From Kherson, Zelensky envisions “the beginning of the end of the war”
The Ukrainian president said he was considering “the beginning of the end of the war” after the recapture of Kherson, where he paid a surprise visit. The recapture of the territories occupied by the forces of Moscow is “a long and difficult road”, “the price” to pay being “raised” ; thus, Russia destroyed “all critical infrastructure” in the city, according to Volodymyr Zelensky.
The Ukrainian national operator Ukrenergo meanwhile claimed that Russia had destroyed a key power plant in Kherson before the withdrawal of its troops. “Most of the liberated region of Kherson has been without electricity since November 6”said the chairman of Ukrenergo, Volodymyr Kudrytsky. “We are doing our best to supply people with electricity as soon as possible”he writes again.
Moscow still claims Kherson
The Kremlin for its part continued to assert that Kherson, officially annexed in September along with the region of the same name, belonged to Russia although its troops had to abandon it. “We will not comment, you know well that this is the territory of the Russian Federation”Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
The Russian army claims to have taken a village to the east
The Russian army said on Monday that it had taken Pavlivka, a locality in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, a rare success claimed by Moscow after weeks of setbacks and retreats. The regions of Donetsk and Kherson are, with those of Lugansk and Zaporijjia, the four regions of Ukraine which Moscow claims the annexation.
Xi and Biden ‘oppose’ the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine
On the eve of the G20, in Indonesia, the American and Chinese presidents raised the Ukrainian question during their face-to-face meeting. Joe Biden said to himself “confident that Russia will not occupy” Ukraine and the two men agreed on their “opposition” any use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine, according to the White House. “China has always been on the side of peace and will continue to encourage peace talks.”said the Chinese leader.
Macron to call Putin after G20 summit
The French president will “keep talking” with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, absent from the G20 summit in Bali, said the Elysée. He “will call it after this G20”noted the French presidency, on the eve of the opening of the summit.
NATO predicts “difficult” months for Ukraine
“The coming months will be difficult” for Ukraine, warned NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. “We must not make the mistake of underestimating Russia” he declared in The Hague, believing that “Putin’s goal is to leave Ukraine cold and dark this winter”.
France has taken in 106,000 Ukrainian refugees since February
According to a parliamentary report published on Monday, the figure of 106,000 Ukrainian refugees in France is close to the target set by Emmanuel Macron last March. The reception of Ukrainians who fled the war would have cost some 600 million euros to the State.