“Now we can say that Russian troops have started the battle for Donbass, for which they have been preparing for a long time.” In a speech broadcast on Telegram, on the evening of Monday April 18, Volodymyr Zelensky announced that the Russian offensive in the east of the country had indeed begun. “A very large part of the entire Russian army is now devoted to this offensivesaid the Ukrainian president. No matter how many Russian soldiers are brought here, we will fight. We will defend ourselves.” Franceinfo takes stock of what to remember from this day also marked by the bombings in Lviv.
The Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine has begun
Just before VOlodymyr Zelensky, c.‘is the Ukrainian governor of the Luhansk region who announced the start of the offensive. “It’s hellwas sorry on Facebook Serguiï Gaïdaï. The offensive has begun, the one we’ve been talking about for weeks. There is fighting in Rubizhne and Popasna, incessant fighting in other peaceful towns”.
Earlier in the day on Monday, the Ukrainian authorities reported at minus 8 civilians killed by Russian strikes in Donetsk and Lugansk regions. Four of them were killed as they tried to flee Kreminna, a small town in the Lugansk region where Russian troops took up position. Four others died due to Russian shelling in the neighboring Donetsk region.
Shelling in Lviv kills seven
Missiles slammed into Lviv on Monday morning, killing seven people according to local authorities. The large city in western Ukraine has so far been relatively spared by the Russian army. This is where many displaced Ukrainians had found refuge, recalls France 3.
The city Kharkiv again bombarded
Russian shelling of the major city in northeastern Ukraine killed at least three people on Monday, local authorities said, the day after strikes have already killed six. According to the regional prosecutor’s office, a shell that fell in the late morning on a children’s playground in a residential area caused the death of a man and a woman and damaged buildings.
The European Union sentenced “indiscriminate and illegal shelling of civilians”
After the “powerful” Russian strikes that hit Lviv, the European Union has condemned “indiscriminate and unlawful shelling of civilians”. “There can be no impunity for war crimes”said the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, in a statement published in Brussels.
Volodymyr Zelensky hopes to get EU candidate status ‘in coming weeks’
“Our people are, in their hearts, already mentally in Europe for a long time. Nevertheless, each country must follow this procedure.” Volodymyr Zelensky hopes his country will obtain the status of candidate for accession to the European Union “in the coming weeks”. For this, Brussels must verify that Ukraine meets the various criteria and the 27 Member States must give their agreement, which is not certain. In any case, the Ukrainian leader sent two voluminous files to the EU ambassador to Ukraine on Monday. It constitutes Ukraine’s application for membership of the European Union.
Vladimir Putin decorates a brigade accused of abuses in Boutcha
His name is associated with the abuses of Boutcha (Ukraine), near kyiv. The 64th Motorized Rifle Brigade did indeed receive, on Monday, April 18, the “honorary title of Guard” in a decree signed by Vladimir Putin himself. “The skillful and decisive actions of all (brigade) personnel during the special military operation in Ukraine are a model of the execution of military duty, courage, determination and great professionalism”wrote the Russian president to the military.
The discovery in the streets of this locality of corpses of civilians, shortly after the withdrawal of Russian soldiers, had sparked a wave of international indignation in early April. Ukrainian investigators are still working there to gather the constituent elements of “war crimes”. Russia, for its part, denied everything “war crime”assuring on the contrary that the Ukrainian authorities and the Western media had staged the massacre or that the Ukrainian forces had perpetrated it to accuse Moscow of it.
Emmanuel Macron does not rule out “talking again” with Vladimir Putin
Guest of the program “C à vous” on France 5, Monday evening, Emmanuel Macron explained why his telephone discussions with Vladimir Poutine, regular at the beginning of the Russian invasion, are no longer so. He acknowledged that the dialogue with the Russian President was “less intense in recent days due to the campaign”. But “also because since the massacres that we discovered in Boutcha and other towns, (…) the war took another turn. I did not speak to him again directly.” The president-candidate explained preparing “the day after” war and does not exclude “talk again” to the Russian President.