Visiting Beijing, Emmanuel Macron said he “can count” on the Chinese president to “bring everyone back to the negotiating table.”
“I know I can count on you to (…) bring everyone back to the negotiating table.” Traveling to China, Emmanuel Macron called, Thursday, April 6, the Chinese head of state Xi Jinping to “bring Russia to its senses” vis-à-vis Ukraine. Mediation quickly rejected by Moscow. Franceinfo takes stock of what to remember from the day on the conflict.
Russia says it has repelled an infiltration of Ukrainian “saboteurs” on its territory
Russia said on Thursday April 6 that it had repelled a group of “saboteurs” Ukrainians who were trying to infiltrate its territory via the border region of Bryansk, where a Ukrainian pilot had already been arrested the day before. “The Border Guard Department of the Federal Security Service of Russia in the Bryansk region foiled an attempt to enter Russian territory by a 20-man Ukrainian reconnaissance and sabotage group near the village of Slutchovsk”announced on Telegram the governor of the region, Alexandre Bogomaz.
This information was confirmed by the Russian Defense Ministry, which for its part mentioned a group of 15 people. “During the clash, the enemy was defeated by artillery fire (…) The sabotage group dispersed and, after suffering losses, retreated to Ukrainian territory. There were no casualties among the Russian military.”he said.
Emmanuel Macron urges Xi Jinping “not to deliver anything to Russia that serves its war against Ukraine”
During an interview in Beijing, Emmanuel Macron on Thursday urged Chinese President Xi Jinping to “bring Russia to its senses” vis-à-vis Ukraine. “I know I can count on you to (…) bring everyone back to the negotiating table”said the French president during a face-to-face meeting at the People’s Palace. The Kremlin spokesman quickly ruled out the possibility of Chinese mediation to stop the fighting in Ukraine, saying Russia had no “no other solution than to continue the special military operation”.
Emmanuel Macron also “urged Xi Jinping not to deliver anything to Russia that would serve its war against Ukraine”, reported to several media, including France Télévisions, a French diplomat who attended the meetings between the two heads of state. Western countries fear that China, an ally of Moscow, will supply arms to the Russians. That “would significantly harm” to the EU-China relationship, for his part warned Ursula von der Leyen. The President of the European Commission accompanies Emmanuel Macron on his trip. Xi Jinping for his part pleaded for “a resumption of peace talks as soon as possible”.
Wagner continues to suffer losses, says group leader
The boss of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner admitted on Thursday that his men continued to suffer losses in the fighting in Ukraine. A video broadcast by his press service on Telegram shows Evguéni Prigojine standing in front of dozens of graves surmounted by crosses and on which are placed wreaths of flowers.
The last official loss report communicated by the Ministry of Defense dates from September 2022 and reports 5,937 soldiers killed. This does not include Wagner’s fighters, who are not officially part of the military. According to Western estimates, the whole of the Russian forces (army, Wagner and pro-Russian separatists from Ukraine) could have more than 150,000 dead and wounded in their ranks.