After kyiv, where Volodymyr Zelensky rejected their initiative, a delegation of African heads of state went to Saint Petersburg to meet Vladimir Putin, who claims to be “open” to dialogue.
The strikes of the Russian army in Ukraine made new victims in Ukraine, Saturday June 17. Four passengers in a vehicle hit by a missile were killed in the Kharkiv region, another person was killed by shelling in the Dnipropetrovsk region, and further shelling in Kherson injured 23, according to regional authorities Ukrainians. For its part, Russia claimed to have repelled a Ukrainian drone attack on a refinery in the Russian border region of Bryansk. Franceinfo summarizes the other important information of this day.
African heads of state meet Putin for mediation
Russian President Vladimir Putin received in Saint Petersburg a delegation of African leaders who wish to act as mediators with Ukraine: the presidents of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, of Senegal, Macky Sall, of Zambia, Hakainde Hichilema, as well as the President of the Comoros, Azali Assoumani, as the current Chairman of the African Union.
“The war cannot last forever (…). We want this war to end” launched Cyril Ramaphosa, leader of this delegation, recalling that African countries were “negatively affected”. “We are open to a constructive dialogue”assured Vladimir Putin, welcoming the“balanced approach” of the delegation.
On Friday, these heads of state visited the town of Boutcha, where Russian soldiers killed many civilians, then met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev. The latter clearly rejected the mediation project, which he described as “deception” orchestrated by Russia. “Allowing negotiation with Russia now, when the occupier is on our land, means freezing war, freezing pain and suffering”he said.
Biden does not want to change NATO entry criteria for Ukraine
Asked by journalists whether he intended to return “easier” kyiv’s accession to the Atlantic Alliance, the President of the United States replied “No”assuring that Ukraine should “meet all the criteria. So we’re not going to make it easy”. These remarks come ahead of the next annual NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, which will be held on July 11 and 12. The secretary general of the alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, had already warned on Friday that this meeting would not be the occasion to formally invite Ukraine to join.
The toll of the destruction of the Kakhovka dam rises
The head of the Russian occupation in the Ukrainian region of Kherson said that 29 people had died in the floods which followed the destruction of this work, for which Moscow and Kiev are mutually responsible. The previous report of the Russian authorities reported 17 dead in the area controlled by the Russian army, which corresponds to the east bank of the Dnipro river. On the other side, the latest report from the Ukrainian authorities on Monday reported ten dead and 41 missing.