Mariupol under heavy shelling
The Azovstal metallurgical complex, the last Ukrainian entrenchment in Mariupol, has been the victim of intense Russian bombardments for 24 hours. Sviatoslav Palamar, a deputy commander of the Azov regiment, which includes most of the Ukrainian defenders of the place, said on television that “the Azovstal factory was bombed and almost completely destroyed”.
For his part, Pavlo Kyrylenko, the governor of the Donetsk region, said in an interview with CNN that the fighting “continues”, without giving details.
This information, like the death toll in Mariupol, remains impossible to verify. The authorities fear the death of 20,000 to 22,000 civilians.
Mercenaries on the front line
Between “10,000 and 20,000” mercenaries from the Russian paramilitary company Wagner and Syrian or Libyan fighters are currently fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine, a European official said on Tuesday.
These men “have no vehicles or heavy weapons” and come to reinforce the Russian troops, the official told reporters in Washington, on condition of anonymity.
The official says he has seen “transfers, from areas such as Syria and Libya, to the eastern region of Donbass”, where Moscow has launched a new phase of its attack. However, according to him, it is difficult to estimate exactly how many of these men are from the private Wagner group, and how many are fighters from Libya or Syria.
Russia steps up expulsions of diplomats
Russia expelled many diplomats from European countries on Tuesday, in retaliation for similar moves recently taken in Europe following Russia’s offensive in Ukraine.
A dozen Belgian diplomats will have to leave, as will 15 Dutch diplomats and four Austrians, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.
In recent weeks, many other European countries, including Germany, France, Italy and Spain, have expelled dozens of Russian diplomats. Moscow has promised, for its part, to respond to each of these measures. Dozens of other eviction announcements are therefore expected in the coming days.
“The beginning of a new cold war”
Decades will undoubtedly be needed to “restore confidence” between Western countries and Russia, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on Tuesday. “Rebuilding all of this will take time,” he noted, saying that “we are witnessing the beginning of a new cold war.”
A member of NATO and an ally of Ukraine – to which it has delivered combat drones – Turkey has been trying since the start of the conflict in Ukraine to facilitate mediation between Moscow and kyiv. The country has refused to align itself with Western sanctions targeting Russia in order to keep an open line with the Kremlin.
With Agence France-Presse