A “real danger” of a Third World War?
Moscow warned on Monday of a possibility of World War III, accusing kyiv of “pretending” to negotiate. “Goodwill has its limits. And if it is not reciprocated, it does not contribute to the negotiation process,” declared the head of Russian diplomacy, Sergei Lavrov. ” The danger [d’une Troisième Guerre mondiale] is serious, it is real, it cannot be underestimated”, he added, assuring however that Russia would continue peace negotiations with Ukraine. According to Mr. Lavrov, “everything will of course end with the signing of an agreement” whose terms “will depend on the situation of the fighting on the ground”.
No humanitarian corridor in Mariupol
No agreement was reached on Monday to evacuate Azovstal, the last territory of Mariupol still in Ukrainian hands, where 1,000 civilians and hundreds of wounded would be entrenched, according to the Ukrainian presidency. After bombing the metallurgical complex all weekend, Moscow unilaterally announced a ceasefire on Monday to “ensure the departure” of women, children and factory workers “in the direction of their choice”. but kyiv rejected the Kremlin’s proposal. “The announced corridor does not offer any security, so there is no evacuation,” Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said.
Ukraine can win the war
Ukraine can “win” the war against Russia if it has the “right equipment”, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said Monday after returning from a visit to kyiv with the Secretary of State, the first of senior American officials since the beginning of the conflict. “We want to see Russia weakened to such a degree that they can no longer do something like invading Ukraine,” Austin said. Britain’s defense minister announced on Monday that the UK will supply Ukraine with a “small number” of Stormer armored anti-aircraft missile launchers. Poland, for its part, admitted having sent tanks to Ukraine, without however specifying the number “for security reasons”.
Russian economy ‘stabilizes’
Vladimir Putin said on Monday that the Russian economy was “stabilizing”, saying that “inflation has slowed down, [que] weekly price growth was closer to normal and [que], on a number of products, prices have already started to fall.” According to him, this resilience is due to two factors: the good health of the rouble, which has “actively strengthened in recent times” and “consumer demand” which has returned to normal after a “peak in February-March”, when Russians rushed to stores for fear of shortages or a falling currency. Economists say the worst is yet to come as the impact of international sanctions becomes increasingly visible.