Yevgeny Prigojine, head of the Russian Wagner militia, said Bakhmout, the epicenter of the fighting in eastern Ukraine, would not fall before “March or April”.
Ukraine announced to have suffered new missile strikes and drones on the night of Wednesday February 15 to Thursday February 16, causing at least one civilian death. According to the Air Force, 16 of the 32 missiles launched overnight by Russia were shot down.
In parallel, in an interview with the BBC on Thursday (in English), Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky rejected the idea of any “compromise” about Ukrainian territory with Moscow. “We want security guarantees. Any territorial compromise would weaken us as a state,” he defended. “Discuss with him (Vladimir Poutine) ? No. Because there is no trust.”
Franceinfo looks back on the highlights of the day, almost a year after the start of the war in Ukraine.
For Wagner, Bakhmout will not fall before “March or April”
Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of Russia’s Wagner militia, said Bakhmut, the epicenter of the fighting in eastern Ukraine, would not fall before “March or April”. “I think it’s March or April. To take Bakhmout, you have to cut off all supply routes” Ukrainians, he said in a video. “I think we would have taken Bakhmout if it weren’t for this monstrous military bureaucracy and if we weren’t being put in the way every day,” he said, not hiding his differences. with the military hierarchy.
“We knew”: the head of NATO returns to the start of the conflict
Almost a year after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told AFP how he had become certain that the offensive would begin on February 24, 2022. . “It was a very short night because I knew that at some point in the next few hours someone was going to wake me up and that’s exactly what happened.” “Around 4 a.m. I was called by my chief of staff. He just told me briefly: ‘they are here’, which meant that the invasion had started. It was not a surprise for us, because we were expecting it”.
On Thursday, Jens Stoltenberg also said NATO had to prepare for a long confrontation in its relationship with Russia. “President Putin wants a different Europe, a Europe where he can control his neighbours, where he can decide what countries can do”deplored the Secretary General of the Atlantic Alliance. “We have to be ready for the long term. It may last for many, many years… NATO will always seek a better relationship. But with the current behavior of the (Russian) regime, there is no way. ”
“We are here to make sure Ukraine wins this war,” he continued, adding that “If President Putin wins in Ukraine, it will be a tragedy for Ukrainians. But it will also be dangerous for all of us.”
Belarus will fight with Moscow only if the country is attacked
“I am ready to fight with the Russians from the territory of Belarus only in one case: if even a soldier comes from there (from Ukraine) with a weapon on our territory to kill our people”Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said Thursday during a rare meeting with foreign media in Minsk (Belarus). “This is not only valid for Ukraine, but also for all the other neighbors”continued the leader.
Belarus serves as a rear base for the Russian offensive launched a year ago against Ukraine. Russian soldiers and equipment are still deployed there today. According to many analysts, the Kremlin is pressuring Alexander Lukashenko to order his army to join the offensive.
Ukrainian Nobel Peace laureate calls for special tribunal
Ukrainian Oleksandra Matviïtchouk, whose NGO is co-winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, on Thursday called on the UN and the European Union to support the establishment of a special tribunal to try the most senior Russian officials, to President Vladimir Putin. “We must break the circle of impunity”defended to AFP the president of the Center for Civil Liberties (CCL), which documents the war crimes committed by Russian troops in Ukraine.
New sanctions against Russia in preparation
The United States and its allies are preparing the adoption of new sanctions against Russia for February 24, precisely one year after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “You will see around the 24th a new big package of sanctions from the United States and all our G7 partner allies”declared to the press the American Victoria Nuland, Assistant Secretary of State for Political Affairs.
“These sanctions will deepen and broaden in some categories the measures we have already taken, most notably to limit the flow of technology to the Russian defense industry.”, she clarified. The official also pointed out that these sanctions would target people, tighten banking restrictions and affect third countries allowing Russia to circumvent the sanctions.