what to remember from Thursday March 21

Moscow claims the capture of a new Ukrainian village in Donbass, while European Union countries propose to tax Russian grain imports into the EU.

What help will the European Union provide to Ukraine in the face of Russia? While kyiv asks for ammunition “crucial” to slow down Russian progress, Ursula von der Leyen spoke of taxing Russian grain imports into the EU. At the same time, Ukraine announced that it had shot down 31 Russian missiles targeting the country’s capital at dawn. Franceinfo takes stock of the main information relating to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.

Ursula von der Leyen proposes taxing Russian grain imports into the EU

The President of the European Commission proposed Thursday March 21 to impose customs duties on cereals coming from Russia. They are currently exempt, to the great dismay of EU farmers. “We have prepared a proposal to increase customs duties on imports of Russian and Belarusian grain, oilseeds and derived products. This will prevent Russian grain from destabilizing the European market for these products”declared Ursula von der Leyen, during a press conference in Brussels.

Before this announcement, Volodymyr Zelensky castigated the importation “without restrictions” cereals from Russia and Belarus, while at the same time deciding to cap its purchases of certain agricultural products from Ukraine. “It is unfair”he said during a videoconference interview with the Twenty-Seven meeting at a summit in Brussels.

EU wants to ‘move forward’ on Ukraine’s use of frozen Russian assets

In Brussels, the Twenty-Seven decided to move forward with a plan to use profits from Russia’s frozen assets in the EU to arm Ukraine. In a joint statement, the leaders of EU member countries said they wanted “to move the work forward” on a proposal presented on Wednesday by the European Commission, which should make it possible to free up between 2.5 and three billion euros per year in favor of kyiv.

Ukraine asks for “crucial” munitions against Russia

European leaders, meeting at a summit in Brussels, are looking for ways to better arm Ukraine, which is calling for help. He is “crucial” that the European Union provide more ammunition to the Ukrainian forces, declared Volodymyr Zelensky in an address to the leaders of the Twenty-Seven.

Ukraine continues to ask its Western allies to speed up their deliveries of weapons and shells, but Western aid is running out of steam. “Unfortunately, the use of artillery on the battlefield by our soldiers is humiliating for Europe because Europe can provide more”denounced the Ukrainian president. “It is crucial to prove it now”he told the EU heads of state and government in a video message.

European agreement on Ukrainian agricultural imports suspended

The agreement reached on Wednesday between EU states and the European Parliament to cap certain Ukrainian agricultural imports from June was suspended a few hours after its announcement, due to opposition from several countries, including France. The agreement concerns Ukrainian agricultural products exempt from customs duties, such as eggs, poultry, oats, corn and even honey, but not wheat.

Russia claims capture of new Ukrainian village in Donbass

Moscow continues its slow advance in the Donbass facing a Ukrainian army lacking men and ammunition. Russia claimed the capture of the village of Tonenké, located west of the town of Avdiivka taken in February. “In the Avdiïvka area, the locality of Tonenké (…) was liberated”said the Russian Defense Ministry, two days after claiming the capture of the neighboring village of Orlivka, a few kilometers further north.

New major attack on the Ukrainian capital

Ukraine announced that it had shot down 31 Russian missiles targeting kyiv at dawn on Thursday. Several explosions rang out in the early morning in the center of the capital, after an air alert for missiles and drones launched by Russia. The mayor of kyiv reported “rocket debris” fallen in certain districts of the capital, notably on a “residential building”and with “cars on fire”, in a message on Telegram. According to the Ukrainian presidency, 13 civilians were injured in several districts of the city.

Russian fighters allied with Ukraine vow to continue incursions into Russia

Russian fighters, allied with Ukraine against the Kremlin, assured that they would continue their armed incursions into Russia, boasting of having opened a new “forehead” in the conflict. Since last week, these groups have said they have repeatedly infiltrated the Russian border regions of Belgorod and Kursk, with the Russian army claiming to have repelled their assaults. Their operations have in any case increased pressure on Russian localities close to Ukraine, also subject to deadly bombings in retaliation for Russian strikes on Ukrainian territory.