what to remember from Wednesday March 20

Strikes caused the deaths of several civilians in Kharkiv, Ukraine, and Belgorod, Russia.

Ukraine and Russia reported on Wednesday March 20 strikes that caused the deaths of several civilians on each side of their common border, where bombings have increased in recent times, pushing Vladimir Putin to promise to ensure the “security” in the targeted Russian regions. Franceinfo takes stock of the main information relating to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.

At least four dead in Russian strike on Kharkiv city

At least four people were killed and seven injured in a Russian strike in broad daylight on Kharkiv, the country’s second city, announced regional governor Oleg Synegoubov. The toll is likely to rise because a “dozen people could be trapped in the rubble”he had warned earlier on television, noting that, “according to initial estimates, it was a cruise missile”.

One body was able to be freed and two others remained stuck under the rubble, continued Oleg Synegoubov, according to whom two injured people were in serious condition. It is an industrial site which housed “a printing shop”a furniture and paint production facility that was hit, reported Serguï Bolvinov, a senior local police official.

Three dead in Russia’s Belgorod region, local authorities say

In the Russian region of Belgorod, two civilians were killed and two others injured near the village of Graivoron, Vyacheslav Gladkov said. The local governor spoke of a border district targeted by air attacks and ground incursions by armed groups from Ukraine. Since Wednesday morning, the area has suffered “massive bombings”especially from multiple rocket launchers, he said.

Earlier, the governor reported the death of a civilian in Belgorod, specifying that two others had been injured, including a 17-year-old girl. Residential buildings, a school and two kindergartens were also damaged, according to him. No students or teachers were there, the regional authorities having decided this week to temporarily close schools in border areas in the face of the risk of strikes.

For his part, Vladimir Putin, who has just been reappointed, promised on Wednesday to“Ensure the security” residents of border regions, including Belgorod, greeting their “courage”.

The American presidency says it is “confident” about the aid of 60 billion dollars

In Kiev, where he was on an official visit, American National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan for his part declared himself unable to predict if and when Congress would adopt the $60 billion military aid program for the Ukraine, still blocked in the House of Representatives, led by the Republicans.

“It’s already taken too long. I know it, you know it”declared Jake Sullivan during a press conference, alongside Andriy Yermak, chief of staff of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. “I’m not going to make any predictions on exactly when this will happen, but we are working towards it being as soon as possible.”, he added. He reiterated the position of the White House, which said “confident” in the possibility of releasing the money at one time or another.

European agreement on Ukrainian agricultural imports suspended

The agreement reached on Wednesday between the States of the European Union and the European Parliament to cap certain Ukrainian agricultural imports from June was suspended early Wednesday afternoon, Radio France learned from the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

The agreement concerns Ukrainian agricultural products exempt from customs duties, such as eggs, poultry, sugar, oats, corn and honey. According to diplomatic sources, it is due to opposition in particular from France, Poland and Italy, three of the largest agricultural countries in the European Union, that additional time for reflection is granted. These countries particularly want to have more time to study the agreement and obtain the green light from their capitals.

IOC brushes aside Russian accusations of “racism” and “neo-Nazism”

The International Olympic Committee said on Wednesday that the Russian government had fallen “even lower” by accusing the organization of “switch into racism and neo-Nazism” by the restrictions imposed on Russian athletes for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. “This goes beyond anything that is acceptable.”criticized Mark Adams, the spokesperson for the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the German Thomas Bach, in front of the press.