Did you miss the latest events related to the war in Ukraine? 20 Minutes takes stock for you every evening. Who did what? Who says what? Where are we ? The answer below:
news of the day
Russia confirmed on Friday it had indeed carried out a strike with “high-precision” weapons against the Ukrainian capital Kyiv the day before amid a visit by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. “Russian forces using long-range high-precision weapons destroyed the workshops of the Artyom space company in the city of Kyiv,” the Russian Defense Ministry said during a briefing.
This is the first bombardment in Kyiv since mid-April. The Russian army on Thursday used “high-precision missiles” to destroy “three power plants near railway junctions,” including at Fastov in the Kyiv region, according to the ministry. “It says a lot about Russia’s true attitude towards international institutions, the efforts of the Russian leadership to humiliate the UN and everything the organization stands for,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy commented in a video. To learn more, it’s here.
phrase of the day
Once again the Russians show their contempt for human beings. This time they add their contempt for the United Nations. »
These are the words of Jean-Maurice Ripert, former French Ambassador to Russia, this morning on France Info. “This strike comes because Antonio Guterres’ visit was based on a request for cooperation with the International Criminal Court in investigating and adjudicating war crimes committed by the Russian army against civilians. The message is clear: Russia will not cooperate,” he added.
The number of the day
200. According to Etienne de Poncins, this is “approximately” the number of French remaining in Ukraine. The French ambassador in Kyiv was a guest of BFMTV this morning and explained that most of them were Franco-Ukrainians who didn’t want to leave. Only “a handful” want to leave Ukraine but cannot, while some have returned to the country despite embassy recommendations.
The trend of the day
how far to go In the context of the conflict in Ukraine, Western countries are advancing on a front line, stepping up their armed aid to Kyiv while for the time being careful to avoid any direct intervention that would make them appear as co-belligerents in the eyes of Moscow. At this stage, this red line based on the law of armed conflict was not crossed by the NATO countries, despite the intensification of military support, emphasizes Julia Grignon, a researcher at the Strategic Research Institute of the Military School (Irsem). “Funding, equipping, or training armed forces is not enough to bring a state into armed conflict. »
On the other hand, the deal would look very different if they decided to take a direct part in hostilities by deploying troops on the ground — a scenario the United States-led West is ruling out at this point. The question of co-warfare could also arise if Western countries engage in military planning and oversight of military operations – as was the case during international coalition fighting against the Daesh organization in Iraq and Syria.
Behind the semantic and legal debate is uncertainty about the extent and nature of Russia’s response, which since the beginning of the invasion has been brandishing threats in case of interference, promising a “rapid” response if necessary and blinding”.