The third session of Russian-Ukrainian talks is scheduled this Monday, March 7, as the Russian offensive in Ukraine enters its second week in a row. Follow the events with us.
Vital
- Opening of humanitarian corridors A ceasefire has been established in the Ukrainian cities of Kharkov, Kyiv, Mariupol and Sumy to evacuate civilians. The government of Ukraine refused to create humanitarian corridors to Russia and Belarus
- France sends iodine to Ukraine to protect against the risk of a nuclear accident during the battle with the Russian army.
- Third round of negotiations between Ukraine and Russia will take place this Monday, March 7.
– 10:50 am: Russia is absent before the International Court of Justice on the issue of the war in Ukraine.
The Russian ambassador to the Netherlands specified that Russia would be absent this Monday, March 7, from a hearing at the International Court of Justice to respond to the procedure requested by Ukraine to order Russia to stop its military invasion.
Joan Donoghue, President of the International Court of Justice, “regrets the absence of the Russian Federation for these oral hearings.”
– 10:40 am: China to provide humanitarian aid to Ukraine, welcomes ‘strong’ friendship with Russia
The Chinese Red Cross will provide humanitarian aid to Ukraine “as soon as possible,” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Monday, March 7, welcoming the “strong” friendship between his country and Russia.
Ukraine has announced such humanitarian aid for the first time. Beijing has so far refused to condemn Russia’s attack on Ukraine or call it an invasion, while asking Western countries to respect Russia’s “legitimate security concerns.”
Wang Yi said the reasons for the “situation in Ukraine” were “complicated” and did not happen overnight, noting, quoting a Chinese proverb, that “three feet of ice does not form in one day.”
“Dealing with difficult issues requires calmness and rationality, not adding fuel to the fire and exacerbating contradictions,” he said at a press conference on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the Chinese parliament.
He added that China has already done “some work” to promote peace talks and has always been in contact with all parties involved in the conflict.
“China is ready to continue to play a constructive role in the pursuit of peace and advancing negotiations, and is also ready to work with the international community to carry out the necessary mediation, if necessary.”
The minister also supported the idea that humanitarian issues should not be politicized and that the “humanitarian action” of the Red Cross should respect the principles of neutrality and impartiality. Russian President Vladimir Putin met with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping hours before the start of the Beijing Winter Olympics in February to sign a strategic partnership agreement aimed at countering US influence.
Both leaders then said that they would not have “forbidden areas of cooperation.” “No matter how dire the international situation is, China and Russia will maintain their strategic resolve and continuously promote the all-round strategic coordination partnership in the new era,” Wang Yi said.
– 10:30 am: Kyiv abandons humanitarian corridors created to Russia and Belarus
Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine Irina Vereshchuk said on Monday, March 7, about the rejection of humanitarian corridors to Russia and Belarus: “This is an unacceptable option.”
– 10:00 am: “Russia does not bomb Ukraine,” says a spokesman for the Russian embassy.
The press secretary of the Russian Embassy Alexander Makogonov said on Monday, March 7, on the air of LCI: “Bombardment, I think, is not quite the right word. In Ukraine, we are conducting a very targeted military operation. The bombings are truly universal.”
“Russia is not bombing Ukraine. We are not at war,” he explained.
– 9:45 am: Sino-Russian friendship “strong as a rock”
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Monday (March 7) that the friendship between Beijing and Moscow is “strong as a rock, and the prospects for future cooperation are enormous.”
He also assured that in the context of the conflict in Ukraine, China is ready to participate “if necessary” in international mediation.
– 9:30 am: EU must prepare to receive 5 million exiles
The European Union (EU) must expect and prepare to receive five million Ukrainian refugees seeking to avoid war, European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell warned this Monday, March 7.
“We already have a million and a half refugees a week. If the bombing continues like this, if they continue to bombard cities indiscriminately, we can expect five million exiles who are trying to escape the war,” he said ahead of the speech. an informal meeting of EU development ministers organized by the French Presidency of the Council of the EU in Montpellier.
“The humanitarian crisis that will develop in Ukraine has become a matter of development assistance, as we did in Afghanistan, we will face a similar problem,” he explained.
However, this new crisis is unprecedented in its scale, the head of European diplomacy stressed.
“We did not accept five million Afghans in Europe,” he stressed, recalling that during the Syrian refugee crisis in 2015-2016, “we talked about one and a half million people, now it will be much more.”
Specifically, it is necessary “to mobilize all the resources of the Union to help the countries that will receive these flows, all countries that have a border with Ukraine, create the funds necessary to receive these people,” Josep Borrell stressed.
“We need to have a more political vision of our assistance so that the international community first of all condemns Russia’s actions, creates a coalition to help Ukrainian refugees, to (support) Ukraine,” as there are more remaining combatants than refugees who fled the fighting.
– 9 a.m.: Macron did not ‘ask for humanitarian corridors to Russia’ as Putin claims
According to Moscow, acting on Monday, March 7, humanitarian corridors between several Ukrainian cities and Russia were requested by Emmanuel Macron, specifying that it was a “personal request,” as BFM points out.
Information refuted by the Elysee Court, which states: “The President of the Republic did not request and did not receive corridors to Russia after his conversation with Vladimir Putin. The President of the Republic insistently asks for the release of the civilian population and for the delivery of aid. .”
– 8:50 am: Ukraine can win the war
This Monday, March 7, French Ambassador to Ukraine Etienne de Poncins said on RTL that he shares the opinion of Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on a possible victory for Ukraine.
“I believe we cannot rule out this hypothesis,” he explains. Before adding: “I also do not rule out returning to Kyiv to open an embassy.”
“Ukrainians will resist, that’s for sure.”
“It is certainly possible to take Kiev militarily, to occupy Kyiv over time is really something else, especially if the Russian troops are faced with partisan or defensive actions, I am not at all sure that Kyiv will fall.”
– 8:30 am: Moscow’s request for Iranian nuclear power is seen by Tehran as unconstructive.
Iranian officials said Russia’s demands at the Vienna talks aimed at resuming the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran were “unconstructive,” Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Monday (March 7).
The agency, which does not name the officials who made the statements, said the Russian “intervention” is intended to protect Moscow’s interests.
Russia has asked the US to ensure that sanctions imposed on it for its offensive in Ukraine do not affect its trade with Iran, which could hinder progress in negotiations.
By slowing down the restart of this agreement between Iran and the Western powers and indirectly delaying Iran’s return to the oil market, Russia is seeking to boost oil prices and increase its own energy revenues, according to the agency, which did not cite the source of its analysis.
– 7 am: Moscow opens humanitarian corridors
The Russian army announces the opening on Monday of several humanitarian corridors and the establishment of a local ceasefire for the evacuation of civilians. This applies to the Ukrainian cities of Kharkov, Kyiv, Mariupol and Sumy, engulfed in fierce battles.
– 06:30: Night intensive shelling of Kharkov.
On the night from Sunday to Monday, the city of Kharkov, the second largest city in Ukraine, was subjected to intense bombing.
According to the Agence France Presse journalist, the strikes were carried out on the sports complex of the local university, as well as on civilian buildings.
– 6am: France sends iodine to Ukraine
France sent Ukraine “various medical preparations”, including iodine, to protect against the risk of a nuclear accident during hostilities with the Russian army, Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Sunday, March 6.