The corridor used to evacuate civilians from the besieged port of Mariupol in southeastern Ukraine “didn’t work,” Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on Wednesday (April 20). She accused the Russians of violating the ceasefire and blocking buses while a “preliminary” deal was reached, she said. Franceinfo takes stock of what to remember from that day of the war in Ukraine, which saw many diplomatic announcements.
Kyiv did not receive whole combat aircraft
Ukraine has received spare parts from the US for its fighter jets to strengthen its air force, but not entire aircraft, said Pentagon spokesman John Kirby. However, he had assured on Tuesday that Kyiv had received strengthening devices. “I was wrong. They didn’t get whole planes from another country,” he said. “Nevertheless, the Ukrainians (…) have received enough spare parts and additional equipment to make more aircraft operational” than three weeks ago. “I regret that mistake,” he said.
The fall of Mariupol is drawing near
Ukraine’s Defense Ministry stressed that the Russian army “concentrated the main part of its efforts on capturing Mariupol and continued its attack attempts near the Azovstal Steelworks,” the last island of resistance in this strategic seaport of Azov, at the southern end of the Donbass. Sviatoslav Palamar, deputy commander of the Azov battalion, one of the two Ukrainian formations still resisting Mariupol, stressed in a video message on Telegram that the situation at the factory, which was fired with “powerful super bombs” by the Russian Air Force, ” critical”. He urged international leaders to “save first” the civilians at the factory.
Donbass is subjected to “attempted attacks”.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense also reported “attempted attacks” on the villages of Sulyguivka and Dibrivne in the Kharkiv region (east) and on Rubizhne and Severodonetsk in the Luhansk region (east). “The situation is getting more complicated by the hour,” Lugansk Governor Sergei Gaidaï wrote on Telegram, renewing his calls for the evacuation of civilians. “Go to safety (…). Go! he wrote.
Russian ICBM launch ‘no threat’
Defense Department spokesman John Kirby asserted that Russia’s launch of a Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile was a “routine test” and “posed no threat” to the United States or its allies. Moscow has given Washington “adequate” notice of this test, in accordance with its obligations under the nuclear treaties, and it was therefore not a “surprise” to the Pentagon. For his part, Vladimir Putin welcomed this new-generation missile launch “which will ensure Russia’s security against external threats.”
Charles Michel assures that the Twenty-Seven will remain united
European Council President Charles Michel was the youngest European leader to visit Kyiv. He assured that the EU would do “everything possible” so that Ukraine “wins the war”. “You are not alone, we are with you,” he said. Russian President Vladimir Putin “will neither succeed in destroying Ukraine’s sovereignty nor in splitting the European Union,” he added. He praised the Twenty-Seven’s ability to “all collectively make unanimous decisions” over several waves of tough sanctions against Moscow.
More than a million Ukrainians have decided to return to their country
More than a million Ukrainians have returned to their country since the conflict began, said Ukrainian Border Guard Service spokesman Andriy Demtchenko. He did not say whether they were refugees who left during the Russian invasion or Ukrainians who were already living abroad before the war began on February 24. At the same time, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) announced that the number of Ukrainians who have fled abroad has passed the symbolic threshold of five million.
Russian and Belarusian players have been banned for Wimbledon
Wimbledon have banned Russians and Belarusians from the 2022 edition of the London Grand Slam tournament because of the war in Ukraine. This is the first tennis tournament to see these players released individually, a decision that has drawn heavy criticism from the ATP and WTA. So Daniil Medvedev, number 2 in the world, Andrey Rublev (8th), Aryna Sabalenka (4th and semifinalist last year), Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (15th) and Viktoria Azarenka (ex-number 1, today 18th) will not be in not be able to defend their chances on the London lawn.