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10:08 a.m.: Accused by Washington of wanting to supply arms to Russia, the Chinese government denies this possibility. “We do not accept the United States pointing fingers at China-Russia relations, let alone applying pressure and coercion,” said Wang Wenbin, a spokesman for China’s foreign ministry.
10:01 am: Roman and Oleksandr, who were released in Mariupol and then arrested again, say they then spent 92 days in inhumane conditions in the seedy Olenivka prison. As soon as they arrive, they say they are put in a cell measuring about 18 square meters with 45 other people. “It was scary, some people stopped and others had to curl up on the floor to sleep due to lack of space. Find their testimonials in our article.
10 a.m.: “I was in a lot of pain. I was covered in bruises, I couldn’t walk, sit or lie down.”
The two Ukrainians were then taken to a command post of the Russian armed forces in Tokmak, they said. Inside, “Chechen” men ordered the two volunteers to stand facing the wall before putting a bag over their heads. “Roman asked questions and they started hitting him,” says his fellow driver. On two occasions, according to their respective testimonies, the volunteers were hit in the liver, kidneys and knees.
09.50: Roman and Oleksandr were arrested on the way to Mariupol when they were supposed to provide humanitarian aid there. After the first two nights they were taken to a field. A guard then handed them two shovels and told them, “You will dig your own graves,” pointing to what he described as graves “of volunteers bringing aid to a Ukrainian battalion.”
09:49: They now live safely in a country neighboring their native Ukraine. But Roman and Oleksandr are not the same men anymore. “I think it took me ten years,” says Roman, 39, whose teeth, liver and kidneys are still damaged. For Oleksandr*, almost 25 years old, “the fear doesn’t go away”. These Ukrainian volunteers were arrested, beaten and held captive for more than three months by Russian and Separatist forces. I collected their testimonials.
(ASTRID AMADIEU / FRANCEINFO)
09:47: Also in this interview with Corriere della Sera (in Italian), Volodymyr Zelensky reminded that Bakhmout’s defense is important, “but not at any cost and so everyone dies”. “We will fight to a reasonable point,” he assured.
9.34 a.m .: “It will be a useless dialogue, in reality Macron is wasting his time.”
In an interview with Corriere della sera (in Italian), the Ukrainian president no longer believes in a dialogue with Russia. “We are unable to change the Russian attitude. If they chose to isolate themselves in the dream of rebuilding the former Soviet empire, there is nothing we can do about it, it is up to them whether or not to cooperate in the community of nations based on mutual respect … Rather, it was the decision to be in to go to war that Putin has marginalized,” the leader said.
9:17 am: #7:50 am: the announcement 🇺🇦Thursday evening @LaTourEiffel will light up in the colors of Ukraine in solidarity with the Ukrainian people. A year after the start of the war, @Paris reiterates its unwavering support for the Ukrainian people! #StandWithUkraine https://t.co/v6e1ANIRc3
9:17 a.m .: One year after the conflict began, the Eiffel Tower will shine in the colors of Ukraine on Thursday “in solidarity with the Ukrainian people”, the mayor of Paris announced on Twitter. The city “reiterates its unwavering support for the Ukrainian people,” the mayor added.
07:41: “Bachmout is our fortress. We won’t give up the city. The Ukrainians are Cossacks. They are willing to die to defend their families because we are not slaves.”
Russian forces are tightening their grip on Bakhmout a little more every day. But the city of Donbass in eastern Ukraine is still controlled by troops from Kiev, who are resisting a barrage of fire and attacks by Russian forces.
07:43: “It’s a first year of life that goes by without me. It’s very hard. It’s also very difficult for him because we cycled non-stop. We were inseparable.”
In Ukraine, eight million mothers and children have fled the country, that is one in five Ukrainians. Many fathers have not seen their children for almost a year. Such is the case of Andrei, who lives in Mykolaiv, a city that has been under shelling by the Russian army for months.
07:04: We start the press review with the situation in Ukraine. As the first year of the conflict drew to a close, Liberation, Le Parisien and the Last News from Alsace made headlines about this “dirty war” that had led to 60,000 war crimes investigations.
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