11:23
Gas: Norwegian Prime Minister assures his country is not a “war profiteer”
Even richer thanks to gas revenues, which have been multiplied by the conflict in Ukraine, Norway is not a “war profiteer,” defended its prime minister in an interview with AFP on Wednesday, a few days before a new aid plan in Kyiv.
Jonas Gahr Støre dismisses accusations from those who would like Oslo to do more for Ukrainians and suggests his country will soon be among the first donors.
“Norway is a happy country,” he said after visiting a gas liquefaction plant at Melkøya near Hammerfest in the Arctic. “We have the means to make a difference and I am aware of this responsibility.”
For the past year, the Scandinavian kingdom has been working hard to offset the slump in Russian gas supplies to Europe, of which it has become the main supplier, helping it to spend the winter warm.
Incidentally, Norway fills its coffers significantly by taking advantage of galloping gas prices, which are still at high levels today after historic highs last year as a result of the war.
This year the government plans a record budget surplus of 1.127 billion kroner (104 billion euros), which will supplement the country’s sovereign wealth fund, which is already the largest in the world with assets of more than 13.4 trillion kroner.
Voices were raised both within and beyond the borders that the Nordic kingdom should redistribute at least some of this cash flow to the Ukrainians under penalty of being considered “war profiteers”. “It’s an idea I categorically reject,” says Jonas Gare Støre. “Norway has been exploring and producing energy resources, oil and gas at its own risk for 50 years,” he explains. “Norway does not set the prices.”
11:02
More than 60 American Bradley tanks on their way to Ukraine
The US military command said on Wednesday that a shipment of more than 60 Bradley armored vehicles is on its way to Ukraine. On the way, but by sea: Because the machines were loaded onto the ship Arc Integrity, where they were embarked a week ago in North Charleston, South Carolina. The shipment – the first as part of a $2.85 billion aid package – is due to arrive in the UK tomorrow.
According to the hopes expressed by the Americans, it must provide the Ukrainians with “additional offensive and defensive capabilities”.
10:53
The Kremlin assures that supplies of long-range missiles to Ukraine would not deter the Russian offensive
While Westerners have promised to bring new weapons and vehicles to Ukraine, the Kremlin bombed their chests on Wednesday.
The Russian Presidency assures that the possible delivery of long-range missiles to the nation it occupies would not deter the Russian offensive.
The Kremlin estimated on Wednesday that a possible delivery of long-range missiles to Ukraine by the United States “won’t change the course of events” and that Russia would continue its offensive at any cost.
Deliveries of missiles with a range of 150 km would “lead to an increase in tension, an increase in the level of escalation. We understand that this would mean additional efforts for us, but it will not change the course of things, the special thing.” The military operation will continue,” Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
10:47
Imprisonment in absentia for a Russian journalist who criticizes the Russian army
A Russian journalist and former MP, Alexander Nevzorov, was sentenced in absentia to eight years in prison on Tuesday for allegedly spreading “false information” about the actions of the Russian army in Ukraine.
From the first weeks of its attack on Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Russia imposed heavy penalties to quell any criticism of its offensive and the army.
“Alexander Nevzorov has been sentenced to eight years in a penal colony,” said judge Evguénia Nikolaeva of Moscow’s Basmanny Court, according to Russian authorities.
The public prosecutor had demanded nine years in prison, his lawyer the acquittal of his client, who went into exile abroad and runs a YouTube channel with almost two million subscribers.
At the end of March 2022, the investigative committee responsible for the main cases in Russia announced the opening of a criminal investigation against Alexander Nevzorov, 64, and accused him of “knowingly publishing false information about a deliberate bombing of a maternity hospital in Mariupol (south-eastern Ukraine, ed. Red.) by the Russian army”.
Russia consistently denies and blames all bombings on civilian sites in Ukraine.
10:06
Japan is preparing a G7 summit for the year of the Russian invasion of Ukraine
Japan, which has held the presidency of the G7 since January, plans to hold a virtual summit of the Group of Seven industrial powers on Feb. 24, the anniversary of the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Kyodo agency reported on Wednesday, citing official sources . .
9:56
Netanyahu says he is considering military aid to Ukraine
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that his country was considering military aid to Ukraine, while offering to mediate in the conflict between Kyiv and Moscow. “Well, I’m definitely checking that out,” Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview with US broadcaster CNN when asked if Israel plans to offer Ukraine assistance, such as its Iron Dome air defense system.
Benjamin Netanyahu has so far failed to take a strong stand with Ukraine to spare Russia, which controls Syria’s airspace alongside Israel and normally turns a blind eye to Jewish state operations against Iran.
He confirmed that the United States had transferred artillery ammunition to Ukraine that had previously been stored in Israel, and implied that the Jewish state was acting on his side to prevent Iran from producing weapons for Russia.
“The United States has just taken a large portion of Israeli ammunition to send to Ukraine. Israel is also frankly acting against Iran’s arms production, which is being used against Ukraine, in a way that I will not elaborate on here,” the prime minister said.
Ukrainian and Western officials have accused Iran of supplying drones to Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, which Tehran denies.
Benjamin Netanyahu said he was asked to act as an unofficial mediator after Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year, but didn’t do so because he was in the opposition at the time.
He added that he was ready to intervene as a mediator if the warring parties and the United States asked him to do so. “I’ve been at it long enough to know that there has to be a right time and the right circumstances. If they show up, I’ll definitely consider it,” he said.
9:21
Victory of Russia, World War III or 100 Years War: According to Marine Le Pen, nightmare scenarios should the Ukraine conflict continue
Marine Le Pen does not believe in a military victory for Ukraine. At least not on your own. She developed three nightmare scenarios that she felt would arise without a negotiated peace:
“Either Russia wins and it’s a disaster, or Ukraine wins, but that means NATO intervened, otherwise it’s not possible and it will be World War III, or drop by drop we deliver offensive material and create the Hundred Years’ War “.
“Ukraine has lost half its men, it cannot withstand a power like Russia,” she said. Returning to her desire for France to “take the lead” in calling for peace, she appealed: “I call on Emmanuel Macron to organize a major peace conference, even if Ukraine is obviously attacking her”.
9:14
Marine Le Pen “continues” to refuse delivery of offensive weapons to Ukraine
Asked on franceinfo about her opposition to the delivery of offensive arms to Ukraine the day after France announced it was sending 12 additional Caesar guns to the front lines, Marine Le Pen maintained her position.
“I keep saying that for offensive weapons,” she said. “We part with our weapons to deliver them to Ukraine. “We don’t talk about peace anymore. France should take the lead in calling for peace,” she added.
8:32
EU-Ukraine summit on Friday in Kyiv sent a “strong signal” to Moscow
Ukraine and the European Union will hold a summit in Kyiv on Friday, with the Ukrainian government welcoming this “strong signal” sent to Moscow almost a year after the Russian invasion began.
For its part, the Russian army, which has been offensive in recent days, on Tuesday demanded the capture of a village near Bakhmout, a flashpoint of fighting in eastern Ukraine. The summit with the 27 is an important step a few months after Kyiv was granted official EU candidate status.
In his speech on Tuesday evening, Volodymyr Zelenskyy hoped that this summit would reflect a “high level of cooperation and progress” with the EU. “We are waiting for news for Ukraine,” he said.
“The fact that this summit is taking place in Kyiv is a strong signal, addressed both to our partners and to our enemies,” Prime Minister Denys Chmygal had previously welcomed, saying: “Expect a positive interim assessment of our efforts from the summit about European integration.” .
These two days must “allow Europe to believe in Ukraine’s victory,” he stressed. They will come a few days after the Westerners gave the green light, after much hesitation, to supply heavy tanks from their arsenal to the Ukrainian army.