12:12
Moscow claims it shot down two Ukrainian drones targeting Russian civilian infrastructure
Moscow said Tuesday it shot down two Ukrainian drones targeting civilian infrastructure in southern Russia during a Russian offensive in Ukraine overnight.
“The Kiev regime has attempted to use drones to attack civilian infrastructure sites in Krasnodar Territory and the Republic of Adygea,” Russia’s Defense Ministry said in a statement. “The two drones (…) were neutralized” without causing any damage, he said.
11:38
Stoltenberg assures Ukraine will join NATO, but ‘in the long term’
Ukraine will become a member of NATO, but “in the long term,” the military alliance’s secretary-general said Tuesday, while Kiev is asking for membership amid the invasion of Russia.
“NATO countries agree that Ukraine should become a member of the alliance, but at the same time it is a long-term perspective,” said Jens Stoltenberg during a visit to Finland.
He also called for a “framework” to be put in place to prevent further invasions in the future.
10:31
According to the Ukrainian army, the situation around Bakhmout is “extremely tense”.
The situation around Bakhmout, a city in eastern Ukraine that the Russians have been trying to capture since the summer and into which they have been advancing in recent weeks, is “extremely tense,” the commander of the ground forces admitted on Tuesday.
“The situation around Bakhmout is extremely tense,” said Oleksandre Syrsky, quoted by the army’s official press center. “The enemy sent the best prepared units (of the paramilitary group) Wagner to attack, trying to break through the defenses of our troops and encircle the city,” he added.
Bakhmout, whose strategic importance is disputed, has become a symbol of the struggle for control of the Donbass region (east).
10:25
Taking in Ukrainians cost France 634 million euros in 2022
Taking in Ukrainians in 2022 has cost France around 630 million euros, the Court of Auditors estimated on Tuesday, exceptional care that is on average double the budget allotted to “classic” asylum seekers.
The nearly 115,000 displaced Ukrainians who arrived in France last year have been found in “satisfactory conditions” thanks to the unprecedented “temporary protection” regime that has allowed them to settle freely while benefiting from an unprecedented explosion of social rights ‘ included: access to work, health services, schooling for children, shelter…
“This responsiveness has not come without a price,” the tax jurisdiction wrote in a lightning audit report released Tuesday. “The total expenditure of the state and social security for the temporary protection of Ukrainians will amount to about 634 million euros for the year 2022.” Most of this expenditure consists of compensation for these displaced persons (218.46 million) and housing (253.27 million).
Since the end of 2022, nearly 900 homes housing displaced Ukrainians have received financial support from the state, around €150 a month, out of a budget of around €786,000, the housing ministry said last week.
8:32
Ukrainian intelligence chief sees “no signs” of possible arms shipments from China to Russia
Ukraine’s intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov sees “no sign” that China will supply arms to Russia, he said in an interview aired by the Voice of America radio station on Monday.
“I do not share this opinion,” said Kyrylo Budanov in this interview, conducted in Ukrainian on February 25, referring to US allegations, which Beijing firmly denied, that China is considering supplying arms to Russia to help him to help his offensive against Ukraine.
“Right now, I don’t think China will agree to an arms transfer to Russia… I don’t see any signs that such things are even being discussed,” he said.
Kyrylo Boudanov, relaunched by the Voice of America on the American allegations, replied: “I am the head of the intelligence community and, with all due respect, I do not base myself on the opinions of individuals, only on facts. I don’t see such facts”.
These allegations were made notably by CIA director William Burns in an interview aired by CBS on Sunday night, the day after Kyrylo Boudanov’s comments. “We are convinced that the Chinese leadership plans to supply lethal material to Russia,” William Burns told CBS.
8:28
Blinken shows support for the independence of Kazakhstan, an ally of Moscow
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday showed his support for Kazakhstan’s territorial integrity and independence on his first visit to that gargantuan Central Asian country, an ally of Russia and close to China, days after the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
During his visit, the head of American diplomacy has to meet his counterparts from the five former Soviet republics of Central Asia in the Kazakh capital of Astana. Antony Blinken will also meet with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev later in the day and then travel to Uzbekistan.
His tour aims to strengthen the United States’ presence in a region caught between Russia’s powerful neighbor and China’s growing influence. “As you know, the United States strongly supports the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Kazakhstan,” the US Secretary of State told Kazakh Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tleouberdi.
“At this particular time, these words have even more resonance than usual,” added Antony Blinken, referring to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and that Kazakhstan shares an approximately 7,500-kilometer border with Russia.
8:27
Welcome to our live news on the war in Ukraine
Hello and thank you for following this live with us dedicated to this new day on the Ukrainian front, a few days after the first anniversary of the conflict started by Russia.