The Kiev army advances and the Nobel Foundation retreats. While Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the progress of his forces on the ground, the Nobel Foundation changed course this Saturday, September 2, 2023 and refused to invite Sweden’s Russian ambassador to its 2023 Nobel Prize ceremony in Stockholm.
We take stock of the events of this Saturday related to the conflict with the France-Presse Agency (AFP).
![]({"srcset":"https://media.ouest-france.fr/v1/pictures/MjAyMzA5ZmI5ODg2ZjI2ZWZiZjljNjViMzc2NDAzNmZlNzNiZjM?width=320&focuspoint=50%2C25&cropresize=1&client_id=bpeditorial&sign=ba214fbdb9bac6f72d27b322ddef977299db73746d3135a1b9d21e0fb206cedf 280w, https://media.ouest-france.fr/v1/pictures/MjAyMzA5ZmI5ODg2ZjI2ZWZiZjljNjViMzc2NDAzNmZlNzNiZjM?width=375&focuspoint=50%2C25&cropresize=1&client_id=bpeditorial&sign=ba39574c5e9cf54c868f7e565275950fc22b6dced9fc616dd08de80205282b1f 360w, https://media.ouest-france.fr/v1/pictures/MjAyMzA5ZmI5ODg2ZjI2ZWZiZjljNjViMzc2NDAzNmZlNzNiZjM?width=480&focuspoint=50%2C25&cropresize=1&client_id=bpeditorial&sign=f67da243ae691bf444f218ed80b4fd632d82bc71e2ae35c87d55918e0522a7a2 480w, https://media.ouest-france.fr/v1/pictures/MjAyMzA5ZmI5ODg2ZjI2ZWZiZjljNjViMzc2NDAzNmZlNzNiZjM?width=630&focuspoint=50%2C25&cropresize=1&client_id=bpeditorial&sign=ed91aae932da88baf02e8a4e0e6cc4c05ba7dbda1fd3519de9f15cc214905be8 630w, https://media.ouest-france.fr/v1/pictures/MjAyMzA5ZmI5ODg2ZjI2ZWZiZjljNjViMzc2NDAzNmZlNzNiZjM?width=940&focuspoint=50%2C25&cropresize=1&client_id=bpeditorial&sign=2514788623cabfb90bd3f428040ab298b6746cad5efda7e4e1afa566e58871bd 940w, https://media.ouest-france.fr/v1/pictures/MjAyMzA5ZmI5ODg2ZjI2ZWZiZjljNjViMzc2NDAzNmZlNzNiZjM?width=1260&focuspoint=50%2C25&cropresize=1&client_id=bpeditorial&sign=a2f43b265eb70f6e5114aa7a14023d1405c63a6a80a63a4fa866f600ae86b347 1260w" } "Le point sur la guerre en Ukraine ce samedi 2 septembre 2023.")
Update on the war in Ukraine this Saturday, September 2, 2023. | INFOGRAPHIC SERVICE / WEST FRANCE View in full screen mode
Update on the war in Ukraine this Saturday, September 2, 2023. | INFOGRAPHIC DEPARTMENT / WEST FRANCE
The Ukrainian armed forces are advancing, assures Volodymyr Zelensky
President Volodymyr Zelensky assured this Saturday on X (formerly Twitter) that Ukrainian troops “Advance payment” in their counteroffensive against the Russian army and reject the criticism and concerns recently expressed in veiled terms by American government officials. “Despite what can be said, we are moving forward”the President added, emphasizing this “That’s the most important”.
Kiev has not captured a major city since the counteroffensive began nearly three months ago and its soldiers are struggling to advance through fortified defense lines and minefields set up by Russia. Government sources quoted in the American press in recent days have expressed frustration with the slowness of Ukrainian operations and some questioned Kiev’s strategy.
Also read: Will the Ukrainians’ small breakthrough in the Russian defensive wall have major consequences?
The Nobel Foundation withdraws its invitation to a Russian ambassador
The Nobel Foundation announced this Saturday that it is definitively refusing to invite the Russian ambassador to the Nobel Prize ceremony in Stockholm in December, after his invitation the day before caused a wave of indignation. A decision qualifies as “Victory of Humanism” by Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko on Facebook.
After expelling the Russian and Belarusian ambassadors in 2022, the Swedish foundation announced on Thursday that it would return to its previous practice, which was to invite the ambassadors of all countries represented in Sweden. She explained Saturday that her original decision was based on the belief that this was the case “It is important and right to spread the values and messages that the Nobel Prize represents as widely as possible.”. A message dwarfed by the violent reactions it provoked.
Also read: A Russian ambassador at the Nobel Prize ceremony? We explain this controversy to you in three acts
The Nobel Committee condemns Russia’s pressure on Dmitri Muratov
The President of the Norwegian Nobel Committee in charge of the Nobel Peace Prize, Berit Reiss-Andersen, condemned this Saturday Russia’s attacks on the editor-in-chief of the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta and co-winner of the Nobel Peace Prize 2021 Dmitri Muratov. Receive a title “for his efforts to promote freedom of expression and information and independent journalism”she remembered.
“It is sad that the Russian authorities are now trying to silence him”She announced, assessing it “The allegations against him are politically motivated”.
![]({"srcset":"https://media.ouest-france.fr/v1/pictures/MjAyMzA5MWZkZjA0NzFlMTM3M2JiMzRiNmJmZTc1MjU0OTQxOTQ?width=320&focuspoint=50%2C25&cropresize=1&client_id=bpeditorial&sign=82fa40c8b890b6e97e5984c2b91808ddadd1e56d77b4e27782c874021740c2d2 280w, https://media.ouest-france.fr/v1/pictures/MjAyMzA5MWZkZjA0NzFlMTM3M2JiMzRiNmJmZTc1MjU0OTQxOTQ?width=375&focuspoint=50%2C25&cropresize=1&client_id=bpeditorial&sign=9372db6f96013f734263936d6e6eed7b1fdafb265728ddbbb82a726c35582422 360w, https://media.ouest-france.fr/v1/pictures/MjAyMzA5MWZkZjA0NzFlMTM3M2JiMzRiNmJmZTc1MjU0OTQxOTQ?width=480&focuspoint=50%2C25&cropresize=1&client_id=bpeditorial&sign=46ba3bc97ad62d7c4fbfe706f09c4d57201ec3ab8474b9a81290e7619b66b72b 480w, https://media.ouest-france.fr/v1/pictures/MjAyMzA5MWZkZjA0NzFlMTM3M2JiMzRiNmJmZTc1MjU0OTQxOTQ?width=630&focuspoint=50%2C25&cropresize=1&client_id=bpeditorial&sign=e37dce184365a75fd78468363d4fba3a686064013bec3ba0d54a1b0f9046c6b7 630w, https://media.ouest-france.fr/v1/pictures/MjAyMzA5MWZkZjA0NzFlMTM3M2JiMzRiNmJmZTc1MjU0OTQxOTQ?width=940&focuspoint=50%2C25&cropresize=1&client_id=bpeditorial&sign=62ec3fb13d9a1389f1136c440a689bf1a5baeb2c5349af2e6c4ebb0e024a0829 940w, https://media.ouest-france.fr/v1/pictures/MjAyMzA5MWZkZjA0NzFlMTM3M2JiMzRiNmJmZTc1MjU0OTQxOTQ?width=1260&focuspoint=50%2C25&cropresize=1&client_id=bpeditorial&sign=5cc1ab9a37e67ba17a6753c754a8ce10623faaa5b52e3e7ba12934e11e09ac30 1260w" } "Le journaliste russe, lauréat du prix Nobel de la paix 2021, Dmitri Mouratov, accusé de discréditer à plusieurs reprises l’armée russe, se prépare à une audience du procès d’Oleg Orlov devant un tribunal de Moscou le 21 juillet 2023.")
Russian journalist and 2021 Nobel Peace Prize winner Dmitry Muratov, accused of repeatedly discrediting the Russian military, prepares for a hearing in the trial of Oleg Orlov in a Moscow court on July 21, 2023. | NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA / AFP Watch in full screen mode
Russian journalist and 2021 Nobel Peace Prize winner Dmitry Muratov, accused of repeatedly discrediting the Russian military, prepares for a hearing in the trial of Oleg Orlov in a Moscow court on July 21, 2023. | NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA / AFP
On Friday, Russia announced that it had added Dmitry Muratov to its list of “foreign agents.” This label is reminiscent of the qualifier of“Enemy of the people” from the Stalinist era and imposes administrative constraints on the individuals or organizations concerned, including regular monitoring of their funding sources. This status also requires that every publication, including on social networks, has the label “foreign agent”.
Also read: The Russian Nobel medal was sold for $100 million to benefit Ukrainian children displaced by the war
Crimean bridge attacked again by Ukrainian drones
Finally, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed to have shot down three Ukrainian naval drones in the Black Sea on Friday night that targeted the Crimean bridge, a new attack attributed to Kiev, which this week claimed responsibility for its first offensive with drones from Russian territory.
On August 12, two Ukrainian rocket attacks were foiled over this strategic bridge in the Kerch Strait, while an earlier offensive in July caused significant damage to the road section of the structure, which is also used to supply military equipment to the Russian army fighting in Ukraine.