by Lorenzo Cremonesi, correspondent and online editor
News about the war in Ukraine live on Friday, March 1st. Kherson is attacked, bombs from the left bank of the Dnipro
• the 737th day of the war in Ukraine
• Putin challenges Europe again: We have weapons that can strike, Russia can do anything
8:26 a.m. – EST | WEST – Compared to Putin, Europe is the dog that doesn’t bark. Will he be able to react now?
(by Federico Rampini) Does Vladimir Putin have the power to frighten, alarm or anger only the distracted… or the cowards? The Russian president's latest speech is particularly notable because it confirms what we should have known about his imperial ambitions since 2007. It contains a response to Emmanuel Macron that should make us evaluate the French president's words more seriously. Finally, Putin said, the nuclear threat has returned. I'll start with the latter.
precisely in response to Macron's hypothesis – European soldiers in Ukraine – that Putin has revived the threat of a nuclear holocaust. Think carefully before sending European soldiers to fight my troops in Ukraine, Putin tells us, because I remind you that I have nuclear arsenals with which to hit you. What's new? Not even for a thought. (…)
Read the full article here
8:24 a.m. – EU commitment to Ukraine in Strasbourg, only the 5 stars vote no
The 5 Star Movement was the only Italian political force not to vote yesterday for a resolution by the European Parliament meeting in Strasbourg calling for decisive EU support for Ukraine, two years after Russia's wartime aggression. The text received 451 votes in favour, 46 against and 49 abstentions. The Grillini voted no because the resolution – explained Giuseppe Conte afterwards – represents an extremist belligerent position that leaves no room for a negotiated solution and obliges countries to spend 0.25% of their GDP to support Kiev.
8:22 a.m. – Lavrov visits Turkey to meet President Erdogan
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will be in Turkey today, where he will attend the annual diplomatic forum in Antalya and meet with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. The war between Russia and Ukraine will be one of the key points of the forum, which will take place from Friday to Sunday, even if Lavrov leaves on Saturday. Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Ankara has maintained relations with both sides.
8:19 a.m. – Kiev: Kherson is attacked, bombs from the left bank of the Dnipro
Russian troops opened fire on Kherson in southern Ukraine from the left bank of the Dnipro River in the early hours of the morning, said military administrator chief Roman Mrochko, quoted by Ukrinform. Kherson under enemy fire. The Russian army bombards the city from the occupied left bank. There were a number of explosions in coastal neighborhoods, he said. Earlier, a Russian drone dropped explosives in the courtyard of a residential building in Beryslav in the Kherson region, injuring two civilians.
8:11 a.m. – Tajani: Our chargé d'affaires at Navalny's funeral clearly supports freedom of thought
Our charge d'affaires in Moscow attended Navalny's funeral, a clear sign of support for freedom of thought in Russia. Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said this in an interview with the National Daily, in which, with regard to the conflict in Ukraine, he reiterated that he had no plans to send soldiers to Ukraine. We support Ukraine because we want it to remain independent, but we are not at war with Russia. Our concern is primarily about political, financial and support for their defense, not about an act of aggression against Russia.
08:08 – Back in the mud. Where Kyiv is losing ground
(from our correspondent Lorenzo Cremonesi) We are reinforcing the new line in front of Avdiivka. We don't know if it has been properly built yet. Otherwise we will have to dig trenches under Russian bombing. It wouldn't be the first time, two lieutenants from the Ukrainian replacement battalions told us about ten days ago. Little did they know that they were sadly eating their plate of borscht with Donbass black bread right behind the city of Mirnograd. They were silent and worried. We have to stay in this bloodiest point of the war for at least six months, they admitted after talking to the units that had just withdrawn from the now lost Avdiivka fortress. It was the worst situation for a soldier: the front had just collapsed, there was talk of numerous dead and missing, of wounded people who were captured by the Russians and immediately shot, the roar of cannon fire was constantly heard nearby , there was a shortage of ammunition. Did they fall into a trap? Was there no danger that their withdrawal would turn into defeat due to the precise will of Putin, who wants to exploit the success of Avdiivka at all costs in order to occupy as large a part of the Donbass territory as possible and to present himself as the victor in the Russian battle would result? Elections in mid-March? (…)
Read the full article here
8:03 a.m. – Navalny, funeral today at 12
(by Fabrizio Dragosei) (…) Mother Ljudmila will attend the service and fight like a lioness to get the body back and reject what she describes as blackmail by the authorities. His wife Julia will not return to Russia because it would mean too much risk. Several Western diplomats have announced their participation, including our charge d'affaires Sferra Carini.
Since the church is small, it is expected that many people will stay outside. There is a hypothesis that the coffin will be placed at the entrance and the service will be broadcast via loudspeakers outside. However, it is not clear whether the priest who will celebrate will honor this request, as the church is among those most committed to supporting soldiers at the front. The late politician's aides have warned everyone against carrying signs that could provoke an immediate police response: Do not fall for provocations. However, they asked those present to walk to the cemetery afterwards. Already yesterday in Borisovskoye all those who entered were identified.
(…)
7:57 a.m. – Japan announces a new package of sanctions against Russia
The Japanese government has expanded the list of sanctions against Russia due to developments in the war in Ukraine, adding 12 people and 36 organizations to the “blacklist”. This was reported by the Russian agency Tass.
The list of sanctions includes, among others, the Commissioner for Children's Rights in the Kaluga Region Irina Ageyeva, the Commissioner for Children's Rights in the Rostov Region Irina Cherkasova, the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Chechen Republic Mansur Soltayev and the Chairman of the Government of the Chechen Republic Muslim the Chechen Republic Khuchiyev, commander of the second police regiment for special tasks of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation in the Chechen Republic Zamid Chalayev.
7:46 a.m. – THE INTERVIEW | The Belarusian dissident: Lukashenko is also imitating Putin, I fear that the conflict will spread
(by Andrea Nicastro) Have you heard Putin? His speech is full of “atomic bombs” and “nuclear reactions.” I am afraid of what will happen after his re-election, because even in my Belarus the bellicose rhetoric is increasing. Dictator Lukashenko insists that the West threatens us and that we are lucky to have Russian tactical nuclear weapons. I fear he is preparing public opinion for an intervention by the Belarusian army in Ukraine.
Olga Karatch travels to Italy. After receiving the Langer Prize in the House of Representatives, he is heading to the peninsula and will be in Milan on March 9th. Pacifist, feminist, non-violent, but for the KGB, the Minsk secret service, a terrorist. He risks the death penalty. The last woman to receive the Langer was the Iranian Narges Mohammadi, later a Nobel Peace Prize winner and still in prison today.
Karatch, why the fear of the conflict expanding?
Because anyone who doesn't dance to the rhythm of the war drums is an outcast. In Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, but also in the Baltics and Poland, the war changed relationships between people. (…)
Read the full interview here
7:08 a.m. – FIRST HOUR | Putin's warning to the West
(by Elena Tebano) Russian President Vladimir Putin gave an official speech in view of the March 15 elections (false elections because his real political opponents are either in prison or in exile or, as in the case of Alexei Navalny, there died under suspicious circumstances), promised to achieve the goals of the invasion of Ukraine and warned the West to avoid further involvement in the war by threatening a global nuclear conflict.
In an implicit allusion to French President Emmanuel Macron's statement that the future deployment of Western ground forces in Ukraine should not be ruled out, Putin said that NATO countries are selecting targets for attacks on our territory and are talking about the possibility of forming a NATO -To send contingent there Ukraine. “We remember the fate of those who sent their contingents of troops into the territory of our country,” the Russian leader said, in an apparent reference to the failed invasions of Napoleon and Hitler. Now the consequences for potential intruders will be even more tragic. Macron's reckless hypothesis was immediately denied by both the United States and European countries, including Italy.
In recent months, Putin has repeatedly reminded people of Russia's nuclear power and tried to stop the West from extending its military support to Kiev. He now stressed that Russia's nuclear forces are fully ready and said the army has powerful new weapons, some of which have been tested on the battlefield in Ukraine. These include, he added, the new Sarmat heavy intercontinental ballistic missile, the Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile and the Poseidon nuclear-powered and nuclear-armed drone. Putin also dismissed as rambling comments from Western leaders about the threat of a Russian attack on NATO allies in Europe and again rejected Washington's claim that Moscow was considering using space-based nuclear weapons.
Federico Fubini writes: “The only thing worse than dividing between allies at the most dramatic moment of a war is doing so publicly.” And the only thing worse than splitting up in the face of what is commonly described as an existential threat is to publicly divide people is to deal with it as if it were an accounting problem. But in the face of Vladimir Putin's aggression against Ukraine and the international order, European governments are managing to combine all these mistakes with astonishing ease. Emmanuel Macron's latest publication certainly falls into this category. (…) In one fell swoop, Macron made a series of avoidable slip-ups. It revealed the divisions between European countries, but above all their strategic confusion over the response to Vladimir Putin. And he has faced accusations of hypocrisy from other governments because France does not appear to be a leader in Europe in supporting Ukraine. According to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, French aid to Kiev would be worth a total of 640 million euros: in absolute terms, about half that of the Czech Republic; Relative to the size of the economy, Paris's overall support for Ukraine would be less than that of Viktor Orbn's pro-Russian Hungary.
For the sake of honesty, it must be added here that, according to the same Kiel Institute, Italian military support to Ukraine would be only 30 million euros higher than that of Paris; and that in two years Germany has provided ten times more aid than Italy and France, relative to the size of their respective economies. These figures are controversial in Rome because they do not take into account certain aid that the Italian government would prefer not to disclose. Nevertheless, it would be hypocritical to blame the American Congress for blocking the $60 billion package for Kiev: European problems are now coming to light and cannot be hidden.
Aleksei Navalny's funeral will take place today at 12 noon Italian time in the church in the Maryno district of Moscow. The charge d'affaires of the Italian Embassy in Moscow will attend on the instructions of Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani. Two hours later, the body of Putin's opponent is buried in the Borisov cemetery, which is already under police surveillance.
06:31 – Finland: Kiev can use our weapons to hit targets in Russia
Ukraine can use weapons supplied by Finland to attack targets on Russian soil. This was stated by Finnish Defense Minister Antti Hakkanen, emphasizing that the Scandinavian country has not imposed any restrictions on the supply of weapons to Ukraine. Hakkanen added that the blockades were mainly imposed by countries that supplied Ukraine with long-range weapons systems. If necessary, Ukraine should also attack military targets located on Russian territory. This is a legitimate defensive action that Ukraine is taking. The UN charter allows attacking military targets across land borders, said Jukka Kopra, chairman of the Finnish parliament's defense committee, whose words echoed those of the minister.
6:19 a.m. – Moscow: 4 Ukrainian drones shot down on Russian territory
According to Moscow, a Ukrainian drone was shot down over the Russian region of Belgorod and three others were intercepted on the way to Nizhny Novgorod. This was reported by the Tass agency, citing the Russian Defense Ministry. Local media reported violent explosions in Dzerzhinsk, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast. The city is home to the YM Sverdlov plant, one of Russia's largest manufacturers of bombs and grenades.
04:00 – Paris will send 100 war drones to Kiev by summer
Paris will order 100 drones from the French company Delair, which will arrive in Ukraine this summer. This was announced by the Minister of the Armed Forces Sebastien Lecornu. As part of an innovative program, France is ordering 100 remote-controlled munitions from Delair, which will arrive in Ukraine this summer, Lecornu said on X. In total, 2,000 remote-controlled munitions will be ordered from our defense industry. For the needs of our armies and the needs of Ukraine, he specified.
3:34 a.m. – Pentagon: If Ukraine loses the war, NATO will have to fight Russia
Providing resources to Ukraine is crucial. Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said this and emphasized that NATO countries would have to fight against Russia if Ukraine lost the war. We know that if Putin succeeds, he will not stop. He will continue to act more aggressively in the region. And other leaders around the world, other autocrats will be looking at this. And they will be encouraged by the fact that it happened to us without us being able to support a democratic state, Austin said in a speech to the US House of Representatives quoted by Ukrainian media. If you are a Baltic country, you are very worried about whether you will be next: you know Putin, you know what he is capable of. And frankly, I really believe that if Ukraine falls, NATO will go to war with Russia, the Pentagon chief added.
3:09 a.m. – Scholz reiterates his no to the delivery of Taurus rockets to Kiev
Chancellor Olaf Scholz believes that Germany is not ready to transfer Taurus long-range missiles to Ukraine because they could hit Moscow, Tagesschau reports. The cruise missile with a range of 500 kilometers is a weapon that, if used incorrectly, could reach a specific target somewhere in Moscow, Scholz said, adding that he was annoyed by the criticism of the refusal to give Taurus to the Ukrainian armed forces Germany supplies Kiev with many more weapons than almost any other country.
02.05 – THE ANALYSIS – Why Europe doesn't respond to Putin's threats
(by Federico Rampini) Does Vladimir Putin have the power to frighten, alarm or anger only the distracted… or the cowards? The Russian president's latest speech is particularly notable because it confirms what we should have known about his imperial ambitions since 2007. It contains a response to Emmanuel Macron that should make us evaluate the French president's words more seriously. Finally, Putin said, the nuclear threat has returned. I'll start with the latter.
The nuclear threat and the impossible imitation
precisely in response to Macron's hypothesis – European soldiers in Ukraine – that Putin has revived the threat of a nuclear holocaust. Think carefully before sending European soldiers to fight my troops in Ukraine, Putin tells us, because I remind you that I have nuclear arsenals with which to hit you.
What's new? Not even for a thought.
Read the full article here
00:48 – Anti-aircraft warning in the Kharkiv, Poltava and Sumy regions
The anti-aircraft alarm was sounded tonight in three eastern regions of Ukraine: Kharkiv, Poltava and Sumy. The local media reported about it.
00:23 – Orban: Stop fueling the war in Ukraine, we need a ceasefire
It is clear that there is no military solution to the Russo-Ukrainian war. The moment of truth is near: Instead of fueling the war machine, we need a ceasefire and peace talks: said Hungarian President Viktor Orban in a tweet on X.
00:22 – G20 in Brazil: Final declaration without references to Ukraine
After the high-profile split in Ukraine, which prevented the G20 finance ministers from drafting a joint document in Sao Paulo, the Brazilian presidency drafted a final declaration that made only general reference to the conflicts and geoeconomic tensions that hamper renewed multilateral cooperation require. The only concrete commitment in the declaration is to sign an agreement on the taxation of multinational companies by June this year and to reaffirm the commitment to promote strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth and to promote progress towards the goals of sustainable development Accelerate development, in line with the ambitious G20 mandate for 2023.
March 1, 2024 (modified March 1, 2024 | 08:28)
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