- Russia launched its “military operation” in Ukraine on Thursday, February 24, 2022. Every evening at 7:30 p.m., 20 Minutes brings you a look back at the Russian-Ukrainian conflict that is killing, injuring and claiming thousands of refugees.
- Who did what? Who says what? And who supports whom and why? You will learn everything about the progress of the negotiations and the events of this crisis that is shaking Russia, Ukraine, Europe and even the United States.
- This Wednesday, the Russians massively bombed the Odessa region, including a port area, destroying 60,000 tons of Ukrainian grain. At the same time, an adviser to the Ukrainian presidential office recalled the difficulties faced by the Ukrainians in their counter-offensive.
Did you miss the latest events on the war in Ukraine? Don’t panic, 20 Minutes takes stock for you every evening at 7:30 p.m. Who did what? Who says what? Where are we ? The answer below.
The fact of the day
On Tuesday night, the Russians fired missiles and drones at the port area of Chornomorsk near Odessa, destroying as many as 60,000 tons of grain intended for export, Ukraine’s agriculture minister said. “Agriculture.” According to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, this is a “deliberate” strike that comes 48 hours after the announcement of the non-renewal of the Ukrainian Grain Agreement.
For its part, the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office called this event “the largest Russian attack” on the Odessa region. At least twelve were injured, added Governor Oleg Kiper. French and German diplomats condemned these attacks, while Paris ruled that Moscow posed “an irresponsible risk to world food security.” For its part, the Russian army claims to have carried out attacks on “military industrial sites, fuel infrastructure and ammunition depots of the Ukrainian army” unrelated to grain exports have to do.
phrase of the day
Undoubtedly, this process will be quite difficult, lengthy and time-consuming. »
In a lengthy interview with AFP, Ukraine’s presidential adviser Mykhaïlo Podoliak returned to the hot topics of the conflict, including the counter-offensive launched by Kiev. However, the resistance of the Russian soldiers and the violence of the attacks make the task considerably more difficult. The main obstacle to the advance of the Ukrainian armed forces is currently “the depth of the minefields laid by the Russian army for months”, which is between “four and 16 kilometers”, according to the adviser. And despite supplies from its allies, the Ukrainian army is also struggling with “arms supply problems,” admitted the official, who described them as “military-industrial complexes.” [occidentaux] were not prepared for this type of warfare with such an intensive use of armaments.
According to Mykhailo Podoliak, Ukraine needs “200-300 additional armored vehicles, mainly tanks”, “60-80 F-16 aircraft” and “5-10 additional air defense systems” from the American Patriot or their French equivalents SAMP/T.
The number of the day
2,000. This is the number of civilians evacuated after a fire at Russian military compound in Crimea. “Temporary evacuation of residents of four places adjacent to the military field in Kirovski district is planned,” Governor Sergei Aksionov said on Telegram.
Two Russian online media outlets, Mash and Baza, which are close to the Russian security services, reported that detonations had been heard in the area for more than two hours. According to Mash, an ammunition depot is on fire. The Russian authorities, in particular the army, have not confirmed the munitions explosion or given possible causes of the fire. For its part, Ukraine’s military intelligence agency GUR has dismissed a claim presented on Telegram that it came from its boss, Kyrylo Budanov.
The trend of the day
The Russian army said on Wednesday it had advanced more than a kilometer or up to two kilometers along the frontline in its “offensive operations” north of the city of Kupyansk in the northeast of the country and committed to taking Molchanovo station.
In view of this, the Ukrainian soldiers are trying to hold out and continue their counter-offensive. “The last month has been like a long day for us,” Admin, a 23-year-old soldier, told AFP at an undisclosed location near the area where Russian forces have been advancing the most in recent weeks. “We keep up morally. We just want victory to come as soon as possible,” the soldier said. Ukraine’s ability to break through in the counteroffensive launched in June depends in part on the morale of its troops, but also on its equipment. However, the new, more efficient Western weapons that have been available to the Ukrainian army for several months have not yet allowed it to change the face of the front.