What has happened in the last few hours
On the 365th day of the war against Ukraine that Russia started, these are the key data at 8:00 p.m. this Thursday, February 23:
The EU does not agree on a new sanctions package for the war anniversary. The 27 countries of the EU have again ended without agreement a new day of negotiations on the imposition of a battery of sanctions against Russia to mark the anniversary of the war, which will be marked this Friday. The partners will spend this day approving the tenth package, which would in principle include 11,000 million in trade sanctions.
Sánchez defends the country’s EU membership aspirations in the Ukrainian parliament. This Thursday, the President of the Spanish government, Pedro Sánchez, spoke before the Ukrainian parliament, the Rada. There he defended Ukraine’s “dream” of joining the EU, as Spain did at the time. He has “emphasized the dignity of a people fighting for what is theirs,” a “cry for freedom” that distinguishes them from the enemy. At the same time, he warns that there are those who follow Putin’s imperialist theses in the shadow of distress. “Many countries are suffering from the global economic consequences of the war and are sometimes inclined to believe Putin’s anti-Western propaganda. We can’t allow that,” he warned.
Zelenskyy appreciates Spain’s continued support: “He’s helping to save Ukrainian lives and protect cities.” President of Ukraine Volodimir Zelenski has thanked the President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, for his continued support since the start of the Russian invasion. “We have felt the solidarity of Spain since the first days of the war. During this time, his support has only increased,” said the President of Ukraine. At a joint press conference after Sánchez’s visit to Kiev, Zelenski thanked Spain for its military contribution and referred to the tanks and anti-aircraft systems. “They serve us to protect our skies from the terror of Russian missiles. Spain is helping to save Ukrainian lives and protect cities,” said the President of Ukraine.
Scholz says delivering fighter jets to Ukraine “makes no sense at the moment”. Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in a ZDF interview this Thursday that supplying combat aircraft to Ukraine “makes no sense at the moment”. Kiev has been asking for fighters practically since the invasion began, almost a year ago. Only now, after the international go-ahead for deliveries of Western-made tanks, has the Ukrainian government once again insisted on the request.
According to Russia, four people were killed in a Ukrainian shelling in Donetsk. Russian occupation authorities in the Ukrainian province of Donetsk reported the deaths of four people in a bomb attack south-west of the city on Thursday. According to Moscow-installed governor Denis Pushilin, four members of a medical brigade died while evacuating the wounded in Petrovsky District.
Europe announces the creation of a support network to prosecute war crimes in Ukraine, of which Kiev says there are already 71,000. Eurojust, the European judicial cooperation agency, announced on Thursday the creation of a new support network to prosecute the crime of aggression in Ukraine (ICPA, acronym in English). It has also unveiled a database (CICED) that will collect evidence of crimes allegedly committed since the Russian invasion of the country. Both will operate from Eurojust, which is based in the Netherlands and coordinates and supports the response of the various judicial authorities investigating crimes committed on Ukrainian soil.
In the photo by Christophe Petit, for Efe, the Eiffel Tower in Paris lit up with the colors of the Ukrainian flag to commemorate the first anniversary of the invasion.