Today
GRAIN AGREEMENT
Senior Russian and United Nations officials are meeting in Geneva on Monday to discuss the renewal of the Ukrainian grain export deal. For now, it expires on March 18.
As a reminder, this bilateral compromise is vital for the world food supply, Ukraine remaining one of the main exporters. According to the UN, it has so far enabled more than 24 million tonnes of grain to be exported from Ukrainian ports.
AMMUNITION PRODUCTION
The European Union “will make sure” to increase its production of ammunition for Ukraine, European Commissioner for Industry Thierry Breton said on Monday. “We have to move very quickly, the war in Ukraine, wanted by Vladimir Putin, tragic, now translates into trench warfare, face-to-face, and it’s obviously who sends the most ammunition, one side or the other,” he said on RMC.
IRAN AND BELARUS
Iranian Presidents Ebrahim Raisi and Belarusian Presidents Alexander Lukashenko affirmed Monday their desire to strengthen ties between the two countries, during a meeting in Tehran in the context of the war in Ukraine.
“30 years following the start of bilateral relations (…), the two countries have the will to strengthen cooperation” while they share “a common strategic vision”, announced President Raïsi at the end of the meeting. . “We might be very useful for each other if we really put our efforts together,” confirms Alexander Lukashenko.
DEFENSE OF BAKHMUT
Pressured by the joint efforts of the Russian army and the paramilitary group Wagner, the Ukrainian army resisted as best they might in Bakhmout. The Azom metallurgical complex is at the center of the defensive system in this city in the east of the country. A veritable fortress that recalls, in certain respects, that of Azovstal.
MINER WAGNER
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), an American think tank, believes that Moscow is continuing the bloody battle of Bakhmout to weaken the paramilitary group Wagner. The latter has been in competition for many months with the regular Russian army. The idea would therefore be to undermine it to limit the political ambitions of its leader, Evgueni Prigojine, accused of wanting to overshadow Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“VIOLENT FIGHTS” IN BAKHMOUT
“Heavy fighting” is currently taking place for the center of Bakhmout, the Ukrainian army said on Monday. The Russians “attack from several directions” to “advance towards the central districts”, indicated commander of the Ukrainian ground forces Oleksandre Syrsky. “The closer we are to the city center, the harder the fighting,” echoed Evgeny Prigojine, head of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner.
AN HONORED SOLDIER
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced yesterday that he had posthumously granted “Hero of Ukraine” status to the prisoner soldier, who was filmed and shot dead following speaking the words “glory to Ukraine”. He is “a man that all Ukrainians will know, a man who will be remembered forever”, insists the head of state.
UPDATE ON THE SITUATION
The Ukrainian secret service has identified the soldier who was executed by Russian soldiers in a video that has gone viral. At the same time, preparations for the future kyiv counter-attack continue. TF1Info takes stock of the key events of the past 24 hours.
IDENTITY OF THE SHOT
His identity has until now been a mystery. In recent weeks, Russian soldiers have shot a Ukrainian soldier, raised by Volodymyr Zelensky to the rank of Hero of Ukraine. His identity was confirmed on Sunday by the security services.
ARMS IMPORTS
Arms imports into Europe have almost doubled in 2022, driven by massive deliveries to Ukraine, which has become the world’s third largest destination, according to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri) published on Monday. “The invasion has really caused a significant surge in the demand for arms in Europe, which has not yet shown its full power and will in all likelihood lead to further increases in imports,” Pieter told AFP. Wezeman, co-author of the annual report for more than three decades.
Excluding Ukraine, the increase in European imports still reached 35% in 2022.
TENNIS
Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, winner of the last Australian Open, qualified for the round of 16 of the WTA 1000. The player took advantage of the package of Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko, who withdrew “for personal reasons”.
Tsurenko has lost by forfeit or retirement in nine of the 18 tournaments she has competed in since Indian Wells last year.
