Today
A GERMAN LEADER IN SUPPORT OF PUTIN?
Siegfried Wolf, an Austrian businessman and member of the board of directors of the German giant Porsche, is said to have sent Vladimir Putin, whom he knows well, to propose that he rebuild the Russian automobile industry. We debate it on the set of LCI (below), around Elizabeth Martichoux.
LCI: a Porsche executive wants to help PutinSource : TF1 Info
FIGHTER PLANES BEFORE SUMMER?
A Western decision on a possible donation of combat aircraft to Ukraine is possible “before the summer”, estimated the Danish Minister of Defense, following deliveries of Polish and Slovak Mig-29s. Discussions take time, said Troels Lund Poulsen, because countries have to act together, but a decision remains achievable “in the short term”.
“Denmark is not going to do this alone,” said the minister, quoted by several Danish media. “We will have to do this with several countries. And we will also have to have a dialogue with the Americans on this”.
Slovakia and Poland began delivering Soviet-designed Mig-29 fighter jets to kyiv in late March and early April respectively. But no modern Western plane, claimed by kyiv, has yet been delivered, even if several Western countries have shown openings in this direction. Denmark has a fleet of 43 F-16s, 30 of which are active. These American-designed aircraft are being replaced by 27 American-designed F-35s.
FREEZING OF RUSSIAN ASSETS: SWITZERLAND DEFENDS ITSELF
Switzerland has defended its policy of freezing the assets of Russian oligarchs in the face of critics who accuse the Alpine country of not doing enough following Moscow invaded Ukraine.
Switzerland alone has frozen regarding 7.5 billion Swiss francs (nearly 7.6 billion euros) in assets since the imposition of sanctions following the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, which corresponds to “a good third” of frozen assets in “the whole” of the European Union, argues Helene Budliger Artieda, director of the State Secretariat for the Economy (Seco) in an interview with the daily NZZ.
She is surprised that Switzerland can be suspected of showing “neglect”. Last week, the member countries of the G7 had asked Switzerland to act more actively once morest the money of the Russian oligarchs, revealed the German-speaking Swiss weekly Handelszeitung. A letter signed by all the ambassadors of the G7 countries in Bern had been sent to the Swiss government, asking it to do more.
LANDMINES
The Ukrainian government, which estimates that it would take 30 years to clear the country following the war, estimates the area poisoned by anti-personnel mines to be the equivalent of the combined territories of England and Wales.
UPDATE ON THE SITUATION
LES DRONISTES DE BAKHMOUT
Report on drone pilots, somewhat geeky Ukrainian soldiers, whose role is essential in the Battle of Bakhmout.
LCI: the role of drones in the Battle of BakhmoutSource : TF1 Info
LEAKAGE OF DOCUMENTS: NUMEROUS FALSE?
A “significant number” of classified US intelligence documents on South Korea, which have leaked in recent weeks among others, have been “falsified”, says the South Korean presidency.
The leak, which the Pentagon says poses a “very serious” risk to US national security, has caused diplomatic embarrassment. Some of the leaked documents do indeed appear to indicate that Washington collects intelligence on its allies, such as Israel and South Korea.
Several documents are said to express concerns among senior South Korean national security officials, who fear that weapons and ammunition produced in their country end up being used in Ukraine. Such an eventuality would constitute a violation of Seoul’s policy of not selling any weapons to countries at war.
PRISONER EXCHANGE
In his daily video, the Ukrainian president welcomed the return “home” of 100 Ukrainian soldiers, following an exchange of prisoners with the Russian army.
