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17h53 : Defending Bakhmout is “the key to the stability of the defense of the entire front” and an operation “of paramount strategic importance in deterring the enemy”, assures Valery Zaloujny, commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, on Telegram. In a meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky earlier, “all members of the staff” supported the choice not to withdraw once morest Russian troops, says the Ukrainian presidency.
17h46 : New obstacle in the accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO: Hungary has canceled the ratification vote scheduled for next week. The parliamentary group of the ruling party, Fidesz, invokes “the delay taken by the negotiations with Brussels” to release European funds frozen pending reforms to fight corruption. Hungary and Turkey are the only NATO members blocking the entry of the two Scandinavian countries.
17h17 : The Russian strikes are not only hitting the heart of Ukraine’s eastern front. The Kherson region in the south of the country was heavily shelled yesterday, and one person was killed, announces the head of the local Ukrainian military administration on Telegram. According to the same local administration, another Ukrainian died in the explosion of a mine in the region.
17h02 : At least one person was killed and three injured this morning in a Russian bombardment of the center of Kramatorsk, in eastern Ukraine, announced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. This town near Bakhmout has paid a heavy price since the launch of the Russian offensive.
(MUHAMMED ENES YILDIRIM / ANADOLU AGENCY / AFP)
1:47 p.m. : It’s been a year to the day since Pierre Zakrzewski, Franco-Irish journalist for Fox News, died in the attack on his vehicle northwest of kyiv. The National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office, within which there is a center for the fight once morest war crimes and offences, opened an investigation in the process. “The investigations are progressing quickly and well”, welcomed Clémence Witt, the lawyer for the family of Pierre Zakrzewski, with franceinfo, on February 25. The fact that they are carried out by a joint investigation team between France, Ireland and Ukraine facilitates their progress.
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(FOX NEWS / AFP)
13h17 : “The probability that [l’adhésion de la Suède et la Finlande à l’Otan] happens at different rates increased. (…) It is clear that over the past few weeks the Turkish side have made it known that they are ready for Finland but not for Sweden.”
The head of the Swedish government seems resigned to not joining NATO at the same time as his neighbour, despite the simultaneous candidacy of the two countries once morest the background of the invasion of Ukraine. Unlike Finland, Sweden’s membership faces opposition from Ankara, which is asking Stockholm for the extradition of Kurdish officials whom it accuses of being terrorists.
12h27 : Consultations on the future of the agreement allowing the export of Ukrainian cereals are continuing today in Switzerland, says a spokesman for the United Nations. The text is due to expire on Saturday. Yesterday Russia offered to extend it for only 60 days. “The United Nations will do everything possible to preserve the integrity of the agreement and ensure its continuity”says this UN spokesperson.
12h19 : In the midst of the war in Ukraine, France is preparing to relocate some twenty military industrial production units to its soil, according to our information. These relocations are a variation of “war economy” claimed by the Élysée. Details in our article.
10h26 : “Heroes of Ukraine”. This decoration, the highest honor of the Ukrainian National Order, was posthumously awarded by Volodymyr Zelensky to Oleksandr Matsiyevsky. Here is what we know regarding this soldier who became a national hero following his execution.
07h18 : Emmanuel Macron received Viktor Orban in Paris last night to insist on “the unity of European countries” on the war in Ukraine in the face of the dissonant voice regularly heard by the Hungarian Prime Minister. During a working dinner at the Elysée, the French head of state and the controversial Hungarian leader prepared for the European Council on March 23 and 24 in Brussels.