© Josef Vostarek
Czech soldiers joining Slovakia to command an international NATO battalion this Monday, April 4.
In summary :
– Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke to the UN Security Council on TuesdayAfter the discovery of massacres attributed to the Russian forces near Kyiv, and in particular in Boutcha where he went on Monday. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is expected in Kyiv this week.
– European countries have decided concerted expulsion dozens of Russian diplomats, regarding forty for Germany and 35 for France. According to the United States, Kyiv’s allies are working on new sanctions once morest Moscow.
– After the Russian withdrawal around Kyiv, Ukraine is now preparing for a “massive attack” in the Donbass region, in the east of the countryaccording to its governor, Serhiy Haidai.
The European Union will have to take sanctions once morest Russian oil and gas “sooner or later”. For Charles Michel, the President of the European Council, the EU will be forced to take “measures on oil and even gas […] sooner or later”. Before the MEPs gathered in Strasbourg, he denounced the “crimes once morest humanity” perpetrated by Moscow in Ukraine. The European Commission proposed Tuesday to the Twenty-Seven to toughen the sanctions once morest the Kremlin, by stopping their purchases of Russian coal, which represent 45% of imports from the EU, and by closing European ports to Russian ships. I’EU however still remains highly dependent on Russian energy.
The Netherlands seizes 14 Russian yachts. Dutch customs authorities have immobilized 14 yachts in shipyards, including twelve under construction and two in maintenance, which are targeted by sanctions once morest Russia, the Minister of Foreign Affairs said on Wednesday. “Given the current measures, these vessels cannot be delivered, transferred or exported at this time”said Wopke Hoekstra, in a letter to the Dutch Parliament.
A demonstration in Paris this evening in tribute to the victims of Boutcha. The Union of Ukrainians in France calls for a rally “in memory of the victims of the Boucha Genocide» in front of the Paris City Hall this Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.
For the Prime Minister of Estonia, “peace at all costs is not the solution”. A member of NATO and the European Union, Estonia has stopped importing Russian gas since Friday, as have Lithuania and Latvia. In an exclusive interview with Releasethe head of the Estonian government, Kaja Kallas, calls on Europeans for unity and more firmness, and to give “Ukraine all the help it needs to win” so that ‘Putin is not winning this war’. Read his interview.
Explosions took place near Lviv overnight. 70 kilometers from Lviv, in western Ukraine near the Polish border, explosions took place on Tuesday evening according to a local official. No information has yet been communicated on the origin of these explosions and on a possible assessment. Located far from the front, Lviv and western Ukraine are rarely targeted by bombardments since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24. Lviv has become a city of refuge for displaced people and at the start of the war hosted several Western embassies transferred from Kyiv.
The Czech Republic is sending tanks to Ukraine. It’s a first. According to Financial Times, the Czech Republic would have transported a dozen tanks and armored vehicles of Soviet origin to Ukraine on Tuesday. The Czech defense minister, interviewed by British media, declined to comment on the aid, but military officials confirmed the delivery. Never has a country sent tanks to Ukraine, several NATO states being particularly opposed to it. Volodymyr Zelensky had requested such help on several occasions, without success thus far.
Boutcha massacre: these elements that contradict Russian propaganda. Russian propaganda on the Boutcha massacre, widely relayed on social networks, does not stand up to the images and testimonies proving the presence of corpses while Kremlin troops were still occupying the city. Read our CheckNews on the subject.
Washington increases its aid for the Ukrainian army. The United States announced on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday to release additional security aid for Ukraine for an amount of 100 million dollars. It is “to meet an urgent Ukrainian need for additional Javelin anti-tank systems, which the United States has provided to Ukraine and which it has used so effectively in defending its country”Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said in a statement. Since the start of the war, Washington has allocated $1.7 billion in security aid to Ukraine.
