UN says Ukraine grain deal in ‘difficult’ situation
Ukraine’s grain export deal – crucial to stem the global food crisis – is in a “tough” situation, says UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths, hoping it will be renewed on March 18. .
“I think we’re in a slightly more difficult situation right now,” he said, noting that the grain deal “works in tandem” with the UN-Russia deal on grain exports. fertilizers.
This agreement sealed in July 2022 between the UN, Ukraine, Russia and Turkey has made it possible to limit the serious global food crisis caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
With the war in Ukraine, NATO revives the debate on increased defense spending
The member countries of NATO relaunched discussions on Wednesday in Brussels on the increase in their defense spending, Germany saying it was in favor of the figure of 2% of GDP devoted to the latter now being a floor.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has put this sensitive question back at the heart of the debate and it will be one of the central subjects of an Atlantic Alliance summit scheduled for July in Vilnius.
UK defense minister compares sending planes to Ukraine to ‘offering Formula 1’
Discussions on Western military aid to Ukraine now focus on the possibility of sending fighter jets to kyiv.
The United Kingdom remains firm in its refusal for the moment, saying that it is not the priority at the moment and that it will take a long time to train the Ukrainian pilots.
“It’s very different to offer a normal car that you or I might drive compared to a Formula 1 car,” British defense minister Ben Wallace said in a statement. remarks reported by Sky News.
Russia calls US report on Ukrainian children’s camps ‘absurd’
The Russian Embassy in Washington has called “absurd” a US report that Moscow runs a network of camps with thousands of Ukrainian children.
“We have taken note of the absurd statements of State Department spokesman Ned Price, who accused our country of the ‘forcible transfer and deportation of Ukrainian children’ to the territory of the Russian Federation,” the official said. Embassy in a statement.
“Russia accepted children who had been forced to flee with their families from the bombardments and atrocities of the Ukrainian armed forces.”
This report published on Tuesday indicates that at least 6,000 children have been detained, in at least 43 camps, by the Russians since the start of the invasion.
Russian journalist sentenced to six years in prison for criticizing Mariupol bombing
A Russian court on Wednesday sentenced a journalist to six years in prison for denouncing the Ukraine offensive on Instagram.
Maria Ponomarenko, 44, was found guilty of “spreading false information” regarding the army, said the Russian Investigative Committee, responsible for the main criminal investigations in Russia.
According to the specialized NGO OVD-Info, she was prosecuted for having published in March 2022, a message on the social network Instagram denouncing the bombing of the theater in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, then besieged by the Russian army.
Western intelligence claims Russia is massing planes near Ukrainian border
Western intelligence officials say Russia is massing fighter jets and helicopters near the border with Ukraine, as reported English media.
The Financial Times writes that intelligence shared between NATO member states has pointed to the buildup of planes near the Russia-Ukraine border, fueling calls for urgent dispatch of air defense assets and artillery ammunition in Kiev.
UN calls for $5.6 billion for humanitarian aid to Ukraine in 2023
The UN is asking for $5.6 billion (5.2 billion euros) to cover the humanitarian needs this year of 11.1 million people in Ukraine and 4.2 million refugees and host communities in Europe .
“Almost a year later, the war continues to cause death, destruction and displacement every day, and on a staggering scale,” said UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths in a statement.
Russian citizens of Baikonur, Kazakhstan urged to fight in Ukraine
The authorities of the city of Baikonur, located in Kazakhstan but under Russian jurisdiction, offered financial compensation to Russian citizens mobilized and volunteers to go and fight in Ukraine, one year following the start of the war.
According to a statement, the “social support measures” decided by the authorities “include payments for mobilized Russian citizens and those who have voluntarily expressed the desire to participate in the special military operation”, the euphemism used by Moscow to describe its invasion of Ukraine.
It is in this city that the famous Soyuz rockets are sent into space in particular, and thousands of Russian nationals work there.
NATO continues discussions on military aid to Ukraine
The members of NATO continue this Wednesday in Brussels their discussions to accelerate their deliveries of armaments and ammunition to Ukraine, which insists on also receiving combat planes in order to better resist the Russian invasion.
“The priority, the urgency, is to provide the Ukrainians with the armaments that have been promised to them to maintain their ability to defend themselves,” insisted Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary General of the Alliance.
Wednesday’s day “will devote more time to tanks,” Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said on Facebook.
Volodymyr Zelensky recognizes “extremely difficult” situation in the East
In his daily address on Tuesday, Volodymyr Zelensky said the situation on the front line remained “extremely difficult” in the east, particularly in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions.
“We have to understand the meaning of these battles. Every meter won there is a defense of our whole country,” he said.
The Ukrainian president notably mentioned the battle of Bakhmout, the epicenter of clashes for months, where the Russian army is regaining ground.
Hello everyone
Welcome to this direct dedicated to the war in Ukraine this Wednesday, February 15, following nearly a year of Russian invasion on the territory.
