Find the latest information about the war in Ukraine.
– Russia bombs Europe’s largest nuclear power plant –
The largest atomic power plant in Europe, Zaporizhia, located in central Ukraine, was hit by Russian army strikes on Friday which caused a fire, but its safety is “guaranteed” according to Kiev, which has accused Moscow of resorting to “nuclear terror”.
According to Kiev, Russian tank fire on the plant set fire to a building dedicated to training and a laboratory. The emergency services said they were able to access the site and extinguish the fire, after being prevented from doing so by Russian soldiers.
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“Nuclear security is now guaranteed,” Oleksandre Staroukh, head of the military administration of the Zaporizhia region, said on Facebook. The attack did not cause any casualties, Ukrainian relief said on Facebook.
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Russian tanks opened fire on the plant.
Radioactivity levels remain unchanged at the site of the plant, which has six nuclear reactors and provides much of the country’s energy, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said. no “essential” equipment was damaged.
The IAEA “calls for an end to the use of force and warns of grave danger if the reactors are hit,” the organization tweeted.
– Zelensky calls for “immediate European action” –
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday accused Moscow of resorting to “nuclear terror” after the bombing of an atomic power plant in central Ukraine, and called for “immediate European action” to “prevent that Europe die from a nuclear disaster”.
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“We are alerting everyone to the fact that no other country except Russia has ever fired on nuclear power plants. This is the first time in our history, the first time in the history of mankind. This Terrorist state is now resorting to nuclear terror,” he said in a video released by the Ukrainian presidency.
“Ukraine has fifteen nuclear reactors. If there is an explosion, it’s the end of everything. The end of Europe. It’s the evacuation of Europe,” he continued. . “Only immediate European action can stop the Russian troops. We must prevent Europe from dying of a nuclear disaster,” added the Ukrainian president.
– Boris Johnson calls for an emergency Security Council meeting –
Boris Johnson has called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council and said that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “irresponsible actions” can “directly threaten the security of all of Europe”.
– Kyiv and Moscow agree on “humanitarian corridors” –
Ukraine and Russia agreed Thursday, at the end of a second session of talks, to organize “humanitarian corridors” for the evacuation of civilians from combat zones, the two parties announced.
“The second round of negotiations is over. Unfortunately, there are not yet the expected results for Ukraine. There is only one solution to organize humanitarian corridors”, wrote on Twitter an adviser to the Ukrainian presidency.
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– Problems accessing Facebook –
The Internet pages of Facebook and several independent media were partly inaccessible Friday in Russia, when the Russian authorities tighten their grip around critical voices, in the midst of the war in Ukraine.
The monitoring service GlobalCheck and AFP journalists in Moscow found problems accessing Facebook, as well as the media sites Meduza, Deutsche Welle, RFE-RL and the Russian-language service of the BBC.
– Google Maps and Tripadvisor are committed –
Google has blocked the addition of comments, photos and videos on its Maps mapping service in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, as has the Tripadvisor platform on the listings of certain restaurants and hotels in Russia.
Both services faced a campaign from Ukrainian activists who were using their “notices” section to try to alert Russians to their leaders’ orchestrated invasion of Ukraine.
– Neutrality of the Panama Canal –
The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) reaffirmed Thursday the neutrality of the interoceanic route, and announced that it will not refuse the passage of Russian ships despite the sanctions imposed on Moscow by the international community.
– Russian oligarchs sanctioned –
The United States and the United Kingdom blacklisted new oligarchs close to the Kremlin on Thursday in the hope of increasing the pressure on Vladimir Putin as some Russian billionaires begin to distance themselves.
US President Joe Biden accused the oligarchs of “lining their pockets with Russians’ money while Ukrainians hide in the subway to escape indiscriminate missile fire”.
– Vilnius pays tribute to Ukraine –
The mayor of Vilnius announced on Thursday that the city would name a small lane that leads to the Russian embassy in the Lithuanian capital “Ukrainian Heroes Street”.
– Czechs cleared to fight for Ukraine –
The Czechs who would like to join Ukraine to participate in the fight against the Russian invasion will not incur any sanction, the Czech leaders decided Thursday evening.
– Saudi crown prince offers mediation –
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman offered in a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin to mediate to end the war in Ukraine, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Thursday.
– US Congress wants to boycott Russian oil –
Many elected members of the United States Congress urged Joe Biden on Thursday to ban the import by the United States of Russian oil in response to the invasion of Ukraine, which the White House has so far refused to do. .
– EU: agreement for temporary protection of refugees –
European interior ministers, meeting in Brussels on Thursday, agreed to grant “temporary protection” in the EU to refugees “fleeing war”. In one week, one million refugees have fled Ukraine, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The United States did the same. This prevents the deportation of Ukrainians and gives them the right to work.
– Markets –
Concern over the conflict sent stock markets tumbling Friday in Asia, with Tokyo’s flagship Nikkei index plunging 2.5%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 2.6%. Shanghai, Seoul, Sydney and Singapore also took a nosedive.
These losses were preceded by those of Western stock markets on Thursday. Paris lost 1.84% to 6,378.37 points, the lowest in 6 months, London lost 2.57% and Frankfurt 2.16%. Madrid even fell by 3.72%.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones fell 0.29%, the Nasdaq index lost 1.56%, and the broader S&P 500 index fell 0.53%.
Oil prices were on the rise again after a break the day before following their soaring to levels not seen since 2008: the price of a barrel of American WTI reaching 109.65 dollars and that of a barrel of Brent from the North Sea rose to 112 .19 dollars.
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