What you must remember :
- Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday announced a military operation in Ukraine to defend separatists in the east of the country, despite international outcry and Western sanctions. The Russian army claimed a few hours later to have destroyed 74 military installations, including 11 airfields, in the country, as well as an airport near the capital.
- For its part, Ukraine reported the death of more than 40 soldiers and a dozen civilians in the bombardments. Russian forces entered the Kyiv region from Belarus to carry out an attack with Grad missiles on military targets, while fighting also broke out in Chernobyl, near the nuclear waste repository. As of Thursday evening, the Ukrainian capital Kiev imposes a curfew, according to the mayor. “A new iron curtain has come down and separates Russia from the civilized world”, according to the Ukrainian president.
- A defense council was held Thursday morning at the Élysée to decide on the follow-up to be given to these attacks. At the end of the meeting, Emmanuel Macron declared, in a speech, that “France stands alongside Ukraine”. He denounces “the most serious breach of peace” in Europe for “decades”, believing that President Putin has decided to “trifle the sovereignty of Ukraine”. “In these troubled times when the ghosts of the past are reborn and where there will be many manipulations, let’s not give up any of our unity around our principles of freedom, sovereignty and democracy,” added the Head of State.
- A few minutes earlier, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also spoke, promising “massive sanctions” against Russia and calling Vladimir Putin a “dictator”. G7 leaders say Vladimir Putin is on the “wrong side of history” by attacking Ukraine, while US President Joe Biden is due to speak at 6:30 p.m. European Union, Russia promises a “severe” response.
- NATO has activated its defense plans to deploy additional forces in eastern European member countries and will hold a videoconference summit on Friday after Russia’s attack on Ukraine, its secretary announced on Thursday. general. Already badly shaken by the annexation of Crimea in 2014, the Council of Europe is also plunging back into turmoil with the emergency convening on Thursday of an “extraordinary meeting” of its executive body, the Committee of Ministers, which must react to “the Russian attack on Ukraine”.
6:10 p.m. – Preventive mobilization of NATO
The armed forces of NATO countries have been placed on alert and some units will move to strengthen the defenses of the allies on the eastern flank in order to prevent action by Moscow after the offensive launched against Ukraine. “The Alliance has no troops in Ukraine and has no plans or intentions to deploy troops there,” Alliance Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday after a meeting. urgency of the ambassadors of the countries of the Alliance.
5:53 p.m. – Russia does not intend to “damage” the world economy
Russia does not want to undermine or be excluded from the global economic system, Vladimir Putin said on Thursday, as its invasion of Ukraine has petrified markets and exposed Moscow to devastating sanctions. “Russia continues to take part in the world economy, we are not about to harm it,” Vladimir Putin told Russian business representatives gathered under the golds of the Kremlin. “It seems to me that our partners need to understand and not make it their goal to push us out of the system.”
5:41 p.m. – The concerns of the Red Cross
The President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Peter Maurer, expressed alarm on Thursday at the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine, which risks causing “death and destruction on a scale that is appalling to consider”. “I now fear an increase in suffering, with the possibility of mass casualties and significant destruction of civilian infrastructure (…), as well as mass displacement, trauma, family separations and disappearances”, he said in a written statement.
5:27 p.m. – Volodymyr Zelensky calls for a “no-fly zone over Ukraine”
Ukraine on Thursday demanded to bar Russia from the Swift interbank messaging system, a vital cog in global finance, as punishment for launching an invasion of the country. “We demand to exclude Russia from Swift and introduce a no-fly zone over Ukraine,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted after a phone call with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron.
5:20 p.m. – Emmanuel Macron will meet with Hollande and Sarkozy
President Emmanuel Macron will successively receive his predecessors François Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy on Friday to discuss the Russian attack in Ukraine with them, the Elysee Palace said on Thursday, confirming information from CNews. He will first welcome François Hollande, then Nicolas Sarkozy later in the day. On several occasions during the five-year term, the Head of State received the two ex-presidents or exchanged with them, as in June 2020 when he invited them to the Élysée to consult them on the post-Covid period.
5:17 p.m. – Dozens of protesters arrested in Russia
Dozens of anti-war protesters have been arrested in Moscow and St. Petersburg. The Russian authorities had promised Thursday to suppress any “unauthorized” demonstration organized in the country against the war in Ukraine, where Moscow launched a major military operation in the morning.
5:04 p.m. – The G7 denounces “a serious threat to the international order”
The Russian invasion of Ukraine, launched Thursday by President Vladimir Putin, constitutes “a serious threat to the international order”, say the G7 countries in a press release published after a meeting by videoconference. “This crisis poses a serious threat to the rules-based international order, with ramifications far beyond Europe,” stressed the leaders of the group of the most industrialized countries on the planet, of which Germany assures the presidency this year. “There is no justification for forcibly changing internationally recognized borders,” they added.
4:49 p.m. – VIDEO. NATO activates its defense plans
NATO is activating its “defense plans” to deploy additional forces in Eastern European member countries after Russia’s attack on Ukraine. Its Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, said: “Peace can no longer be taken for granted in Europe, an attack on one will be seen as an attack on all. »
“An attack on one will be regarded as an attack on all.”
Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says NATO have “decided to activate our defense plans” in response to Russia’s “deliberate, cold-blooded and long planned invasion of Ukraine”. pic.twitter.com/lbZvK8INng
— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) February 24, 2022
4:38 p.m. – Russian Ambassador to EU summoned
The European Union summoned the Russian ambassador on Thursday to express its “strongest condemnation” of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the office of the head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, announced. The Secretary General of the European External Action Service, Stefano Sannino, in his meeting with the Russian Ambassador to the EU, Vladimir Chizhov, called for an “immediate” cessation of military operations and an “unconditional withdrawal “Russian forces from the territory of Ukraine.
4:30 p.m. – The Ukrainian capital, Kiev, imposes a curfew
Kiev Mayor Vitaly Klitschko announced on Thursday the imposition of a curfew to keep residents “safe” after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “The curfew will last from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.,” the mayor added in a statement, adding that public transport would not operate during this period but that metro stations would remain open permanently to serve as shelters. case of strikes.
4:12 p.m. – Joe Biden will speak at 6:30 p.m.
US President Joe Biden will address Americans at 6:30 p.m. (12:30 p.m. local time) about “Russia’s unprovoked and unwarranted attack on Ukraine,” the White House said in a statement. communicated. He must mention the response of the United States, which has promised to deeply shake the Russian economy and finance, after consulting with its G7 counterparts.
3:56 p.m. – A solemn message from Emmanuel Macron on Friday before a debate in Parliament
After Emmanuel Macron’s solemn message to Parliament on Friday on the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, a debate with the government is to be held on Tuesday March 1 in the National Assembly and the Senate, we learned Thursday from parliamentary sources. Requested by the opposition, this debate will be held on the basis of article 50-1 of the Constitution, which provides for a declaration by the government followed by an exchange and possibly a vote which does not engage its responsibility.
3:37 p.m. – Ukrainian refugees are “welcome” in Europe
The European Union is “fully prepared” to welcome Ukrainian refugees fleeing the Russian offensive, who are “welcome”, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday. “With all member states on the front line, we now have clearly defined contingency plans to immediately receive and accommodate refugees from Ukraine,” said the EU chief executive.
3:18 p.m. – Limit “considerably” Russia’s access to European and American markets
The sanctions that Western countries are preparing to take against Russia “will considerably limit” its access to European and American markets, the German Minister of Economy and Climate warned on Thursday. These measures will “decouple” the Russian economy from many industrial activities, “freeze the country’s financial assets” and finally “considerably limit access to European and American markets”, Robert Habeck declared during a conference of hurry.