The essential
- The battle for control of Kiev continues on Sunday, the fourth day of the offensive launched by Vladimir Putin. At least 198 civilians, including three children, were killed and 1,115 people injured. More than 110,000 Ukrainians have crossed the border with Poland since the start of the conflict. According to the UN, there are even more than 368,000 Ukrainian refugees.
While Moscow accuses Ukraine of “not seizing the opportunity” of a discussion in Belarus, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Sunday that he was alerting the “Russian army’s deterrent force, which may include a nuclear”, an “unacceptable” escalation according to the White House. The Ukrainian head of state, Volodymyr Zelensky, who refused dialogue in Belarus, confirms talks with Moscow on the Ukrainian-Belarusian border.
- The Western partners have decided to further restrict the access of the Russian central bank to the capital markets and to paralyze its assets in order to prevent Moscow from using them to finance the conflict. In particular, they planned to exclude many Russian banks from the Swift interbank platform, an essential cog in global finance. Italy, Germany and France also announce the closure of their airspace to Russian planes from Sunday.
4:21 p.m. – Cyberwar: “For the moment, Russia has not mobilized all of its capabilities”
Louis Pétiniaud, specialist in cyber issues, deciphers the situation on the digital battlefield between Russia and Ukraine.
Read our Cyberwar interview: “For now, Russia has not mobilized all of its capabilities”
4:12 p.m. – NATO chief condemns Moscow’s “irresponsible” conduct
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Sunday denounced Moscow’s “irresponsible” conduct after Vladimir Putin put the Russian army’s nuclear “deterrence force” on alert. “It’s dangerous rhetoric. It’s irresponsible conduct,” Jens Stoltenberg told CNN.
3:54 p.m. – Ukraine does not intend to capitulate during the talks
The head of Ukrainian diplomacy Dmytro Kouleba assured Sunday that his country will not “capitulate” to Moscow, denouncing the alerting of Russian nuclear deterrent forces as an attempt at “pressure”. “We will not surrender, we will not capitulate, we will not give up a single centimeter of our territory,” Dmytro Kouleba said during a video press conference.
3:35 p.m. – Air France suspends flights to and over Russia
Air France announced on Sunday temporarily suspending “servicing and overflights of Russia” and will no longer operate its connections to Moscow and Saint Petersburg until further notice “given the situation in the region”, indicated a door -word. As a result, the airline is also suspending flights to and from China, Korea and Japan, “time to study flight plan options to avoid Russian airspace”.
3:24 p.m. – At least 100,000 protesters in Germany
At least 100,000 people demonstrated in Berlin on Sunday in solidarity with Ukraine invaded by Russian troops, a spokesperson for the police in the German capital told Agence France-Presse, while the organizers mentioned 500,000 participants. The demonstrators, gathered in front of the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag, the building of the Chamber of Deputies, displayed flags in the yellow and blue colors of the Ukrainian flag, noted a journalist from Agence France-Presse.
3:15 p.m. – A Ukrainian delegation is on its way to talks
“The Ukrainian delegation will meet the Russian (delegation) without setting any preconditions on the Ukrainian-Belarusian border, in the Pripyat River region,” the Ukrainian presidency said. The nearest city in this sector, on the Ukrainian side, is Pripyat, world famous since the accident at the nearby Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told him that the meeting will take place in the Gomel region in Belarus, without further details. This region borders, in particular, the area of Pripyat. The Ukrainian presidency did not specify the date of these talks, but Russia indicated that they would take place on Sunday. According to Vladimir Putin, a Russian delegation is already present in Gomel.
3:01 p.m. – With the Ukrainians of Italy who go to fight “for the fatherland”
In recent days, the first few dozen volunteers have set sail for Ukraine to join the resistance against the Russian invasion.
Read the article by our correspondent in Italy, Quentin Raverdy With the Ukrainians of Italy who leave to fight “for the fatherland”
2:52 p.m. – Ukraine confirms talks with Russia on Ukrainian-Belarusian border
Ukraine’s presidency said on Sunday it had agreed to talks with Russia. They will take place on the border with Belarus, near Chernobyl, a decision after mediation by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. “The Ukrainian delegation will meet the Russian (delegation) without setting any preconditions on the Ukrainian-Belarusian border, in the Pripyat River region,” the presidency said on social media.
2:40 p.m. – Washington announces the sending of 54 million dollars in humanitarian aid
The United States will send $54 million in additional humanitarian aid to Ukraine, US Foreign Minister Antony Blinken announced Sunday, on the fourth day of the Russian invasion. “It is with the well-being of ordinary Ukrainians in mind that we are announcing the provision of nearly $54 million in humanitarian assistance to those affected by the new Russian invasion,” the Secretary of State said in a statement. a statement.
2:28 p.m. – Putin puts the Russian army’s “deterrence force” on alert
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Sunday that he would put the Russian army’s “deterrent force” on alert, which may include a nuclear component, on the fourth day of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. “I order the defense minister and the chief of staff to put the Russian army deterrent forces on a special combat alert regime,” Vladimir Putin said in a meeting with his chiefs. soldiers broadcast on television.
1:51 p.m. – Russia excluded from the next World Cup?
The French Football Federation, whose team is the reigning world champion, “leans for the exclusion of Russia from the next World Cup” in reaction to the invasion of Ukraine, its president Noël Le Graët told the newspaper on Sunday. The Parisian. “The world of sport, and in particular of football, cannot remain neutral. I certainly will not oppose an exclusion of Russia”, explained Le Graët, while several nations have already warned that they would refuse to leave. face the Russians in the World Cup play-off.
1:31 p.m. – Japan plans to join some Western sanctions
Japan will join Western countries in excluding some Russian banks from the Swift platform, an essential cog in global finance, its prime minister announced on Sunday, increasing pressure on Moscow after the invasion of Ukraine. Western countries announced measures “to isolate Russia from the international financial system and the world economy, including the exclusion of certain Russian banks from Swift”, and “asked Japan to participate. Japan will join this initiative,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said.
1:23 p.m. – Ukraine announces control of Kharkiv
Ukraine’s second city, Kharkiv (northeast), is under the control of Ukrainian forces, regional governor Oleg Sinegoubov said on Sunday, hours after announcing a breakthrough by the Russian army and street fighting. “Kharkiv is under our full control,” Oleg Sinegoubov wrote on social media, assuring that an “elimination of enemies in the city” was underway.
1:08 p.m. – Zelensky says he spoke with Lukashencko
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday he spoke with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko, an ally of Moscow and whose territory of the country is used as a rear base by Russia. “I spoke with Alexander Lukashenko,” he said on Facebook without further details, while Russia insists on holding possible talks in this country which is subject to it.
12:59 p.m. – The property of Poutine’s ex-wife tagged near Biarritz
New anti-Putin messages and the colors of the Ukrainian flag were painted overnight from Saturday to Sunday on the exterior of a property in Anglet, near Biarritz, known to belong to the Russian president’s ex-wife and her husband, a Russian businessman. Messages “Fuck Poutine” have been spray-painted in blue on the gates and the perimeter wall of this Art Deco style residence, the “Villa Suzanna”, built facing the ocean, near the dune. The small, light-colored enclosure wall was covered with a multitude of inscriptions (“fuck”), always painted in blue, and two Ukrainian flags were painted on one of the main entrance gates.