liveLIVE. War in Ukraine: Russian airborne troops are in Kharkiv



The essential :

  • The intensity of the fighting is expected to increase very quickly in Kiev, as the Ukrainian army has placed a large number of its trucks and tanks to the west and north of the city. During the night of Tuesday to Wednesday, airborne troops landed in Kharviv. On Tuesday, the central square of the country’s second city with 1.4 million inhabitants was bombed.
  • Ukraine has reported 352 civilians killed and 2,040 injured since the start of the Russian offensive.
  • During an interview with Emmanuel Macron, Vladimir Putin demanded the recognition of Crimea as Russian territory, the “denazification” of the Ukrainian government and a “neutral status” of Kiev, as a prerequisite for the end of the invasion of Ukraine. After several hours of talks, the Russian and Ukrainian negotiators have agreed on the forthcoming holding of a “second round” of discussions.
  • Volodymyr Zelensky called for Ukraine to join the EU “without delay” following the Russian invasion. In his speech to the European Parliament, the Ukrainian president called for the country to be defended at the “cost of his life”: “On your side, prove that you are on our side, that you are not going to let us down! »
  • In his State of the Union address, delivered from Capitol Hill, Joe Biden called Vladimir Putin a “dictator” and reiterated his support for the Ukrainian people.


05:59 – Visa, MasterCard and AmEx banish Russian banks

US payment card issuers Visa, MasterCard and American Express said they had taken steps to implement sanctions imposed on Russia after the invasion of Ukraine, preventing Russian banks from using their network. MasterCard has thus “blocked multiple financial institutions” on its payment network “in response to orders imposing sanctions”, indicated the general manager of the company in a message posted on its site Monday evening.
Visa for its part indicated on its site “to take prompt measures to ensure compliance with the applicable sanctions”. The group also says it is “ready to comply with any additional sanctions that may be implemented”. While stressing that its activities in Russia were “limited”, the card issuer American Express affirmed that it “has respected American and international sanctions since the beginning of the crisis”.

5:33 a.m. – Zelensky or Putin, that is now the question

The Ukrainian tragedy reveals the metamorphosis of an acrobat into an actor of History: facing Putin, Zelensky is the honor of Europe.

Read the editorial of Bernard-Henri Levy – Zelensky or Putin, that is now the question

05:21 – American giants cut ties with Moscow

ExxonMobil has become the latest major oil group to announce it will pull out of the country, phasing out the Sakhalin-1 oil and gas field. Another symbol of the American economy, Apple has announced that it has suspended the sale of all its products in Russia after stopping exports to the country last week.

Boeing, for its part, has announced that it will suspend its operational services to Russian airlines (spare parts, maintenance and technical support) as well as “major operations” in Moscow. The company also temporarily closed its office in Kyiv. General Motors has ceased its car exports to Russia until further notice while Ford has decided to suspend its participation in a joint venture manufacturing Transit vans in the country.

04:59 – Russian airborne troops landed in Kharkiv

Russian airborne troops landed in Kharkiv overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday, the Ukrainian army said, citing ongoing fighting in the eastern Ukrainian city. “Russian airborne troops landed in Kharkiv (…) and attacked a local hospital,” the Ukrainian army said in a statement on Telegram. “There is a fight going on between the invaders and the Ukrainians,” she said.

04:09 – The United States will release 30 million barrels of oil

Joe Biden has announced that the United States will release 30 million barrels of oil from strategic reserves to stabilize the market after Russia invades Ukraine. “The United States has worked with 30 other countries to unlock 60 million barrels of oil from reserves around the world. America will lead this effort, unlocking 30 million barrels of oil,” the US president told members of Congress in his first State of the Union address. He added that Washington was “ready to do more, if necessary.”

03:51 – Russians continue strikes on Ukrainian cities

On Tuesday evening, new explosions sounded in Kiev and Bila Tserkva. For its part, the city of Zhitomir (north-west) was targeted by an air strike which left two dead and three injured and seriously damaged 10 residential buildings, according to Ukrainian relief. Earlier, the Russian army had called on civilians living near security services infrastructure to evacuate, saying it wanted to attack them to stop “computer attacks against Russia”. The future Russian assault on Kiev raises fears of a considerable number of victims in this metropolis, which normally has nearly three million inhabitants and is endowed with a rich historical heritage.

03:41 – Joe Biden: “Vladimir Putin is more isolated than ever”

Russian President Vladimir Putin is “more isolated than ever”, Joe Biden told the US Congress on Tuesday, confirming that the United States would close its airspace “to all Russian flights”. The American president has threatened the Russian oligarchs with seizing their “yachts, luxury apartments, and private jets”, resulting from dishonest gains.

03:37 – Joe Biden: “Putin is a dictator”

US President Joe Biden called Vladimir Putin a “dictator” during his State of the Union address, a week after the Russian invasion of Ukraine began. “The fact that a Russian dictator invaded a foreign country has a cost on the whole planet”, launched Joe Biden before the American Congress. But “in the battle between democracy and autocracy, democracies are there, and the world clearly chooses the side of peace and security”, launched the American president who reiterated his support for the Ukrainian people .






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