The essential :
- 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.
On the sixth day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the central square of Kharkiv, the country’s second largest city with 1.4 million inhabitants, was bombed. Russian troops and pro-Russian separatist forces from eastern Ukraine made the connection along the Sea of Azov. 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.
- 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 calls for defending the country 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,” he told the MEPs.
- At the National Assembly, Prime Minister Jean Castex denounced a Russian “act of war” against Ukraine and a “cynical and premeditated aggression” that France condemns in the “most absolute” way. The head of government also announced the extension and strengthening of support and protection measures for French households and businesses.
7:25 p.m. – Ukrainian channels work despite attack on TV tower
The Ukrainian presidency announced the restoration of the broadcasting of a dozen national televisions. An hour after the attack on the television tower in Kiev, most Ukrainian channels seemed to be operating normally. Shortly before the strike, the Russian army announced that it was going to target the infrastructure of the Ukrainian security services as well as “retransmission centers” in Kiev and therefore called on civilians living nearby to flee.
7:00 p.m. – Florence Parly: “Either Europe faces up, or it fades”
The war in Ukraine is a “historic moment for Europe which must rise to the occasion”. “Either Europe faces up, or it fades away,” French Minister for the Armed Forces Florence Parly said on Tuesday. “With the strong measures that have been taken in recent days in unity, we are coping and France will continue to play a leading role in this European action,” she said during a debate in the Assembly. report on the invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces.
6:54 p.m. – The managing company of Nord Stream 2 files for bankruptcy
Based in the Swiss canton of Zug, German-Russian gas pipeline operator Nord Stream 2 has filed for bankruptcy and all 106 employees have been made redundant. “We were informed today that this company could not continue. It had to file for bankruptcy and the employees received their dismissal letters,” cantonal economics official Silvia Thalmann-Gut said in an interview with the public channel.
6:41 p.m. – Zelensky spoke by phone with Joe Biden
President Volodymyr Zelensky called on Tuesday to “stop the” Russian “aggressor as soon as possible”, during a telephone interview with his American counterpart Joe Biden. “I have just spoken with the American president. We must stop the aggressor as soon as possible”, tweeted the Ukrainian head of state after this interview, on the sixth day of the invasion of Ukraine by Moscow. During their meeting, the two presidents spoke in particular about Western sanctions against Russia and the aid provided by the United States and other countries to Ukraine in the field of defense.
6:30 p.m. – VIDEO. Volodymyr Zelensky: “Prove that you are European!”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the European Parliament this afternoon to officially request his country’s accession to the European Union. Meeting in plenary session in Brussels, the deputies were able to follow his speech live from Kiev, thanks to a videoconference. During his speech, Volodymyr Zelensky explained that he had not prepared a speech or taken notes, given the situation in his country: “The European Union will be much stronger with us within “She. Without you, Ukraine will be alone. We have shown our strength. We have shown that we are your equals. On your side, prove that you are on our side, prove that you are not going to leave us to fall.” Several minutes of applause followed his speech and MEPs rose to show their solidarity with the Ukrainian people.
Find the verbatim of his speech: Volodymyr Zelensky: “We want to be members of the European Union”
6:20 p.m. – NATO foreign ministers meet urgently
An extraordinary meeting of NATO foreign ministers was convened face-to-face on Friday at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels. The meeting should allow ministers to discuss the situation in Ukraine since the invasion decided by Russian President Vladimir Putin and the strengthening of the Alliance’s defenses on the eastern flank.
5:59 p.m. – Russian delegations excluded from the Cannes Film Festival
As long as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues, the flagship cinema event will not accept the presence of the slightest authority linked to the Russian government. “It has been decided, unless the war of aggression ceases under conditions that will satisfy the Ukrainian people, not to welcome official delegations from Russia nor to accept the presence of any authority linked to the Russian government” , details the largest Film Festival in the world, which will be held this year from May 17 to 28.
5:44 p.m. – Russian strike on Kyiv TV tower kills 5
Five people were killed and five injured in a Russian strike Tuesday against the television tower in Kiev. This attack also led to the interruption of the broadcasting of the channels. A photograph released by the Home Office showed the tower shrouded in thick gray smoke. The main structure of the building, however, was still standing. The television tower is in the same neighborhood as the site of Babi Yar, a ravine where the Nazis shot and killed more than 30,000 Jews in two days in 1941. This place is now an important place of memory.
5:32 p.m. – Mélenchon regrets the delivery of arms to Ukraine
The leader of La France insoumise, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, told the Assembly on Tuesday that he regretted the decision of the European Union to supply arms to Ukraine to defend itself against Russia. “Let us beware of improvised solutions. The means we employ must never turn against us. However, I regret that the European Union has decided to to supply armaments necessary for a war, in the words of Commissioner Josep Borrell”, in reference to the head of European diplomacy, declared the presidential candidate before the deputies gathered in a special session to debate the war in Ukraine. “This decision would make us co-belligerents. A gear engages, with what legitimacy? When did our Parliament decide it?” he wondered again under the boos of parliamentarians.
5:04 p.m. – The statue of Putin removed from the Grévin museum in Paris
The famous Parisian museum took the decision to remove the wax statue of Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, the sixth day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “Today, it is no longer possible for us to present such a character on the course”, explained its director, Yves Delhommeau, to France Bleu. This is the first time in the history of the Grévin museum that a historical figure has been removed from the gallery for such reasons. The statue of the Russian president was created in 2000 and restored a few years ago. The space he occupied between Joe Biden and Xi Jinping, his American and Chinese counterparts, is now empty. “Our staff and ourselves did not want to pass in front of it every morning, to restyle it, to give it a makeover”, justified the director of the establishment.
4:50 p.m. – Broadcasting of the TV tower interrupted in Kiev after a Russian strike
A Russian strike on Tuesday targeted the television tower in Kiev, located not far from an important memorial to the victims of the Holocaust, causing the interruption of the broadcasting of the channels. The strike, which comes on the sixth day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, “hit” tower equipment, the Interior Ministry said. “The channels are not going to work for a while,” he said. “Rescue” systems will allow certain televisions to restore their broadcasting soon.
4:43 p.m. – Russian airstrike kills eight
At least eight people were killed and six injured on Tuesday in Ukraine by an airstrike on a residential area in the city of Kharkiv, on which invading Russian forces are leading the assault. “Six people were injured and 38 people were rescued,” the Ukrainian emergency service posted on Facebook, posting photos of rescuers working in a damaged building.