Situation on the ground, international reactions, sanctions: the point on the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
The Russian army is concentrating on the East
Russia said on Friday that it now wanted to focus its efforts on the “liberation” of eastern Ukraine and acknowledged the death of 1,351 of its soldiers since the start of its military offensive, the first figures for more than three weeks.
The combat capabilities of the Ukrainian forces have been significantly reduced, which allows (…) to concentrate the bulk of the efforts on the main objective: the liberation of Donbass”, said the deputy head of the Russian General Staff.
Ukrainian Air Force Command bombed
The command center of the Ukrainian air forces in Vinnytsia (center) was hit Friday by a salvo of Russian cruise missiles, which caused “significant damage”, according to the Ukrainian army.
In Kharkiv (east), a Russian bombardment on a medical center left four dead and three injured, according to the regional police.
In addition, the town hall of Mariupol (south) declared to fear the death of approximately 300 people in the bombardment of the theater of the city by the Russian aviation on March 16.
Talks “very difficult”, according to kyiv
Talks with Moscow are “very difficult”, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kouleba said on Friday, denying any agreement with Russia.
Earlier in the day, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan assured that Russia and Ukraine agreed on four out of six negotiating points.
Biden in Poland
Joe Biden, who has repeatedly promised to defend “every inch” of NATO territory, visited American soldiers stationed in Poland, not far from the border with Ukraine, on Friday.
After landing in Rzeszow, 80 km from the border, the American president began a long-awaited two-day visit with a meeting with soldiers from the 82nd American Airborne Division.
He must then hold a meeting devoted to the humanitarian situation in Ukraine and in the region, and will, according to the White House, be joined on this occasion by Polish President Andrzej Duda.
Stolen airliners
Russia has “stolen” hundreds of airliners, representing billions of euros in damage to their foreign lessors, senior European officials accused Friday, after Moscow allowed the registration of these aircraft on its territory.
Russian airlines have until Monday to return the aircraft under European Union airline sanctions.
The United States “does not intend to use chemical weapons under any circumstances”
The United States “does not intend to use chemical weapons under any circumstances”, that is to say even if Russia uses them in Ukraine, assured Friday the national security adviser American Jake Sullivan, aboard Air Force One.
During an exchange with the press, however, he warned that Moscow would pay “a very high price” in the event of the use of chemical weapons, clarifying remarks the day before by President Joe Biden who had promised a “response” in such a scenario, but remaining evasive on the “nature” of this response.
‘Not deadly’: Kremlin downplays scope of possible G20 exclusion
Russia on Friday minimized the scope of a possible exclusion from the G20, wanted by the United States in reaction to Moscow’s intervention in Ukraine, believing that such a blow would not be “deadly”.
“As for the G20 format, it is important. But under the current circumstances, when most members are in a state of economic war with us, nothing fatal would happen” in the event of Moscow’s exclusion , Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
NATO “response” if Moscow uses chemical weapons –
NATO will respond if Russia uses chemical weapons in Ukraine, US President Joe Biden pledged for the first time on Thursday. “We will respond if there is recourse. The nature of the response will depend on the nature of this use,” Biden said after the NATO and G7 summits in Brussels.
To read: Zelensky asks NATO for “unrestricted military aid”
He will travel to Poland on Friday in the town of Rzeszow, about 80 kilometers from the border with war-torn Ukraine. French President Emmanuel Macron for his part refused to specify whether NATO had defined “red lines” likely to trigger an intervention.
Chemical and nuclear threats: NATO equips Ukraine
NATO will provide Ukraine with equipment to protect against chemical, biological and nuclear threats, announced the Secretary General of the Alliance. Four new battlegroups will be deployed in Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria and Slovakia to reinforce NATO’s defenses on its eastern flank. More than 100,000 American soldiers are currently present in Europe and more than 40,000 soldiers are under direct NATO command in the eastern part of the Alliance.
The Ukrainian president accuses Russia of using “phosphorus bombs”. And for him, “the risk of large-scale use of chemical weapons by Russia in Ukraine is very real”.
Risks of food shortages
Westerners came together on Thursday to respond to the risk of global food shortages, with Ukraine and Russia being two major wheat exporters. “Food shortages will materialize,” warned the American president after G7 and NATO summits, assuring that the United States like Canada would increase their exports accordingly.
The United States has announced that it will devote 11 billion dollars (about 10 billion euros) over the next five years to respond to threats to food security in the world, while France has proposed an emergency plan at EU and G7 level.
UN demands ‘immediate’ end to war
The UN General Assembly of 193 states on Thursday adopted by an overwhelming majority a new resolution which “demands” from Russia an “immediate” halt to its military offensive in Ukraine, a “historic” but non-binding resolution. One hundred and forty countries voted for, 38 abstained and five voted against including Russia, Syria and North Korea.
Mariupol: Kadyrov claims to have taken the town hall, then minore
The leader of the Russian republic of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, assured Thursday that his forces had taken the town hall of Mariupol, before publishing a video which only mentions an official building on the outskirts of this large city in the southeastern Ukraine that the Russian army is besieging.
Deadly bombings
At least five people died, including two children, and six others injured in Russian strikes near Lugansk (east), said the governor of the region. In Kharkiv (north-east), at least six civilians were killed and 15 others injured in a bombardment, according to the regional governor. The strike hit a post office near which local residents were receiving humanitarian aid, he said, denouncing a new “crime of the Russian occupiers”.
In addition, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) expressed Thursday evening its “concern” after being informed by the Ukrainian authorities of the bombing of the city where the staff of the Chernobyl site live.
Brasilia opposed to Russia’s exclusion from the G20
Brazil’s foreign minister said on Thursday that President Jair Bolsonaro’s government was “clearly opposed” to the idea of excluding Russia from the G20.
US President Joe Biden on Thursday called for the exclusion of Russia from the G20, which had already been expelled from the G8 after the annexation of Crimea in 2014.
4.3 million displaced children
More than half of children in Ukraine, or 4.3 million, have had to leave their homes since February 24, said Unicef, the United Nations Children’s Fund. In total, nearly 3.7 million people have fled Ukraine, according to the UN.
Exchange of prisoners
Russians and Ukrainians have exchanged prisoners for the first time, according to kyiv. “In exchange for ten captured occupants, we have recovered ten of our soldiers,” announced Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk, who also accused Russian forces of detaining civilians and engaging in torture.