1:55 p.m .: Ukrainian intelligence in contact with prisoners of Azovstal, according to the Minister of the Interior
Ukrainian intelligence services are in contact with prisoners of war who defended the Azovstal metallurgical complex in Mariupol and kyiv is doing everything to secure their release, the Ukrainian interior minister said.
Uncertainty reigns over the fate of hundreds of Azovstal fighters detained since mid-May by the Russians after Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky asked them to lay down their arms after almost three months of siege.
12:46 p.m .: Russia “throws all its weight” into the battle of Severodonetsk
kyiv says this Saturday that Russia is throwing all its available forces into the battle for Severodonetsk (east), a key city in the Donbass region where Moscow is concentrating its offensive in the hope of taking full control.
“The situation in the whole region is extremely difficult. The fighting is currently concentrated in Severodonetsk because from what we have been able to understand, the Russian army has thrown all its weight and its reserves” into this battle, said the governor of the Lugansk region, Sergei Gaïdaï, in a statement. interview posted on his official social networks.
The Russians continue to bomb civilian infrastructure and the Ukrainian army in the areas of Severodonetsk, Borivsky and Lyssychansk. The Russians are also heavily bombarding the Donetsk region, including Sloviansk, some 80 km west of Severodonetsk. Residents of the region lack gas, water and electricity, according to kyiv.
11:45 am: Another two to six months of war according to Mikhailo Podoljak, adviser to the Ukrainian president
Mikhailo Podoljak, adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, estimated in an interview with the Russian opposition news site Meduza that the war will last another two to six months. There will only be peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow, he added, if the situation on the ground changes and Russia no longer feels it can unilaterally impose its terms. Ukraine’s chief negotiator, David Arachamia, also said on Friday that kyiv will only return to the negotiating table when it is in a position of strength.
11:40 am: Moscow says it shot down a Ukrainian plane carrying weapons
A Ukrainian military transport plane carrying was reportedly shot down near Odessa by the Russian army. The plane was carrying weapons and ammunition according to a statement from the Russian Defense Ministry. However, it has not yet been possible to independently verify this information.
3.8 million entries
Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Polish border guards have already recorded 3.82 million entries from the neighboring country. 22,300 people crossed the border with Poland, the authority said on Twitter on Friday.
10:30 a.m.: “The occupying forces have almost reduced Mariupol to ashes”
“During these hundred days (of war), the occupying forces have almost reduced Mariupol to ashes”, thus denounced this Friday its mayor Vadym Boychenko. Result: “more than 22,000 civilians killed, 1,300 buildings destroyed and 47,000 people deported to Russia” or to territories under the control of pro-Russian separatists, he said.
8:40 a.m .: Switzerland refuses to transfer arms and armored vehicles to Ukraine
Switzerland insisted on Friday on the prohibition of the transfer of Swiss war material to Ukraine via a third country, in accordance with its doctrine of military neutrality. The delivery of war material in the form of assembly elements or spare parts to European armament companies will however remain possible, even if the manufactured war material is likely to be sent to Ukraine, the Federal Council has decided .
7:10 am: kyiv claims to regain ground in Severodonetsk
Ukraine claims to have pushed back Russian forces in Severodonetsk, a key city in the Donbass region where Moscow is concentrating its offensive in the hope of taking full control. It is in this region that a long-term “war of attrition” is now being played out, warned NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
According to the Ukrainian presidency, fighting was raging in the city center. “The Russian invaders continue to bomb civilian infrastructure and the Ukrainian army in the areas of Severodonetsk, Borivsky and Lyssychansk,” she said. But far from winning, the Russian forces are still unable to take full control of this city, according to kyiv. The capture of this city would allow them to ensure their hold on the Donbass, a mining basin partially occupied by pro-Russian separatists since 2014.
6:55 am: Invading Ukraine, a “historical and fundamental error” by Putin, according to Macron
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin had made “a historic and fundamental error” by attacking Ukraine and that he was now “isolated”. “I think, and I told him, that he made a historic and fundamental mistake for his people, for himself and for history,” he said in an interview with the French regional press, including your newspaper, adding not to “rule out” going to kyiv soon.
Frenchman killed in fighting in Ukraine
A Frenchman was killed “in fighting” in Ukraine, the French Foreign Ministry announced on Friday. “We learned the sad news that a Frenchman had been mortally wounded in fighting in Ukraine,” the Quai d’Orsay said in a written response. “We extend our condolences to his family.” According to a security source interviewed by AFP, the man was “a fighter who left as a volunteer”. The identity of this man has not been communicated, nor the place where he perished.
More information in our article.
6:50 a.m.: “Victory will be ours,” says Zelensky
“Victory will be ours,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday in a short video posted Friday on Instagram, on the 100th day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “State representatives have been here, defending Ukraine for 100 days,” he says in this 36-second video, filming himself in front of the presidential administration building in Kyiv alongside his prime minister, among others. , Denys Chmygal and the leader of the present party, David Arakhamia.
What to remember from Friday
- On the 100th day of the conflict, the UN coordinator in Ukraine affirmed that “this war has and will have no winner”.
- “Russia controls more than 90% of Luhansk Oblast,” says the latest report from the British Ministry of Defense.
- “Severodonetsk is holding up and has every chance of being liberated quickly”, maintains the head of the military administration of Lugansk, while Volodymyr Zelensky says that the city remains “the most difficult area at present”.
6:45 am: Hello everyone, welcome to this live where we will follow the situation around the conflict in Ukraine, on the 100th day of the Russian invasion.