War in Ukraine: what to remember from the 52nd day of the Russian invasion


THE ESSENTIAL

Two days after the sinking of its flagship in the Black Sea, Russia is carrying out its threats. Its Ministry of Defense announced on Saturday that it had targeted a military equipment factory in kyiv.

“High-precision, long-range air-to-surface weapons destroyed production buildings of an arms factory in Kyiv,” the ministry said in a statement on Telegram.

The main information:

  • Two Ukrainian arms factories were hit by shelling on Friday and Saturday
  • Zelensky said he was worried about Putin’s possible use of nuclear weapons
  • Germany plans to give over one billion euros in military aid to Ukraine

A new factory targeted by a Russian bombardment

This bombing, claimed by Moscow, comes the day after Russian forces warned that they were going to intensify their attacks on the Ukrainian capital. On the scene, a large number of soldiers and police were present on the spot, preventing access to the complex, from which smoke was billowing.

The mayor of kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, indicated on Facebook that he had no information on the potential victims at this stage. “In the morning kyiv was shelled. Explosions sounded in the Darnytsky district on the outskirts of the city. Rescuers and medics are currently working on the spot,” he wrote.

He once again called on residents who left the city not to return, but to stay in a “safe place”. Russian fire on the kyiv region has decreased since the end of March, when Moscow withdrew its troops from around the capital, announcing that it wanted to concentrate its offensive on eastern Ukraine.

The Ukrainian capital under threat again

Russia had already announced on Friday that it had destroyed another arms factory in the suburbs of kyiv and assured that the strikes on kyiv would be intensified to respond to attacks on Russian territory, of which it accuses Ukraine. This factory manufacturing Neptune missiles that the Ukrainian army said it used to strike the Russian cruiser Moskva was hit overnight, AFP journalists noted on Friday.

According to the Pentagon, the Moskva, the flagship of the Russian fleet in the Black Sea, was sunk by two Ukrainian missiles. It is “a big blow” for Russia, commented its spokesperson. The Moscow version is that this building was “severely damaged” by fire and sank while being towed.

Zelensky highlights Russian nuclear risk

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that “the whole world” should be “worried” about the risk that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, cornered by his military setbacks in Ukraine, might resort to a tactical nuclear weapon, echoing the warning the day before the director of the CIA.

US foreign intelligence boss William Burns said the threat posed by the potential use of tactical or ‘low-power’ nuclear weapons by President Vladimir Putin should not be “taken lightly if he were to”. sink into despair” in the face of the failures of his army.

Moscow warns Washington of ‘consequences’

Russia sent a formal complaint to the United States this week warning the US government of “unforeseeable consequences” following its sharply increased military aid to Ukraine, according to press reports.

According to this diplomatic note, Moscow warns the United States and NATO against sending “more sensitive” weapons to Ukraine, judging that such military equipment put “fuel on the fire” and could provoke “unforeseeable consequences,” reported the Washington Post.

Help from Berlin to buy military equipment

Germany plans to grant more than one billion euros in military aid to Ukraine, a government spokesman told AFP on Friday.

The money will be used by Ukraine to finance the acquisition of military equipment.

Five million refugees

More than five million people have fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion began on February 24, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

This is the biggest refugee crisis in Europe since World War II.



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