Situation on the ground, international reactions, sanctions: update on the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
Washington accuses Russia of ‘war crimes’
The head of the American diplomacy Antony Blinken estimated Thursday that the Russian attacks against civilians in Ukraine constituted “war crimes”. G7 foreign ministers have warned that perpetrators of war crimes in Ukraine should be “held to account”, stressing that “evidence gathering” is ongoing.
Antony Blinkenn also judged that Moscow was not making “a significant effort” in its talks with kyiv and indicated that US President Joe Biden would threaten China with reprisals if it sent military aid to Russia during his visit. interview Friday with his counterpart Xi Jinping.
Moscow rejects ICJ decision
The Kremlin on Thursday rejected the decision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the highest court of the UN, which the day before ordered Russia to immediately suspend its military operations in Ukraine. The Kremlin stressed that both sides had to agree for such a decision to be implemented and that was not the case. The NGO Human Rights Watch has also asked Ukraine to stop staging Russian prisoners of war because it violates the Geneva Conventions.
More than three million refugees
More than 100,000 refugees have been added in 24 hours to the three million people who have already fled Ukraine since the invasion of the Russian army on February 24, according to the UN, which also lists around two million displaced people in the country. interior of the country.
The Council of Europe, for its part, warned Thursday against the risk for Ukrainian refugees of falling into human trafficking networks.
Zelensky denounces a new “Wall”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky received a standing ovation from the German Bundestag on Thursday morning before a video intervention in which he urged Germany to tear down the new “wall” erected in Europe against freedom since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
EU denounces “war crimes” committed by Russia
The European Union condemns the “serious violations of humanitarian law” and the “war crimes” committed by Russia in Ukraine, and its leaders will be held accountable, announced Thursday the head of European diplomacy. “The EU condemns in the strongest terms the Russian armed forces and their proxies, who continue to target the civilian population and Ukrainian civilian infrastructure,” Josep Borrell said in a statement.
The theater in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol (southeast) “was heavily shelled on Wednesday, although it served as a well-known and clearly identified shelter for civilians, including children”, he denounced . In addition, according to the NGO Human Rights Watch, Russian forces attacked the city of Mykolaiv with cluster munitions in three separate attacks, the statement recalls.
“Such deliberate attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure are shameful, reprehensible and totally unacceptable. They constitute serious violations of international humanitarian law”, accused Josep Borrell, believing that Moscow “bears full responsibility for these acts of military aggression and all the destruction and loss of life they cause”.
“Perpetrators of these grave violations and war crimes, as well as government leaders and military leaders will be held accountable,” he said.
The ICC prosecutor announced on March 2 the “immediate opening” of an investigation into the situation in Ukraine and possible war crimes, after receiving the green light from 39 ICC states parties.
France will release aid of 300 million euros
France will release aid of 300 million euros, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Thursday. The head of diplomacy Jean-Yves Le Drian confirmed, during an interview with his counterpart Dmytro Kouleba, “the release in the coming days of a financial assistance envelope of 300 million euros, in accordance with the commitment made” by President Emmanuel Macron to his counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky.
Biden to threaten Xi with retaliation if China sends military aid to Russia
US President Joe Biden will threaten his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Friday with retaliation if China were to “support Russian aggression” against Ukraine, including by sending military aid to Moscow, the president said on Thursday. US Foreign Minister Antony Blinken.
“We are concerned that they are planning to directly assist Russia with military equipment that would be used in Ukraine. President Biden will speak to President Xi tomorrow, and will make it clear to him that China will bear responsibility for any act aimed at supporting Russian aggression, and that we will not hesitate to impose costs on it,” he told reporters.
A bombed out theater
Ukraine on Thursday accused Russia of bombing a theater in which “more than a thousand” civilians had taken refuge, while President Joe Biden called his Russian counterpart a “war criminal”. “In Mariupol, the Russian Air Force knowingly dropped a bomb on the Drama Theater in the city center. The building is destroyed,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday evening. “The number of dead is not yet known.”
See as well : The theater of Mariupol, which served as a shelter, bombarded, uncertain assessment
“The world must finally admit that Russia has become a terrorist state,” he said. The town hall of Mariupol said on its Telegram account overnight from Wednesday to Thursday that “more than a thousand” people were in the theater.
Ukrainian officials posted a photo appearing to show the three-story building in flames and devastated by an explosion. For the mayor of Mariupol Vadym Boïchenko, this attack is an “appalling tragedy”. “The only word to describe what happened today is genocide, the genocide of our nation, of our Ukrainian people,” he continued.
The American space technology company Maxar Technologies, which specializes in satellite imagery, released a photo of the theater it said it had taken on Monday. In this photo seen by AFP, the word “children” was written on the ground, in huge white letters and in Russian, in front and behind the building. “The invaders destroyed the Dramatic Theater, where more than a thousand people had taken refuge. We will never forgive that,” said the town hall on the night of Wednesday to Thursday.
Russia denies attack
The Russian Ministry of Defense denied a bombardment of the city by its troops and claimed that the building had been destroyed by the Ukrainian nationalist Azov battalion. Moscow has already blamed this military unit for the bombing last week of a maternity hospital in Mariupol, which caused an international outcry. The Russian Embassy in Washington claimed it was a disinformation campaign.
The NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) said it needed more information to assess the situation in Mariupol.
“Until we know more, we can’t rule out the possibility of a Ukrainian military target in the area of the theater, but we do know the theater housed at least 500 civilians,” HRW’s Belkis Wille said. “serious concerns” about the target. More than 2,000 people have been killed in Mariupol since the start of the war, according to Ukrainian authorities.
Massive military aid to Ukraine
In Washington, responding to a journalist, US President Joe Biden said about his Russian counterpart: “He’s a war criminal”. “Unacceptable and unforgivable” remarks, replied the Kremlin. Shortly before, Mr. Biden had confirmed that his country would provide an additional $800 million in military aid to kyiv, an “unprecedented” $1 billion envelope in one week to support its army.
“At the request” of the Ukrainian head of state, who had addressed the American Congress a little earlier, “we are helping Ukraine to acquire additional and longer-range anti-aircraft defense systems”, a- he said, adding that drones would also be delivered.
Deadly bombings
Deadly Russian military strikes continued across Ukraine. Ten people queuing to buy bread in Cherniguiv, 150 km north of kyiv, died when soldiers opened fire on them in a “premeditated” manner, the prosecutor’s office said. This city has suffered numerous air raids just like Kharkiv (northeast), the country’s second largest city, where at least 500 people have been killed since the start of the war on February 24.
Zaporozhye was targeted for the first time. Its station was hit on Wednesday by at least one missile. Explosions were heard again at dawn on Wednesday in kyiv where thick columns of black smoke rose. The capital, emptied of more than half of its 3.5 million inhabitants, has been under curfew since 8:00 p.m. Tuesday (6:00 p.m. GMT) and until Thursday 7:00 a.m., after several missiles hit apartment buildings on Monday and Tuesday.
To read :Joe Biden authorizes a massive shipment of military assistance to Ukraine
According to the Ukrainian Parliament, citing figures collected by the General Prosecutor’s Office, 103 children have been killed in the country since the Russian invasion and around 100 injured. More than three million Ukrainians have already taken the road to exile, the vast majority to Poland.
Military attacks on the health system
At the same time, the World Health Organization (WHO) denounced the numerous military attacks on health infrastructures. “The health system has become a target (…). It’s starting to be part of the strategy and tactics of war. It’s totally unacceptable, it’s against international humanitarian law,” said Michael Ryan. , WHO emergency chief.
International Court of Justice orders end to invasion
The International Court of Justice (ICJ), the highest UN court, on Wednesday ordered Moscow to immediately halt its military operations in Ukraine, saying it was “deeply concerned” by the scale of the fighting. Imperturbable, Vladimir Putin hammered home in a speech that the military operation was “a success”. This while his army cannot claim the capture of any major city and is progressing in slow motion.
Just before, his Ukrainian counterpart had been given a standing ovation by videoconference by American parliamentarians and had once again called for the establishment of a no-fly zone over his country.
Joe Biden has so far rejected the idea of setting up such a zone, for fear of seeing the United States and the Atlantic Alliance – which repeated on Wednesday that there was “no question of deploying troops NATO or planes in Ukraine” — being drawn into a conflict that could escalate into World War III. However, this organization has announced its intention to strengthen its presence on its eastern flank. Volodymyr Zelensky is due to address the deputies of the Bundestag on Thursday morning. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Cavusoglu is expected in Ukraine from Moscow.
Any reproduction prohibited