liveLIVE. War in Ukraine: Macron predicts “an unprecedented food crisis”

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5:56 p.m. – Kadyrov’s troops reportedly took Mariupol town hall

The leader of the Russian republic of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov assured Thursday that his forces had taken the town hall of Mariupol, a large city in southeastern Ukraine that the Russian army besieged. “The guys report by radio that they liberated the Mariupol administration building and raised our flag there,” Ramzan Kadyrov said on Telegram, assuring that the Ukrainian forces had “abandoned their positions”. He added that other Russian units were advancing parallel in this large port largely destroyed by the bombardments. “Inch’Allah, Mariupol will soon be completely cleaned up,” he said.

5:53 p.m. – The G7 will do its utmost to hold Putin and his supporters “accountable”

The G7 countries have assured that they will “spare no effort” to hold Russian President Vladimir Putin and his supporters, including the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, “accountable” for the invasion of Ukraine. “To this end, we will continue to work together, with our allies and partners around the world,” these countries assured in a joint statement. “The Russian population must know that we have no complaints against them,” added the G7 after a meeting held in Brussels.

5:49 p.m. – The G7 ready to adopt “additional sanctions if necessary”

The G7 countries said they were ready on Thursday to take “further sanctions if necessary” against Russia, which invaded Ukraine. “We warn against any threat of the use of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons or related material”, add the G7 countries in a joint statement, recalling “Russia’s obligations under the international treaties to which it is signatory and who protect us all”.

5:40 p.m. – Emmanuel Macron: “We must protect the Ukrainians on our soil”

“We must avoid human trafficking and protect Ukrainians on our soil,” insisted the President of the Republic. “There are already 3.5 million Ukrainian refugees in Europe”, indicated the Head of State at the end of the NATO and G7 summits, assuring that “this is one of the biggest challenges of the European Union”.

5:39 p.m. – Ukraine: up to 12 years in prison for “collaboration” with Russia

The Rada, the Ukrainian Parliament, finally voted on Thursday a bill which makes “collaboration” with Russia punishable by up to twelve years in prison, a month after the start of the invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces. The text was adopted by 350 votes for, none against and 39 abstentions, according to a press release published on the Rada website.
It adds to the Ukrainian Criminal Code in force a new article entitled “Aid and complicity with the aggressor state” which punishes “from ten to twelve years” in prison any “cooperation” with “the enemy”, its administration and its armed forces or paramilitary formations. In addition to the prison sentence, those convicted will be prohibited from holding administrative positions, including local ones, for up to fifteen years and may have their property confiscated.

5:19 p.m. – Emmanuel Macron: “An unprecedented food crisis is coming”

“An unprecedented food crisis is coming” and a price increase “more serious in 18 months” is feared, estimated Emmanuel Macron at the end of the NATO summit. It is necessary that “Russia shows itself responsible”. Direct consequence “of the choices of Russia and the war”, “countries are having difficulty obtaining supplies of wheat, and more generally of cereals” and “famine is inevitable”, regretted the French president.

5:08 p.m. – NATO summit: Emmanuel Macron underlines the “growing isolation” of Russia

A month after Russia’s assault on Ukraine, the President of the Republic underlined the “resistance” of the Ukrainian people and the “increasing isolation” of Russia. During the NATO summit, the leaders of the 30 member countries analyzed the hypothetical “escalation scenarios” and discussed the additional aid to be provided to Ukraine. “France is there to ensure the security of our allies”, assured Emmanuel Macron, who supports “European strategic rearmament”. “The line remains the same: continue to supply defensive and lethal weapons to Ukraine,” he said.

4:49 p.m. – There would be a “very real risk” of the use of chemical weapons in Ukraine, assures Zelensky

“The risk of large-scale use of chemical weapons by Russia on the territory of Ukraine is very real,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday in a video address to heads of state and government of the G7. This warning comes the day after a statement by his American counterpart Joe Biden who deemed that the use of chemical weapons was a “credible threat”.

4:48 p.m. – UN calls for “immediate” cessation of war in Ukraine

The UN General Assembly, comprising 193 states, adopted Thursday by an overwhelming majority of 140 votes a new resolution which “demands” from Russia an “immediate” end to the war in Ukraine. In a vote of the General Assembly meeting since Wednesday at the United Nations headquarters in New York, 140 countries voted in favor, 38 abstained and 5 voted against. On March 2, in a vote described as “historic” by the General Assembly, 141 countries had approved a first non-binding resolution which “demands that Russia immediately stop using force against Ukraine “. Five states, including Russia, voted against and 35 abstained.

4:36 p.m. – Ukrainian refugees now number nearly 3.7 million

Nearly 3.7 million people have fled Ukraine and the fighting sparked by the Russian army invasion on February 24, according to the UN count released on Thursday. In total, more than 10 million people, more than a quarter of the population, had to leave their homes. The UN estimates the number of internally displaced people in Ukraine at nearly 6.5 million.

4:28 p.m. – Kyiv announces prisoner exchanges with Moscow

Russians and Ukrainians exchanged prisoners on Thursday, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk announced on Facebook. “In exchange for ten captured occupants, we got back ten of our military,” she wrote, saying it was the “first real exchange of prisoners of war” with Russia since the start of its offensive. in Ukraine. In addition, eleven Russian civilian sailors, survivors of a ship that sank in the Black Sea near Odessa, were sent to Russia against the return to Ukraine of 19 civilian sailors captured by the Russians.

On Wednesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that two exchanges had already been organized since the start of the Russian invasion, without however specifying their dates or the number of prisoners concerned.

4:25 p.m. – Catholics called to pray for peace in Ukraine this Friday

Bishops, priests and faithful Catholics are invited Friday to pray for peace in Ukraine at the invitation of Pope Francis, an approach declined in several dioceses in France, in particular at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Paris, it was indicated. in the diocese of Paris.

3:40 p.m. – Refugees flee fighting around Kyiv

Dozens of refugees fled the fighting around kyiv on Thursday in an area that Ukraine claims to have taken back from Russia, Agence France-Presse journalists found. Intense exchanges of heavy artillery could be heard from the suburb of Irpin, northwest of the capital, and columns of smoke could be seen rising in the sky, according to these journalists present on the spot. Houses caught fire, forcing the inhabitants of Irpin to leave this suburb where they had until now been able to continue to live despite the proximity of the fighting.