The essential :
- The conditions for launching in the coming days a humanitarian operation to help the inhabitants of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, besieged by the Russian army, “are not met at this stage”, announced the Elysée after a meeting between the presidents Emmanuel Macron and Vladimir Putin. The French head of state presented this evacuation operation, proposed by France, Turkey and Greece, to his Russian counterpart, who said that he would “think about it” before giving an answer.
- Russian negotiators have announced that their military activities will be drastically reduced around kyiv and Cherniguiv in Ukraine, after “substantial” Russian-Ukrainian talks in Istanbul. They also detailed the proposals presented earlier by kyiv, which would commit to neutrality subject to having foreign powers guarantee its security.
-
The Russian attacks against Mariupol are a “crime against humanity”, denounces Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a speech before the Danish Parliament. “What the Russian troops are doing in Mariupol is a crime against humanity, which is taking place live before the eyes of the planet,” he said during a videoconference, accusing them of deliberately bombing the shelters for civilians in this besieged city.
10:20 p.m. – The lifting of sanctions against Russia “can only be envisaged once the war is over”, says Zelensky
The lifting of Western sanctions against Russia “can only be considered once the war is over”, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday, hours after a new session of Russian-Ukrainian talks in Turkey. “Negotiations (between Kyiv and Moscow) should not be expected to lead to the lifting of sanctions against the Russian Federation. This issue can only be considered after the war is over and we have recovered what is ours,” Mr. Zelensky said in a video posted on Telegram.
10:00 p.m. – “Positive” signals to Russian-Ukrainian talks, says Zelensky
The signals from Tuesday’s Russian-Ukrainian talks in Turkey are “positive”, but Ukraine does not “intend to relax” its military efforts, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. “We can say that the signals we are hearing in the negotiations are positive, but they do not silence the explosions or the Russian shells,” he said in a video message posted on Telegram. “The Russian military still has significant potential to continue attacks against our state,” he said.
Read also War in Ukraine: why the Russian army is no longer progressing
9:30 p.m. – Washington evokes a “repositioning” of Russian forces near kyiv,
Russian forces around kyiv have begun a “repositioning” but “not a real withdrawal”, Defense Department spokesman John Kirby said on Tuesday. “We can confirm that we have seen a small number of ‘troops’ beginning to reposition,” he told reporters. But “we must be ready to see a major offensive against other areas of Ukraine” and “that does not mean that the threat against kyiv is over”, he warned. “The vast majority of the forces they massed near kyiv are still there,” said John Kirby, “it’s a repositioning, not a real withdrawal.”
Read also War in Ukraine: in kyiv, born underground
According to him, “Russia has failed to fulfill its objective which was to take kyiv, it has failed to fulfill its objective which was to take control of Ukraine, but it can still inflict massive violence in the country, including in kyiv”. “We need to be lucid about the reality of what is happening on the ground and no one should be fooled by Russia’s announcements,” said Kate Bedingfield, a spokeswoman for the White House. Moscow promised on Tuesday to “radically” reduce its military activity in the direction of kyiv and Cherniguiv in Ukraine, after “substantial” Russian-Ukrainian talks in Istanbul.
8:55 p.m. – 12 dead and 33 wounded after a Russian strike in Mykolaiv
Twelve people were killed and at least 33 others injured Tuesday in a Russian strike that partially destroyed the building of the regional administration of Mykolaiv, in southern Ukraine, according to a new report given by Ukrainian relief. “According to the investigation (…), the Russian armed forces launched a missile attack” against this building, for its part explained the press service of the general prosecutor, Iryna Venediktova. No military objective was targeted, “the inhabitants of Mykolaiv posed no threat to Russia. And despite this, like all Ukrainians, they became the targets of Russian troops”, President Volodymyr had said a few hours earlier. Zelensky during an address to the Danish Parliament. He had provided a toll of seven dead and 22 wounded, which later rose to nine dead and 28 wounded.
8:25 p.m. — Biden and his European allies agree to ‘continue to increase the cost paid by Russia’
US President Joe Biden and several European leaders agreed in a phone call on Tuesday to continue to sanction Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine, warning against any “slackening of Western resolve”. During the approximately hour-long telephone conversation, the American, British, French, German and Italian leaders affirmed “their determination to continue to increase the cost paid by Russia for its brutal attack on Ukraine, as well as to continue to provide security assistance to Ukraine to defend itself,” according to a White House statement.
Read also Luc de Barochez – America, the backbone of Europe
Joe Biden, Boris Johnson, Emmanuel Macron, Olaf Scholz and Mario Draghi also agreed that ‘there can be no relaxation of Western resolve until the horror inflicted on Ukraine is over’ , according to a statement released by Downing Street. The American president also said that the West was waiting to see if Russia “kept its word” on the reduction of its military activity in the direction of kyiv and Cherniguiv, in Ukraine. “There seems to be a consensus that we have to see what they have to offer,” Joe Biden told reporters.
7:59 p.m. — Biden waiting to see if Russia ‘keeps its word’ on de-escalation
Joe Biden says Westerners are waiting to see if Russia “will keep its word” on reducing its military activity in kyiv and Cherniguiv, Ukraine. “We will see if they keep their word,” the American president told reporters, shortly after meeting with the French, British, German and Italian leaders. “There seems to be a consensus that you have to see what they have to offer,” he said.
7:46 p.m. – Biden and European allies agree to ‘continue to increase the cost paid by Russia’
After a phone call, Joe Biden and several European leaders agree to continue to sanction Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine, the White House announces: “The leaders affirm their determination to continue to increase the cost paid by Russia for its brutal attack on Ukraine, as well as continuing to provide security assistance to Ukraine to defend itself,” a statement said.
7:10 p.m. – A humanitarian operation in Mariupol not possible “at this stage”, according to the Elysee
The conditions to launch in the coming days a humanitarian operation to help the inhabitants of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, besieged by the Russian army, “are not met at this stage”, announces the Elysée after a meeting between Presidents Emmanuel Macron and Vladimir Putin. The French head of state presented this evacuation operation, proposed by France, Turkey and Greece, to his Russian counterpart who said “he was going to think about it” before giving an answer, says the presidency .
6:58 p.m. – Five Western leaders warn against any ‘loosening of Western resolve’
In a telephone conversation, the British, American, French, German and Italian leaders warn against any “loosening of Western determination” in the face of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to Downing Street. Boris Johnson, Joe Biden, Emmanuel Macron, Olaf Scholz and Mario Draghi ‘agreed that there can be no relaxation of Western resolve until the horror inflicted on Ukraine is over’, says a bearer word of the British Prime Minister in a press release.
Consult our file: War in Ukraine
