Kherson bombed by Russia, the French Minister of Armies visits kyiv

► The city of Kherson continues to be shelled by Russian forces, according to Ukraine

Russian forces continue to shell Kherson, according to Ukrainian authorities. Three people were injured Wednesday, December 28 by gunfire in Kizomys, near the city, including a 14-year-old boy, announced the deputy chief of the cabinet of the presidency, Kyrylo Tymoshenko.

The day before, a maternity hospital had been hit by Russian fire. “Five women who had just given birth were still present. Miraculously, no one was hurt”I explained Kyrylo Tymochenko.

Retaken in mid-November by the Ukrainian army, the city had already been bombed on December 24. The attack left ten dead and fifty injured.

► “Some civilians” present in Bakhmout, hot spot of the fighting

“Only a few civilians” still live in the town of Bakhmout, a hotspot of fighting in eastern Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday.

“Last year, 70,000 people lived there. Now only a few civilians have remained”, lamented Volodymyr Zelensky on Facebook, without specifying how many civilians are still in this city. The Russian forces and the paramilitaries of the Wagner group have been trying, so far without success, to conquer Bakhmout since the summer at the cost of heavy losses on both sides, and considerable destruction.

► The French Minister of the Armed Forces visits kyiv

French Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu is visiting kyiv on Wednesday to show the government’s support for the Ukrainian army. For his first visit to Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion, he notably paid tribute to the Ukrainian soldiers who died since February 24.

After a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart, the minister will be received by President Volodymyr Zelensky for a half-hour meeting. In particular, it will be a question of the sending of weapons by France to Ukraine. After delivering 18 Caesar guns, Emmanuel Macron announced a few days ago that arms deliveries would continue in 2023.

► Ukraine equips itself with drones

Ukraine has purchased some 1,400 drones, mostly for reconnaissance, according to Ukraine’s minister responsible for digital transformation. In an interview with the Associated Press news agency, Mykhailo Fedorov said the country wanted to develop combat models capable of attacking the explosive drones that Russia used during its invasion of the country.

For Mykhaïlo Fedorov, the war in Ukraine is the first major conflict of the Internet era, resulting in the use of drones and satellite Internet access systems, such as Elon Musk’s Starlink.

► The ban on the sale of Russian oil will have no “practical significance”, according to Berlin

Moscow’s ban on the sale of Russian oil from February 1 to foreign countries capping its price will have no “practical meaning”assured the German government on Wednesday.

“I don’t mean it’s meaningless, but it doesn’t have any practical meaning. We have already been preparing since the beginning of the summer to replace » Russian oil, commented a spokesman for the Ministry of Economy and Climate.

Russia will ban from February 1 the sale of its oil to foreign countries that use the cap on the price of Russian black gold, set in early December at €56.51 per barrel by the European Union, the G7 and the Australia.

► The boss of Gazprom recognizes a “very difficult” year 2022

The boss of the Russian gas giant Gazprom, Alexei Miller, recognized Wednesday a year 2022 ” very difficult “ for his group, marked by a major change in strategy, with exports turning to Asia in the midst of a crisis between Moscow and the West.

Alexei Miller said note “radical changes in the energy markets”driven by the consequences of international sanctions against Moscow in retaliation for its military intervention in its Ukrainian neighbor.