2023-10-02 19:17:36
Did you miss the latest events on the war in Ukraine? Do not panic, 20 Minutes takes stock for you every evening at 7:30 p.m. Who did what ? Who said what? Where are we ? The answer below.
The fact of the day
A “historic meeting” in kyiv. This is how the head of diplomacy of the European Union (EU), Josep Borrel, described the meeting of foreign ministers of member states this Monday in the Ukrainian capital. This is in fact the “first meeting of all 27 member countries outside the EU”, indicated Josep Borrell on X (formerly Twitter). But the latter nevertheless clarified that it was an “informal” meeting which “is not intended to reach conclusions and concrete decisions”.
Receiving his counterparts, the head of Ukrainian diplomacy Dmytro Kouleba welcomed the meeting being held in kyiv, “within the future borders of the European Union”, according to him. “The power of our warriors on the front line is largely the result of the power of our agreements with our friends and partners,” added President Volodymyr Zelensky on Telegram. “Our victory depends directly on our cooperation,” he continued, quoted in a press release from the presidency.
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Zelensky outlined a series of measures helping to end the war, including the expansion of sanctions against Iran, supplier of explosive drones massively used by Moscow for its strikes against Ukraine. The president also called for “accelerating work in the EU” aimed at authorizing the transfer of frozen Russian assets to finance the reconstruction of war-ravaged Ukraine. This recovery is estimated at hundreds of billions of dollars.
Monday’s meeting in kyiv is an “exceptional diplomatic gesture”, underlined Catherine Colonna, the French Minister of Foreign Affairs. She explained that the EU wants to demonstrate its “resolute” and “lasting” support for Ukraine “until it can prevail” against Moscow. For her part, the German Minister, Annalena Baerbock, requested the establishment of a “winter protection plan” to enable Ukraine to cope with bombings on its energy infrastructures, as during last year.
The number of the day
6. This is the number of additional Caesar guns ordered by Ukraine last week during the defense industries forum in kyiv. Mounted on a truck, the Caesar can fire 155mm shells up to 40 kilometers away. These cannons are in addition to the 30 Caesars already supplied by France to kyiv and the 19 examples of an eight-wheeled armored version by Denmark, according to its manufacturer Nexter. To meet demand, the manufacturer accelerated production of the Caesar, going from three years to 18 months for its manufacture and from two units produced each month to six monthly.
Sentence of the day
Weariness of the completely absurd support for the kyiv regime will increase in different countries, notably in the United States. »
The spokesperson for the Russian presidency, Dmitri Peskov, believes (or hopes) a weakening of Western support. “America is going to continue to be involved in this conflict, actually directly,” he told reporters. But Western “weariness” will create more “divisions in the political establishment” and lead to “contradictions,” Dmitri Peskov predicted. In response, Catherine Colonna assured “that Ukraine is part of the European family” and that Russia “must not count on our weariness”. “We will be here for a long time,” she promised.
Today’s trend
The threat of a “shutdown” in the United States weakens American support for Ukraine. Indeed, the compromise reached on Saturday evening in the American Congress leaves aside new aid, which is opposed by members of the hard right. Joe Biden and his Democratic camp argue that America has a duty to help Ukraine resist the Russian invasion decided by Vladimir Putin. Otherwise, they warn, autocrats would be emboldened in the future.
On Sunday, the Democrat urged Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to stop “playing” with the budget and agree to pass a separate measure on additional aid to Ukraine as quickly as possible. “I want to say to our allies, to the American people and to the people of Ukraine, you can count on our support. We will not abandon Ukraine, he said from the White House.
Ukrainian authorities responded by indicating that they were “actively working” with Washington to ensure that new aid was in the pipeline.
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