Beijing calls for dialogue, UN demands Russian withdrawal

► Beijing calls for dialogue, rejects any use of nuclear weapons

The Chinese government called on Russia and Ukraine to resume dialogue and rejected any recourse to nuclear weapons, in a 12-point document published on Friday February 24, a year after the start of the conflict.

“All parties must support Russia and Ukraine to work in the same direction and resume direct dialogue as soon as possible”said the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, adding that “Nuclear weapons must not be used”.

“The parties (involved) in the conflict must strictly comply with international humanitarian law, avoid attacking civilians or civilian buildings”also believes in this document the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

► Macron affirms that France is on the “side” of the Ukrainians and calls for their “victory”

Emmanuel Macron sent a message on Friday “solidarity” to the Ukrainians after a year of war led by Russia, calling for their « victoire » and the ” peace “.

“Ukrainians, Ukrainians, France stands by your side. To solidarity, to victory and to peace”said the French president on Twitter, in French, English and Russian.

► The Russian group Wagner claims the capture of a locality near Bakhmout

The boss of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner said on Friday that his troops had taken the Ukrainian town of Berkhivka, just north of Bakhmout, a key city that Moscow has been seeking to conquer for several months.

The village of Berkhivka, called Berkhovka in Russian, “is entirely under our control. Wagner’s units control the entirety of Berkhovka”, said Yevgeny Prigojine in a press release published by his press service. AFP could not verify these statements from an independent source.

► UN General Assembly demands Russian withdrawal from Ukraine

The UN General Assembly on Thursday demanded a withdrawal ” immediate “ Russian troops who invaded Ukraine a year ago, overwhelmingly voting for a resolution also calling for peace “just and sustainable”.

The non-binding resolution received 141 votes for, 7 against (Russia, Belarus, Syria, North Korea, Mali, Nicaragua, Eritrea) and 32 countries abstained, including China and India, out of the 193 member states of the United Nations. Similar support in October, when 143 countries condemned the annexations of several Ukrainian territories by Russia, five voting against.

The adopted resolution reaffirms the“attachment” To “Territorial Integrity of Ukraine” et ” require “ that Russia “immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all its military forces from Ukrainian territory within the country’s internationally recognized borders”a reference to the territories annexed by Russia.

► London calls on the G7 to accelerate its military aid to kyiv

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called on his G7 allies, who are due to meet by videoconference on Friday on the first anniversary of the Russian invasion, to provide artillery more quickly to the Ukrainian army and to bring it longer range weapons.

“For Ukraine to win this war – and for that day to come sooner – it must gain a decisive advantage on the battlefield. (…) Instead of taking a step-by-step approach, our priority must be to act faster on artillery, armor and air defence”must declare at this meeting the conservative leader, according to his services.