2024-05-03 14:28:16
15h58
Can China call out Russia on Ukraine? This is what France hopes
In tune with other European countries, France will press Xi Jinping, visiting Europe from Sunday, to use his influence on Russia to contribute to a resolution of the war in Ukraine. But hope is slim.
This was already “the claimed and official priority” of Emmanuel Macron during his visit to China a year ago, recalls Marc Julienne, director of the Asia center of the French Institute of International Relations (Ifri). “The idea was to convince China to (…) make Vladimir Putin listen to reason. It was doomed to failure. »
“France and the European Union expect him to use his influence on Russia, but Xi Jinping has nothing to offer on Ukraine,” adds a former European diplomat. “On Ukraine, China has done nothing,” notes Marc Julienne, except to propose in February 2023 a 12-point text for “the search for a political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis” which fizzled out.
China proclaims its neutrality and has never condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
14h51
Like Germany, the Czech Republic accuses Russia of cyberattacks
The Czech Foreign Ministry said on Friday that Prague had repeatedly been the target of cyberattacks orchestrated by a group linked to Russian military intelligence service GRU.
“Some Czech institutions have been the target of cyberattacks exploiting a previously unknown vulnerability in Microsoft Outlook from 2023,” the ministry said. Referring to the “mode of operation and objectives of these attacks”, the Czech ministry points, just like Berlin, to the Russian group APT28, also known by the nickname “Fancy Bear”.
According to Czech Interior Minister Vit Rakusan, the country’s infrastructure has recorded “several dozen” attacks of this type.
1:16 p.m
Russia claims execution of Ukrainian agent
The Russian security services (FSB) said Friday they had killed a man accused of having been recruited by kyiv to carry out attacks in Russia, according to a statement cited by Russian media.
The FSB indicated that it had “neutralized” the suspect who “was planning a series of attacks in Russia, in particular against structures of the Ministry of Defense in the Moscow region” and against a “battalion of volunteer fighters” in Saint Petersburg.
The Ria Novosti news agency published FSB images showing men opening fire on a shelter where the suspect was said to have taken refuge, in a field in the Leningrad region (northwest), then a photo presented as being that of his corpse.
1:14 p.m
Berlin accuses Moscow of cyberattacks
The German government said on Friday that it had summoned the charge d’affaires of the Russian embassy after Berlin accused Russian intelligence services of being behind cyberattacks, notably against members of the German Social Democratic Party ( SPD).
“This is a clear diplomatic signal to make clear to the Russian government that we do not accept these actions,” a Foreign Ministry spokesperson told the press. “We will use a range of measures to deter and respond to Russia’s aggressive behavior,” he warned.
11h57
Macron’s “very dangerous comments”, according to the Kremlin
Emmanuel Macron’s comments on sending troops to Ukraine are “very dangerous”, the Kremlin said this Friday. On Thursday, the President of the Republic reaffirmed his intention to send soldiers if kyiv requested them and if the Russian army “had to break through the front lines”.
11h28
At least two dead in Russian bombing
A Russian bombing which occurred “early in the morning” this Friday on the Ukrainian town of Kurakhove, in the Donetsk region (east), left at least two dead and two injured on Friday, a local official said.
“The central part of the city has been hit, several buildings are damaged,” wrote the head of the Kurakhove military administration, Roman Padoun, on Facebook.
10h03
150,000 Russian soldiers killed since the start of the conflict, “Russia’s failure is already there”, estimates Stéphane Séjourné
Some 150,000 Russian soldiers have been killed since the start of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, according to French estimates communicated by the Minister of Foreign Affairs in an interview published Friday in the European edition of the independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta.
“Russia’s military failure is already here. We estimate Russian military losses at 500,000, including 150,000 deaths,” declared Stéphane Séjourné. And added: “Why all this? That can be summed up in two words: for nothing.”
09h42
Russians and Belarusians refused as volunteers for the Paris Olympics
“We regret to inform you that we will no longer be able to count you among the Paris-2024 volunteers.” Russians or Belarusians, they had been chosen as volunteers for the Olympic Games, before being abruptly rejected for security reasons. And they experience it badly.
“I realized that I represented a major danger for this country,” says Diane, 31, who works for a large French company. “But I don’t know why,” she testifies.
Questioned by AFP specifically on the case of Russian and Belarusian volunteers, the French Ministry of the Interior refused to comment. “We can only express our regrets,” responded Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov.
07h09
But where have the 37,000 missing people counted by kyiv gone?
Many soldiers and civilians cannot be found more than two years after the start of the Russian invasion. Sites and groups on social networks dedicated to finding loved ones have multiplied in Ukraine since the Russian invasion, launched in February 2022.
An update on the issue with our journalist Diane Régny.
07h06
David Cameron wants to raise funds to support kyiv where he visited
The head of British diplomacy David Cameron visited Kiev on Thursday and announced the United Kingdom’s intention to bring together its partners next month to raise funds to meet Ukraine’s military needs, his services announced .
David Cameron’s visit comes just over a week after British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced an additional aid of 500 million pounds sterling (584 million euros) to reach three billion pounds a year (3, 5 billion euros), as well as the supply of new munitions.
07h00
Welcome to this new live dedicated to the war in Ukraine
Hello everyone. Like every day, the 20 Minutes editorial team is working to provide you with all the information on the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. This Friday is the 800th day. Thursday, the day was marked by new declarations from Emmanuel Macron concerning the sending of Western troops to Ukrainian soil. Russia has also been accused by the United States of having used a chemical agent against Ukrainian troops, chloropicrin.
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