DIRECT. War in Ukraine: kyiv claims to have recaptured a village near Bakhmut

2023-09-15 11:41:08

Gazprom says it has delivered gas to China

The Russian giant Gazprom announces that it has delivered liquefied natural gas (LNG) to China for the first time via the Northern Sea Route in the Arctic, now more easily navigable due to melting ice caused by global warming. The Russian authorities hope that this route will make it possible to increase the transport of hydrocarbons to Asia, at a time when the Europeans, historical clients of Moscow, say they want to end their energy dependence on Russia.

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

kyiv hopes for a “breakthrough on Bakhmut’s right flank”, after the capture of a village

The recapture of the village of Andriïvka opens the way to “a breakthrough on the right flank of Bakhmout” and is important for the success of the Ukrainian counter-offensive, assures the third Ukrainian assault brigade, engaged on the ground. “Following a lightning operation, the Russian garrison of Andriïvka was surrounded, cut off from the main forces and destroyed,” she assured on Telegram, claiming to have “liquidated almost all the infantry of the 72nd brigade » Russian as well as several members of his command.

LP / Philippe de Poulpiquet

Russian sentenced for supplying military equipment to Americans

A Russian man was sentenced to 12 and a half years in prison for treason for transferring military equipment, including surface-to-air missile components, to the United States, according to Russian agencies. Sergei Kabanov was found guilty of “high treason” for the benefit of the United States by a court in Tver, a city located northwest of Moscow, according to Interfax. These were components of “Russian surface-to-air missile systems and radar weapons.”

Icon sport

The Russian maritime fleet suffered significant damage, according to London

Ukrainian weapons inflicted significant damage on the Russian maritime fleet in Sevastopol, in the Black Sea, judges the British Defense Minister in his daily report. “Even as the Russian Defense Ministry downplays the damage to its ships, openly available information shows that the Minsk [bateau de la marine russe] was most certainly destroyed, while the Rostov [sous-marin d’attaque] suffered catastrophic damage,” points out British intelligence, sharing photos of the damage on X (formerly Twitter).

Tribute to a soldier who died in kyiv

The Ukrainian military paid tribute to one of their own, Serhii Yarmolenko, a Ukrainian soldier killed during combat against Russian troops in the Donetsk region. The funeral ceremony was held on Thursday at Independence Square in kyiv.

REUTERS/Gleb Garanich

Alina Kabaeva, the influential companion of Vladimir Putin

For around twenty years, this former rhythmic gymnast has maintained a discreet relationship with the Russian president, even if both deny it. Once a Swiss resident, Alina Kabaeva became a member of parliament, then director of a large private media group. Read our portrait of one of the most powerful women in Russia.

Kommersant/Sipa

Russian soldier convicted of desertion

A Russian court sentenced a soldier accused of leaving his military unit to avoid fighting in Ukraine to 13 years in a “harsh regime” penal colony. The military court in the city of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, located on the island of Sakhalin in the Far East, indicates that the accused was found guilty of aggravated desertion because “during a period of military mobilization”. Maxim Kotchetkov did not report to his unit on May 10 “in order not to comply with his military obligations”, “to avoid being sent to the zone of the special military operation (in Ukraine)” and “to surrender to idleness.”

Stanislav Krasilnikov/Tass/ABACAPRESS.COM

Washington considers Moscow’s expulsion of two of its diplomats “unfounded”

The United States has denounced Moscow’s decision to expel two of its diplomats stationed in the Russian capital. “This unjustified expulsion of our diplomatic personnel is without basis,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters. “We regret that Russia has taken this path and you can certainly expect us to respond to these measures appropriately,” he added.

Russia announced the expulsion of two American diplomats, accused of having served as “liaison” agents for a former Russian employee arrested at the beginning of the year and suspected of having transmitted information to the United States on the conflict in Ukraine.

Pope’s envoy to Beijing to discuss peace in Ukraine

Pope Francis’ envoy for peace in Ukraine met a representative of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in Beijing on Thursday to discuss “efforts to encourage dialogue” to end the war, the Vatican announced. Cardinal Matteo Zuppi met with Li Hui, China’s special representative for Eurasian affairs, with whom he had an “open and cordial” discussion, according to the Vatican. The conversation was “dedicated to the war in Ukraine and its dramatic consequences, emphasizing the need to unite efforts to encourage dialogue and find paths leading to peace.”

Icon sport

kyiv claims to have recaptured a village near Bakhmut

The Ukrainian army announces that it has retaken the village of Andriïvka, some ten kilometers south of the devastated town of Bakhmut on the eastern front, on one of the axes of the difficult counter-offensive by Kiev’s troops. “The Defense Forces had partial success in the Klichchiivka area during offensive operations. During their assault, they liberated Andriïvka in the Donetsk region (and) inflicted significant losses on the enemy in terms of manpower and equipment,” the Ukrainian General Staff communicated.

LP/Philippe de Poulpiquet

Ukrainian teenagers train for war in Lviv

Around ten teenagers are training for a very real war, which has lasted for more than a year and a half, as recounted by an AFP reporter.

In Lviv, girls and boys, in turn, take a black assault rifle in their hands, holding it awkwardly under the eyes of their instructor, learning to shoot at virtual targets in a forest landscape, which is displayed through a projector on a white screen.

In another class, a man in an army uniform with a Ukrainian flag on his shoulder shows students how to take apart and reassemble a Kalashnikov, piece by piece. Then it’s time to familiarize yourself with handguns, grenades, mines and gas masks. So many elements which are now part of daily life on the front in Ukraine.

YURIY DYACHYSHYN / AFP

Kim Jong Un in Russian Far East to visit aircraft factory

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived this Friday morning in Komsomolsk-on-Amur in the Russian Far East to visit an aircraft factory. He continues his trip to Russia, a country that Washington suspects of wanting to buy weapons from Pyongyang to support its assault in Ukraine. On Wednesday, the leader of Pyongyang met Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Vostochny cosmodrome (East), with the aim of strengthening ties between their two countries, particularly military ties.

KCNA via REUTERS

Authorities order evacuations of civilians in Kherson region

“The Kherson Regional Defense Council has decided to compulsorily evacuate families with children from localities subject to constant enemy fire,” Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on Telegram. In the Kherson region, Russian troops control areas south of the Dnieper River, after their withdrawal last year from the city of Kherson, the regional capital, regularly targeted by bombings.