US general doubts Kyiv victory this year
Mark Milley, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Ukraine was unlikely to be able to expel all Russian troops from occupied territories this year. “It’s an important military task,” the general told Defense One.
A Ukrainian counter-offensive in the spring?
How can the Ukrainian army dislodge Kremlin forces from the lands they occupy? This is the question that arises the AP agency This morning. “Now Kiev can take advantage of improved weather conditions to seize the initiative on the battlefield with new batches of Western weapons, including dozens of tanks, and new Western-trained troops,” Associated notes. Press.
“But the Russian forces are deeply buried, on the lookout behind minefields and along kilometers (miles) of trenches”, specifies the American agency.
A failed Russian winter offensive
Eighty days after the start of the Russian winter offensive, it is for the British Ministry of Defense “increasingly obvious that this project has failed”. “On several axes across the Donbass front, Russian forces made only marginal gains at the cost of tens of thousands of casualties, largely wasting their temporary personnel advantage gained through the ‘partial mobilization’ of the ‘autumn,’ he said in a note posted on Twitter.
The new Russian doctrine would not be to China’s taste
In a document of more than 40 pages unveiled yesterday, Russia poses as a bulwark of the Russian-speaking world against Westerners, accused of wanting to “weaken it by all means”.
But Putin’s proposal to create an anti-Western bloc during Xi Jinping’s visit to Moscow was not well received according to the Institute for the study of war (ISW). The Chinese leader reportedly refused to drag China into Putin’s geopolitical dispute with the West.
IMF approves $15.6 billion bailout package for Ukraine
The Board of Directors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Friday validated the aid plan amounting to 15.6 billion dollars signed on March 21 with the Ukrainian government, paving the way for the disbursement of a first tranche. of $2.7 billion.
The four-year plan should make it possible to “support gradual economic recovery while creating the conditions for long-term growth in a context of post-conflict reconstruction and on the way to joining the ‘European Union’ (EU), recalled the IMF in a press release.
Zelensky: Boucha must become a “symbol of justice”
The Ukrainian martyr city of Butcha, a symbol of atrocities attributed to the Russian army, must become “a symbol of justice”, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday, calling for “every Russian murderer” to be brought to justice for “genocidal violence”.
On the occasion of the first anniversary of the recapture of this locality by the forces of Kiev, he swore to defeat “the Russian evil” during a trip to this city on the outskirts of Kiev, with the Croatian Prime Ministers, Slovak and Slovenian as well as the President of Moldova.
Medvedev welcomes Wimbledon decision, Kvitova regrets it
Under pressure from the ATP and the WTA, the organizers of the London tournament announced on Friday that they would accept “under conditions” the participation of Russians and Belarusians this year, despite the continuing war in Ukraine, thus applying the policy of other events. of the Grand Slam. Barely qualified for the final in Miami, the Russian Daniil Medvedev welcomed the news with joy. “I always said that if I could play at Wimbledon, I would be very happy to be there,” said the world No.5.
The Czech Petra Kvitova, double champion of Wimbledon, however opposed this decision. “I think (Russians and Belarusians) should not be allowed to play there. Nor should they be allowed in the Olympics. So I’m a bit on the Ukrainian side in this case, ”she said just after qualifying for the final in Miami.
Moscow has “let it happen, even encouraged” war crimes, says Macron
“Russian aggression has led to a systematization of war crimes against Ukraine and against its people,” he said in a video message shown during a summit in Kyiv on the crimes of Boutcha. occasion of the first anniversary of the recapture of this locality by the forces of Kiev.
“And far from sanctioning these crimes contrary to all the laws of war, the Russian leaders allowed them to happen, even encouraged them, in defiance of international law and with the clear objective of subjugating the Ukrainian nation through violence”, a- he added.
Russia at the head of the rotating presidency of the United Nations Security Council
Russia takes from today and for one month the rotating presidency of the executive body of the United Nations. The head of Russian diplomacy Sergey Lavrov will chair a meeting of the UN Security Council in New York this month.
If the event was planned and announced, it takes, in the context of the war in Ukraine, a particular resonance. kyiv on Thursday called this Russian presidency a “bad joke”. “Russia has usurped her seat; it is waging a colonial war; its president is a war criminal wanted by the ICC for child abduction” castigated its Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kouleba.