Telephone interview between Emmanuel Macron and Joe Biden
In a phone call on Tuesday, US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron discussed their support for Ukraine and the challenges posed by China. According to the White House website, “The two leaders discussed their support for Ukraine as Russia’s brutal invasion enters its second year, including their commitment to continue providing Ukraine with assistance in security and to impose costs on Russia for its aggression”.
kyiv denies being behind the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines
kyiv has denied any involvement in the sabotage last year of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea. The New York Times attributes this operation to a “pro-Ukrainian group”, on the basis of information obtained by American intelligence. Data collected by the US intelligence services suggests that the perpetrators behind the sabotage of the two gas pipelines were “adversaries of Russian President Vladimir Putin”, explains the New York Times.
“Although I like collecting funny conspiracy theories about the Ukrainian government, I have to say that Ukraine has nothing to do with the Baltic Sea accident and has no information about sabotage groups pro-Ukrainians,” tweeted Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to President Zelensky.
On September 26, 2022, four huge gas leaks preceded by underwater explosions were detected on gas pipelines connecting Russia to Germany, all in international waters.
Out of service at the time of the events, the two gas pipelines nevertheless contained significant quantities of methane.
The EU wants to produce more shells
European Union defense ministers are meeting on Wednesday to prepare a plan for delivering ammunition to Ukraine, despite stocks under pressure, with a first emergency component worth one billion euros.
The objective is to move forward for adoption on March 20 at a meeting of heads of European diplomacy.
Based on large joint purchases to reassure manufacturers about the continuity of orders, the project aims both to meet the immediate needs of Kiev and to boost the capacities of the European defense industry in the longer term.
Taking Bakhmut would leave Moscow ‘free way’ in eastern Ukraine, says Zelensky
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warns that if Bakhmout, the epicenter of particularly deadly fighting for months, is taken, the Russian army would have “the free way” to seize towns in eastern Ukraine, in an interview with CNN. “We understand that after Bakhmout they could go further. They could go to Kramatorsk, they could go to Sloviansk, the way would be clear for the Russians (…) to other cities in Ukraine,” he added. According to him, this city is “strategic”. He stressed that the troops were determined to defend the city.