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15h32 : Ukraine insistently demands these Leopard 2 heavy tanks from Germany, which has not yet given a favorable response. Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba repeated this request to his counterpart, Annalena Baerbock, who was in Kharkhiv yesterday. After long months of dithering, Berlin recently announced the dispatch of 40 “Marder” armored infantry by spring.
3:30 p.m. : Polish President Andrzej Duda posted on Twitter a photo with his Ukrainian and Lithuanian counterparts Volodymyr Zelensky and Gitanas Nauseda. The three leaders are meeting today in the Ukrainian city of Lviv.
15h26 : The Polish President, Andrezj Duda, announces the delivery of a german leopard 2 armored fighting vehicles to Ukraine, as part of the efforts of the international coalition. The leader is in Lviv (Ukraine), for a meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky and the Lithuanian President, Gitanas Nauseda.
14h56 : Former French soldier Adrien Bocquet, author of many lies about the war in Ukraine, has requested political asylum in Russia and Russian citizenship, reports the TASS agency. This man had been invited in several media, in May, to tell what he had seen during a trip to Ukraine. But several surveys, including those of franceinfo, quickly showed the extent of his fabrications.
14h29 : The battles for control of Soledar and Bakhmout in the east of the country are the “bloodiest” for Russian and Ukrainian forces since the beginning of the Russian invasion, according to Mykhaïlo Podoliak, adviser to the Ukrainian presidency.
14h57 : “Heavy fighting continues in Soledar”, announces Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Ganna Maliar. This claims that the enemy has replaced its units, increased the number of mercenaries, and is trying to completely take over the city. “She can’t do it”, assures the Ukrainian official. Eyewitnesses observed a large plume of smoke this morning above the disputed city, the scene of violent clashes.
14h10 : It is a little after 2 p.m., here is the point on the news:
• Emmanuel Macron insisted during the Council of Ministers on the character “indispensable et vital” reform for “to preserve” the system, reported government spokesman Olivier Véran. Follow our live.
• kyiv denies the capture of Soledar by Russian forces. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense also reported “fierce fighting” within this city in the south-east of the country. Follow our live.
• A stabbing attack left six injured at the Gare du Nord. The suspect, who was arrested by police, is between “Life and death”, said the Minister of the Interior. Here is the main information we have at this stage.
American air traffic is interrupted until 3 p.m. (French time) following a breakdown in an information system, the American aviation authority announced during the day. At this stage, it would not be a cyber attack, said the White House.
1:10 p.m : Here are the contents not to be missed today on franceinfo:
After the presentation of the reform, how do the unions want to organize the response? The explanations of our journalist Mathilde Goupil.
For its part, the government has developed a plan to quickly vote on its project in Parliament. Decryption by our journalist Margaux Duguet.
“Here is my heart, I can’t leave” : in the hell of Bakhmout, die-hard Ukrainians organize themselves to survive in the city ravaged by the bombardments. Report to residents.
12h10 : Fighting has been raging in Bakhmout, in the Donbass, since the martyred city became a priority for the Russians in order to access the key cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk. On the spot, there remain only die-hard Ukrainians, who organize themselves to survive in the city devastated by the bombardments. Here is the report by Omar Ouahmane and Gilles Gallinaro.
(GILLES GALLINARO / RADIO FRANCE)
12h02 : It is noon, here is a new point on the news:
Olivier Véran, government spokesperson, confirmed on franceinfo the increase in “100 euros gross per month” on average for “2 million retirees”, the day after Elisabeth Borne presented the future pension reform. The unions are preparing to mobilize from January 19 in a united front against the postponement of the legal age to 64 years. Follow our live.
The leader of the paramilitary group Wagner claimed that his company’s mercenaries were alone in the assault on Soledar. These remarks were greeted with distance by the Kremlin, which asked to stick to the official balance sheets. For its part, the Russian Ministry of Defense says that its airborne forces blockade the north and south of the locality, and that regular units are involved in street fighting. Follow our live.
“No vital prognosis seems to be committed at this time” for the six injured in the knife attack at the Gare du Nord this morning, announced the spokeswoman for the Paris police headquarters on BFMTV. The assailant’s state of health is “Reserve”. He was shot and wounded by the security forces, in particular by two off-duty police officers. An investigation has been opened by the Paris prosecutor’s office.
• The deputy of La France insoumise Adrien Quatennens has just returned to the Assembly and currently sits on the Foreign Affairs Committee. Sentenced in mid-December to a four-month suspended prison sentence for “violence” against his wife, he remains excluded from the activities of the LFI group.
11:47 : The town of Soledar, near Bakhmout, is of limited strategic interest: a salt mine and buildings now in ruins. These respective statements by Wagner and the ministry, in reality, reflect the urgent need to show results for the Russian side. The objective, for Wagner, is to gain even more influence. The army, it seeks to calm critics on its recent setbacks. These two parties are therefore vying for the media benefit of a potential victory, however modest it may be.
11h46 : Last night, the leader of the paramilitary group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, claimed that his company’s mercenaries were alone in the assault on Soledar, a thinly veiled criticism of the Russian military command. These remarks were greeted with distance by the Kremlin, which asked to stick to the official situation reports. And here is the Russian Ministry of Defense just now declaring that its airborne forces are blockading the north and south of the locality, and that regular units are involved in street fighting.
10h27 : Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov talks about a “positive trend” in the course of the military operation in Ukraine. According to the Russian press agencies, he asks, on the other hand, to wait for official declarations to be able to evoke a possible capture of the city of Soledar. He therefore takes a certain distance with the paramilitary group Wagner, which claims to have control of this disputed locality, close to Bakhmout.
10h28 : It’s time to take stock of the news:
Olivier Véran, government spokesperson, confirmed on franceinfo the increase in “100 euros gross per month” on average for “2 million pensioners”, the day after Elisabeth Borne presented the future pension reform. The unions are preparing to mobilize from January 19 in a united front against the postponement of the legal age to 64 years.
kyiv has denied the assertions of the paramilitary group Wagner, which claims to have taken control of the disputed locality of Soledar, in the Donetsk region. “The Russians say that Soledar is under their control, it’s not true”said Colonel Serhiy Tcherevaty, quoted by the media Suspilne.
A police officer used his weapon in the direction of an individual who injured six people with knives at the Gare du Nord in Paris this morning. The author, injured and arrested, has not yet been identified. An investigation has been opened by the Paris prosecutor’s office.
• It’s the start of the sales today and until February 7th. For Pierre Talamon, president of the National Federation of Clothing, guest on franceinfo, the future of the fashion sector tends towards a garment “sold at its fair price all year round and without having to make a discount”.
10:00 a.m : kyiv denies the assertions of the paramilitary group Wagner, which claims to have taken control of the disputed locality of Soledar, in the Donetsk region. “The Russians say that Soledar is under their control, it’s not true”, said the spokesman of the eastern district of the Ukrainian forces, colonel Serhiy Cherevaty, quoted by the media Suspilne. This is the first official Ukrainian comment on the statements of Yevgeny Prigozhin.
08h33 : Evguéni Prigojine adds that there are prisoners, according to comments reported by his press service on Telegram. Yesterday, mercenaries had appeared in a video, in front of the administrative building of the city. At this stage, however, these statements must be treated with caution, as they have not been confirmed by kyiv. For weeks, Wagner has been trying to exploit a victory on the pitch in the media.
10h01 : The leader of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner, Evguéni Prigojine, therefore claimed on Telegram the taking of the entire territory of Soledar, a locality located north of Bakhmout, the scene of very violent clashes in recent days. “Street fighting continues in the center of the city”he adds, referring to the formation of a “cauldron” military trapping Ukrainian soldiers.
09h25 : The leader of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, claimed last night that his fighters had taken control of the Ukrainian town of Soledar after heavy fighting this week, adding that “urban battles” are continuing. kyiv did not confirm this information.