2024-02-02 19:48:04
Did you miss the latest events on the war in Ukraine? Don’t panic, 20 Minutes takes stock for you every evening at 7:30 p.m. Who did what ? Who said what? Where are we ? The answer below.
The fact of the day
Two French humanitarian workers were killed Thursday in southern Ukraine during a Russian bombing, with Paris denouncing an act of “barbarity” by Moscow. The two victims died during a strike on Beryslav, a small town located on the north bank of the Dnieper River, near the front line, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Friday. Three other French people were also injured in the incident, according to the Quai d’Orsay.
Oleksandr Prokudin, the governor of the Kherson region (South), where Beryslav is located, reported Thursday evening that two French “volunteers” were killed and three injured, as well as a Ukrainian injured by this strike. On Friday, the new head of French diplomacy, Stéphane Séjourné, affirmed on X that they were indeed “humanitarian”. “Two French humanitarian workers paid for their commitment to the Ukrainians with their lives. Three are injured,” wrote Stéphane Séjourné, denouncing “Russian barbarism.”
The Swiss NGO Eper (Swiss Protestant Entraide, Heks in German) for its part announced that it had lost two employees during a “deadly attack” in southern Ukraine.
The number of the day
520,000. This is the number of Russians who have joined the defense industry since 2022, according to President Vladimir Putin. A figure which illustrates the intensity of the war effort to support the assault in Ukraine. Since 2022, Russia has completely reoriented its economy towards the arms industry and has increased its production, despite the sanctions taken by the West which aim in particular to hinder the manufacture of ammunition and weapons.
Moscow has, however, managed to circumvent some of these measures, and to acquire, for example, the microelectronics it needs, particularly from Asia. The government has planned a spectacular increase of nearly 70% in the federal budget allocated to Defense in 2024.
Today’s statement
“ “Two French humanitarian workers were killed in Ukraine by a Russian strike. Cowardly and unworthy act. I think of their injured loved ones and comrades. » »
The President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, reacted to the death of two French humanitarian workers, killed Thursday in Ukraine by a Russian strike. “My solidarity goes to all the volunteers who are committed to helping the populations,” declared the Head of State.
Today’s trend
The UN’s top court said Friday it has jurisdiction to rule on most aspects of a case brought by Ukraine over Russia’s invasion launched in 2022, with kyiv demanding reparations. Ukraine filed the case against Russia at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which sits in The Hague, just days after the invasion began.
When launching the military operation on February 24, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin partly justified it with accusations of “genocide” orchestrated by kyiv in Russian-speaking eastern Ukraine. kyiv took the case to the ICJ, categorically denying this claim and arguing that Russia’s use of this reason contravened the 1948 United Nations Genocide Convention.
In a preliminary ruling issued in March 2022, the ICJ sided with Ukraine and called on Russia to immediately end its invasion. But Russia opposed the ruling, saying the ICJ, which decides disputes between states, had no legitimacy to judge the case. The ICJ rejected Moscow’s argument on Friday, saying it had jurisdiction to rule on the issue.
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