2023-07-14 16:16:25
16:16
kyiv refuses to negotiate with Moscow if its troops are on Ukrainian territory
Ukraine will not negotiate with Russia as long as Moscow’s troops are on Ukrainian territory, the head of the Ukrainian presidential administration, Andriy Yermak, said on Friday. “Even to think about these negotiations is only possible after Russian troops leave our territory,” Andriy Iermak told a small media group, including AFP. “Everyone understands that we are not going to talk to the Russians” before that, he added.
15:59
Wagner fighters started working as ‘instructors’ in Belarus, Minsk says
Fighters from the Wagner paramilitary group have started working as “instructors” for Belarus’ territorial defense forces, Minsk announced on Friday, three weeks after Russia’s aborted Wagner rebellion. “Training sessions with units of the territorial troops are taking place near Asipovichi”, in the east of the country, the Belarusian Ministry of Defense indicated: “Wagner fighters play the role of instructors in a certain number of military disciplines.
15:44
Vladimir Putin would agree to renew the grain agreement, announces Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Russian President Vladimir Putin “agrees with me” on the extension of the Black Sea grain agreement which expires Monday evening, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday. “We are preparing to welcome Mr. Putin in August and we agree on the extension of the grain corridor in the Black Sea,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters after Friday prayers.
15:30
Russian foreign minister rages over critics of war in Ukraine
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was angry in Jakarta on Friday against criticism of the war in Ukraine, said the head of diplomacy of the European Union, Josep Borrell. “Lavrov responded to me very aggressively and explained his point of view, saying that everything is ‘a plot from the West’ and the war will continue,” Josep said. Borrell in front of the press, after a meeting in Jakarta of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
14:41
Ukraine says it has advanced nearly 2 km in a week towards the south
The Ukrainian army has made progress in its week-long 1.7-kilometer counteroffensive towards Melitopol in the southern frontline area, a military spokesman said on Friday.
The Ukrainian armed forces “continue to carry out offensive operations” in the direction of Melitopol, a major Ukrainian city under Russian control, and “the assault brigades supported by tanks have advanced 1.7 km” in a week in this area, specified during a briefing this spokesman, Colonel Mykola Ourchalovitch.
14:39
Russia closes Polish consulate in Smolensk
Russia on Friday ordered the closure of the Polish consulate in Smolensk, a Russian city in the west of the country near an important place of Polish memory, according to a decree signed by Prime Minister Mikhail Michoustin. “The atmosphere of unbridled Russophobia reigning in Poland, which is in the process of acquiring pathological characteristics, excludes any ‘goodwill gesture’ on our part”, specifies the Russian press release.
“The proposal of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to close the Polish consular office in Smolensk (…) is accepted”, indicates this document published on the official Russian portal. In a statement, Russian diplomacy said that the Polish ambassador to Moscow, Krzysztof Krajewski, was summoned to the Foreign Ministry on Friday and was given a note warning him of this closure.
14:37
Kremlin says considering legalizing private military companies
The Kremlin said on Friday it was considering legalizing private military companies, including the Wagner Group, whose existence is currently still not permitted by Russian law despite their involvement in the conflict in Ukraine. “Legally, the private military company Wagner does not exist and never existed, it is a question to be studied, to be examined further,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Read also: In Russia, after the fall of Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigojine, the resentment of nationalists remains intact
According to Dmitri Peskov, this is “a rather complex question, concerning the legal status of such companies, and which must be studied”. These statements by the spokesperson for the Russian presidency follow a similar message the day before from Vladimir Putin, in an interview with the Kommersant newspaper.
09:37
Ukraine says it shot down 16 Russian explosive drones last night
The Ukrainian Air Force says it shot down 16 explosive drones – out of the 17 launched by Russia overnight.
From Thursday evening to Friday morning, Russia “attacked Ukraine with 17 Iranian-made Shahed 136/131 combat drones from the southeast,” the Ukrainian military said on Telegram.
09:08
Vladimir Putin says Yevgeny Prigozhin refused one of his offers
Russian President Vladimir Putin says he offered Wagner’s men to serve under someone else’s official command, but their leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, turned down the offer after his aborted mutiny. In an interviewgranted to the Russian newspaper Kommersant published yesterday evening, the Russian president reveals details of his meeting, on June 29 in the Kremlin, with Yevgueni Prigojine and the commanders of the Wagner group.
Wagner’s soldiers “could have been united in one place and continued to serve. For them, nothing would have changed, they would have been led by the person who was their real commander during this whole period,” he says. Kommersant specifies that the person mentioned by the Russian president is a commander of Wagner with the pseudonym “Sedoï” – gray hair – and who, according to the president, really led the paramilitaries on the Ukrainian front during the last 16 months.
Read also: Yevgeny Prigojine is in Moscow, two weeks after his abortive flash revolt
“A lot [de commandants de Wagner] nodded when I said that. But [Evgueni] Prigozhin, who was sitting in front, did not see him and said after listening, “No, the guys don’t agree with this solution,” Vladimir assures. Cheese fries. In his interview, he also discusses the Wagner Group’s lack of official legal status in Russia, where private military companies are not permitted by law.
07:15
Pentagon says Wagner no longer ‘significantly’ involved in fighting in Ukraine
Mercenaries from the Russian paramilitary group Wagner no longer participate “significantly” in combat operations in Ukraine, the Pentagon says. The United States believes that “the majority” of Wagner’s fighters are still in Ukrainian areas occupied by Russia, Pentagon spokesman General Pat Ryder told a press conference.
In late June, the paramilitary group, which played a key role in Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine, sought to overthrow Russia’s military leadership in a flash revolt. Evgueni Prigojine, boss of the group, had assured that his uprising was not intended to overthrow power, but to save Wagner from dismantling by the Russian general staff – which he accuses of incompetence in the conflict in Ukraine.
The mutiny ended on the evening of June 24, with an agreement providing for the departure for Belarus of Yevgueni Prigojine. Its fighters have been offered by Russian President Vladimir Putin to join regular troops, leave for Belarus or return to civilian life.
06:50
Ukrainian cereals at the heart of UN-EU talks
The agreement on Ukrainian grain exports, which expires on July 17, is the focus of a meeting between the UN and the EU in La Hulpe, Belgium. This meeting comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin ruled yesterday that “not a single one” of Russian demands had been taken into account during negotiations to extend the agreement on the export of Ukrainian cereals. “The ball is in President Putin’s court,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, alongside UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. “Russia has a responsibility to extend the deal or global food insecurity will be the consequence,” she said.
“Multilateralism is more important than ever: to bring peace, to protect the planet, to end hunger,” added Antonio Guterres. Russia said last week that it saw “no reason” to extend the agreement, complaining of obstacles to its own deliveries of agricultural products. Signed in July 2022 in Istanbul with Russia and Ukraine under the aegis of Turkey and the UN, the Black Sea Grains Initiative has enabled the export of nearly 33 million tonnes of grain from Ukraine despite the war.
05:23
3,000 additional American reservists in Europe
US President Joe Biden has authorized the Pentagon to send up to 3,000 reservists from more Europe, according to a statement from the Pentagon. This new authorization allows the reservists to be integrated into Operation “Atlantic Resolve”, the ongoing deployments that support NATO and its eastern flank. The United States has more than 100,000 military personnel in Europe
04:50
AFP journalist Arman Soldin, killed in Ukraine, knighted in the Legion of Honor
A portrait of Arman Soldin, on a wall in a village in the Chernihiv region. — © GENYA SAVILOV / AFP
AFP video journalist Arman Soldin, killed in the line of duty in Ukraine on May 9, was posthumously decorated with the Legion of Honor, according to the Official Journal. “To the rank of knight” and “with effect from June 28, 2023”, Arman Soldin was decorated by “decree of the President of the Republic dated July 13, 2023”, is it written in the official journal published overnight.
02:26
Cluster bombs already delivered to the Ukrainian army
Ukraine’s armed forces have already received cluster munitions promised by Washington, according to military officials from both countries. This controversial armament should help kyiv in its slow counter-offensive against the Russian army. “We just received them. We have not used them yet, but they can radically change the situation on the battlefield, said Oleksandre Tarnavsky, the commander of the counteroffensive in the south of the country, in an interview on American television CNN.
“The enemy also understands that by obtaining these ammunition we will have an advantage,” said Oleksandre Tarnavsky, while assuring that the Ukrainian forces would not use these weapons in densely populated areas. “The Russians think we are going to use it on all areas of the front […] This is very wrong,” he argued. In Washington, a senior American official, Lieutenant-General Douglas Sims, confirmed to the press that these weapons were now “in Ukraine”.
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