Eastern cities under fire from Russian artillery, Putin calling on the Brics to cooperate in the face of Western
"selfish actions"
, 150 cultural sites damaged or destroyed according to Unesco, the European Union on the verge of validate the candidacy of Ukraine…
Le Figaro
takes stock this Thursday of the conflict in Ukraine.
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Read the fileWar in Ukraine: all our articles to understand
The Twenty-Seven on the verge of validating Ukraine's candidacy for the EU
The European Union, meeting at a summit in Brussels, is preparing to endorse Ukraine's candidacy on Thursday, a highly symbolic step nearly four months after the invasion launched by the Russian army.
The EU summit
"is a historic moment on the geopolitical level"
, judged the President of the European Council Charles Michel before the meeting which began around 4 p.m. French time.
The decision taken
"will affect the future of the European Union, our stability, our security, our prosperity",
he added.
Read alsoUkraine, Moldova, Georgia, Balkans: candidacies that are not at the same level of advancement
“We are waiting for the green light”,
launched from Kiev the head of the Ukrainian presidential administration Andriï Yermak.
“The clear objective is full EU membership
,” although this process may take years, he added.
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, however, advised Ukrainians
“not to have any illusions”
about the process.
"North Macedonia has been a candidate for 17 years, if I haven't lost count, and Albania for eight years, so welcome to Ukraine
," he quipped.
The decision of the Twenty-Seven is expected in the evening.
” SEE ALSO –
“Granting Ukraine candidate status is a decisive moment”, declared the President of the Council of the EU
Destructive Russian bombings in the Lugansk region
“Lyssychansk is under fire from artillery fire and air attacks
,” according to the governor of the Lugansk region.
“They want to destroy all of Donbass, step by step.
Entirely.
Lyssytchansk, Sloviansk, Kramatorsk… They want to transform all the cities into Mariupol”
, a martyred city of the war, in the south of the country, denounced for his part the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The Russians conquered between Wednesday and Thursday Loskutivka and Rai-Oleksandrivka, two localities located a few kilometers from Lyssytchansk, and attacked Syrotyne, at the gates of Sieverodonetsk, admitted Thursday on Telegram Serguiï Gaïdaï, the governor of Lugansk.
Read alsoWar in Ukraine: in Mykolaiv, the urgency of the war takes precedence over the deliberations of Brussels
The British Ministry of Defense estimates that troops from Moscow advanced 5 kilometers south of Lysychansk in five days.
"Ukrainian units withdrew, probably to avoid being surrounded,"
he said.
But Russian attempts to encircle the west of the Donetsk region more broadly remain ineffective, he says.
A representative of the pro-Russian separatists judged
“futile”
the resistance of the Ukrainian forces defending the twin cities of Lyssytchansk and Sieverodonetsk, the last areas of the Ukrainian region of Lugansk still escaping Moscow and its allies.
” SEE ALSO –
Ukraine: pro-Russian separatists consider resistance in Lyssytchansk and Severodonetsk “futile”
Putin calls on BRICS to cooperate in the face of Western 'selfish actions'
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday called on the Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) to cooperate in the face of
"selfish actions"
by Western countries, against the backdrop of unprecedented sanctions against Moscow because of the Ukrainian conflict.
“Only on the basis of honest and mutually beneficial cooperation can solutions be sought from the crisis situation hitting the world economy due to the selfish and thoughtless actions of some countries,”
Vladimir said .
Putin, during the Brics virtual summit, in reference to the effect on the world economy that he attributes to the sanctions rather than his offensive against Ukraine.
Read also“Putin has launched a war against our heritage”
In particular, he denounced the attempts of these Western countries to
“use financial mechanisms to make the whole world responsible for their own mistakes in macroeconomic policy”.
“A leading role on the part of the BRICS countries is now more necessary than ever to develop a unifying, positive policy aimed at creating a truly multipolar (world) system
,” assured the Russian president.
According to him, the Brics could count here on the support of
“several countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America which aspire to carry out an independent policy”.
” SEE ALSO –
Vladimir Putin calls on the Brics to cooperate in the face of Western “selfish actions”
kyiv announces the arrival of US Himars rocket launchers in Ukraine
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiï Reznikov announced the arrival of the American Himars rocket launchers, a mobile system mounted on light armored vehicles.
“The summer will be hot for the Russian occupiers.
And the last for some of them”
, he threatened, without specifying the number of Himars delivered.
Read also War in Ukraine: can the new American multiple rocket launchers be a game-changer?
More than 150 cultural sites damaged or destroyed
More than 150 cultural sites have been partially or totally destroyed in nearly four months of war in Ukraine, the United Nations Scientific, Educational and Cultural Organization (Unesco) announced on Thursday.
"According to the verifications carried out by its experts, 152 cultural sites have been partially or totally destroyed due to the fighting, including 70 religious buildings, 30 historical buildings, 18 cultural centers, 15 monuments, 12 museums and 7 libraries"
, indicated the Unesco in a press release.
Three regions have concentrated three-quarters of the damage since February 24, the date of the start of the Russian invasion: those of Donetsk (45 sites affected), Kharkiv (40) and kyiv (26), specifies the UN organization.
Read alsoWar in Ukraine: more than 150 cultural sites damaged or destroyed
Nike leaves the Russian market for good and will not reopen its stores
“Nike Inc. has decided to leave the Russian market. As a result, Nike.com and the Nike mobile app will no longer be available in this region. Nike stores have recently closed temporarily and will not reopen,”
said the American sports equipment manufacturer in a message on its Russian site.
After McDonald's or Ikea, this is yet another iconic Western brand leaving the Russian market, after rushing there at the end of the Soviet Union.
Read alsoNike leaves the Russian market for good and will not reopen its stores
A third of displaced or refugee Ukrainians
More than seven million Ukrainians are displaced in the country, according to the UN.
Added to this are 7.7 million who have fled abroad.
Before the Russian invasion, Ukraine had 37 million inhabitants in the territory controlled by kyiv, amputated in particular from the Crimea annexed by Moscow in 2014.