Nearly 19 billion euros of Russian assets frozen in the EU, Putin indicates that an “
agreement
” could be finally necessary to end the conflict, the energy infrastructures “
virtually destroyed
” by the Russians in Kherson according to Kiev. ..
Le Figaro
takes stock this Friday, December 9 on the latest information related to the war in Ukraine.
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Electricity network 'virtually destroyed' in Kherson, according to kyiv
Ukrainian energy infrastructure around Kherson was "
virtually destroyed
" during the withdrawal of Russian forces and the situation is "
complicated
" in Odessa and Kherson, targeted by strikes, national operator Ukrenergo said on Friday.
Read alsoWar in Ukraine: with the last human shadows in the pounded ruins of Bakhmut
“
On Monday, the enemy struck again.
It was again the Ukrenergo facilities, the main line substations, particularly in southern Ukraine, and the power plants that were damaged
,” lamented its head, Volodymyr Kudritskiï at a conference. Press.
According to him, "
the successful work
" of the Ukrainian anti-aircraft defense has prevented more Russian strikes from hitting their targets and further damaging the national energy network, already 40% destroyed according to the Ukrainian authorities.
"
More than a thousand missiles and drones
" have been fired by Russia "
since October 10
", the date of the first major Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy sites, he told journalists.
According to him, the most difficult situation, "
is in Odessa (southwest) and in the Kherson region where the electricity network has been practically destroyed
".
Read alsoWar in Ukraine: for Hidalgo, all modern conflicts are “linked to the appropriation of fossil fuels”
Nearly 19 billion euros of Russian assets frozen in the EU
European Union countries, led by Belgium and Luxembourg, have frozen 18.9 billion euros in assets of Russian oligarchs and entities targeted by sanctions in response to the war in Ukraine, according to figures collected by the Commission to the Member States.
Eight countries have each blocked more than one billion euros in assets: Belgium (3.5 billion), Luxembourg (2.5), Italy (2.3), Germany (2.2 ), Ireland (1.8), Austria (1.8), France (1.3), Spain (1), according to a summary table of the amounts declared on November 25, seen on Friday by the AFP.
Read alsoWar in Ukraine: defensive strategies to get through the winter
Belgium and Luxembourg have also frozen assets of the National Settlement Depository (NSD), the central securities depository of the Russian Federation, sanctioned by the EU: 46.9 billion for Belgium, three billion for Luxembourg.
Malta, a country that has set up a controversial regime of “
golden passports
” granted to wealthy investors, is at the back of the pack, with 146,558 euros in assets blocked.
Greece is penultimate with 212,201 euros.
A total of 1,241 individuals and 118 entities are subject to an asset freeze and a ban on entering EU territory because of their role in the conflict in Ukraine.
The member countries of the European Union also agreed on Friday to top up the European Peace Facility (EFF), their financing instrument for military assistance provided to Ukraine, with two billion euros.
»SEE ALSO – Ukraine: the images of our special correspondent in Bakhmout
Basketball player Brittney Griner, traded for Russian arms dealer, back in US
American basketball star Brittney Griner arrived in the United States on Friday morning after being released from a Russian prison in exchange for an arms dealer nicknamed the "
dealer of death
".
The 32-year-old African-American, double Olympic champion, landed in San Antonio, Texas around 11:40 a.m. French time.
Dressed in a red jacket, she got off the plane before daybreak, noted an AFP journalist.
Read alsoWar in Ukraine: Russia sends 200 of its most modern tanks, T-90Ms, to the Donbass
Brittney Griner, who was arrested in Russia in February in possession of a vape containing cannabis diluted in liquid, and Viktor Bout, 55, who was serving a 25-year sentence in a US prison, were exchanged at an airport from Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Viktor Bout landed in Russia on Thursday, according to a Russian public television channel.
In an interview with Russian media RT on Friday, this former Soviet officer accused the West of wanting to "
destroy
" and "
divide
" Russia.
Other exchanges of prisoners between Moscow and Washington are “
possible
”, declared Vladimir Putin during a press conference on the sidelines of a regional summit in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan.
»SEE ALSO – Basketball player Brittney Griner released during a prisoner exchange between Russia and the United States
It will be necessary "in the end to find an agreement" to end the conflict in Ukraine, says Putin
An agreement will be necessary "
in the end
" to put an end to the conflict in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin said on Friday, while expressing doubts about the "
trust
" that Moscow can, according to him, grant to its interlocutors.
“
In the end, we will have to find an agreement.
I have already said several times that we are ready for these arrangements, we are open, but this forces us to think about who we are dealing
with, "said the Russian president, on the sidelines of a regional summit in Kyrgyzstan. .
Vladimir Putin was reacting to recent remarks by former German Chancellor Angela Merkel who said the 2014 Minsk agreement between Moscow and Kiev, signed under the aegis of the OSCE, had given Ukraine time to strengthen itself in the event of an armed conflict with Russia.
“
The 2014 Minsk agreement was an attempt to give Ukraine time.
She took advantage of it, as we see today.
The Ukraine of 2014/2015 is not the Ukraine of today.
(...) As we saw at the beginning of 2015, Putin could easily have crushed him at the time
,” she told
Die Zeit
newspaper .
"SEE ALSO - War in Ukraine: it will be necessary "
in the end to find an agreement
" to end the conflict, says Putin
Price cap: Putin threatens the West to “cut production” of Russian oil
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday threatened the West to "
cut production
" of Russian oil "
if necessary
", days after the EU, G7 and Australia introduced oil price caps. 60 dollar Russian black gold.
"
We will think about a possible reduction in production if necessary
," said Vladimir Putin during a press conference in Bishkek, on the sidelines of a regional summit.
The mechanism wanted for several months by the West and put in place at the beginning of the week by the West is "
a stupid decision
", he judged.
“
The proposed ceiling (at $60) corresponds to the prices at which we are selling today.
In this sense, it does not affect us in any way
, ”he noted to journalists.
Read alsoEurope triggers embargo against Russian oil
Ukraine accuses Russia of detaining two employees of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant
Ukraine accused Russia on Friday of detaining two employees of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant (south), militarily occupied by Moscow, after having "
violently beaten
" them.
On Thursday, "
the Russian army broke into the premises where the Department of Social Programs of the plant is located and, in the presence of other employees, violently beat the head of the department, Oleksiy Trubenkov, and his deputy, Yuriy Androsov
“, lamented the nuclear operator Energoatom in a press release.
"
After this violent beating
", the Russians "
took them out and took them in an unknown direction
", denounced Energoatom.
The plant's nuclear safety officer, Konstantin Beiner, was also "
thrown in the basement
", according to Energoatom, but is not being held by Russian forces.
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