The White House supports a conversation between the Ukrainian president and his Chinese counterpart, Washington publishes images of the interception of its drone by the Russians, the UN accuses Moscow of a war crime... Le Figaro takes stock
this
Thursday March 16 on the latest information related to the war in Ukraine.
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A conversation between Zelensky and Xi would be “a very good thing”, according to the White House
A conversation between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Chinese President Xi Jinping “
would be a very good thing
,” White House spokesman John Kirby said Thursday, assuring that the United States was “
encouraging
” such contact. .
The Ukrainian president said in late February he was planning a meeting with the Chinese leader, and the
Wall Street Journal
claimed earlier this week that Xi Jinping planned to speak to his Ukrainian counterpart soon, which would be their first conversation since Russia invaded. Ukraine a little over a year ago.
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Earlier in the day, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang, in a telephone conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kouleba, urged Kyiv and Moscow to resume peace talks "as soon as possible", according to
Beijing
.
"
China
fears that the crisis is getting worse and spiraling out of control
," Qin Gang said, according to a statement released by his ministry
.
“
She hopes all parties will keep calm, exercise restraint, resume peace talks as soon as possible and return to the path of a political settlement.
»
Washington publishes images of the interception of its drone by the Russians
The US military released footage Thursday of the Russian military intercepting its drone over the Black Sea, showing a fighter jet spraying fuel on the aircraft, which is then seen with a blade of damaged propeller.
The declassified video sequence released on the US Armed Forces Europe Command website lasts 42 seconds and shows a Russian Sukhoi-27 passing twice just above the drone, after approaching it from behind.
A video of the American drone that fell in the Black Sea, showing a Russian plane performing a dangerous maneuver.
HANDOUT / AFP
On the first pass, no shock is visible between the two devices, nor anything that seems to justify the fall of the drone.
The maneuver “
disrupts the video transmission
”, comments the site of the American army in Europe, which notes that the propeller of the drone “
can be seen and remains intact
”.
During a second pass, without it being established whether it is the same fighter or a second one, the maneuver is similar but the aircraft passes even closer to the drone.
The image transmission is then interrupted for 60 seconds.
When it resumes, "
the propeller can be seen again and we can see that one of the blades is damaged
", notes the US Air Force.
Read alsoAmerican drone shot down in the Black Sea: “There is an aggressiveness specific to the Russians” in the interceptions
Sweden and UK agree to send artillery systems to Ukraine
Sweden announced on Thursday an agreement with the United Kingdom for the sale of its Archer artillery system, allowing London to donate an older model of artillery, the AS-90, to Ukraine.
The UK will buy 14 Archer artillery systems, long-range self-propelled guns, the Swedish government said in a statement.
Sweden has also indicated that it will send 8 Archer systems directly to Ukraine, which has been asking for them for months.
Developed by Sweden, the Archer system consists of a fully automated howitzer mounted on an all-terrain vehicle, which allows the crew seated in the armored cabin to control the gun remotely.
»SEE ALSO – War in Ukraine: Warsaw will transfer 4 Mig-29 fighters to kyiv in the coming days
The Patriarch of Moscow denounces the takeover of a monastery "cradle" of Russian Orthodoxy
The Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill on Thursday deemed “
monstrous
” the announced expulsion of the branch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church attached until recently to the Moscow Patriarchate, from an emblematic monastery in Kiev described as the “
cradle
” of Orthodoxy Russian.
In the midst of an armed conflict with Russia, the Ukrainian authorities demanded last week that these monks currently occupying the famous Lavra of the Caves of kyiv leave the place before March 29.
"
The ultimatum of the (Ukrainian) state authorities targeting the Kyiv Lavra represents a monstrous act comparable to the persecution of the faith in times of impiety
," said Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, in a message video published by its press service.
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Founded in the 11th century and listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Kiev Lavra, which overlooks the banks of the Dnieper, is home to monks who are part of the branch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church subject before the war to the Moscow Patriarchate.
Their Church announced in May the severing of its ties with Russia, where Patriarch Kirill vigorously supports the Russian offensive.
The Ukrainian government continues to believe that this Church remains de facto dependent on Moscow.
Russian policy of transferring Ukrainian children a war crime, says UN
The relocation of Ukrainian children to areas under Moscow control and to Russia itself constitutes a "
war crime
", a group of UN investigators said on Thursday.
These investigators also accuse Moscow of having committed possible "
crimes against humanity
" in Ukraine, by attacking Ukrainian energy infrastructure and using torture.
Read alsoAre ethnic minorities in Russia paying the price of blood in the war in Ukraine?
“
The situations she examined regarding the transfer and deportation of children, inside Ukraine
and to the Russian Federation respectively, violate international humanitarian law and constitute a war crime
,” write the investigators. in their first report written since Russia launched its offensive in Ukraine on February 24, 2022. The investigators also accuse Moscow of having committed possible "
crimes against humanity
".
Russia assures "not to be a threat" for Finland and Sweden, which want to join NATO
Russia assured Thursday that it does not represent a "
threat
" for Finland and Sweden, two countries which are to join NATO, but whose membership has so far been blocked by Ankara.
Helsinki said on Wednesday that Turkey and its President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had made their decision on Finland's membership after nearly a year of deadlock, although no date was given for that decision.
Read alsoGermany: the Bundeswehr wrung out by the war in Ukraine
"
We have repeatedly deplored this move towards membership of Finland and Sweden, we have repeatedly said that Russia is in no way a threat to these countries," the spokesman said on Thursday
. from the Kremlin, Dmitry Peskov.
According to him, the two countries have "
no differences
" with Russia.