Russia on Thursday claimed new territorial gains in Ukraine in the face of a Ukrainian army on the defensive and suffering from weapons shortages, two days before the second anniversary of the Russian offensive against kyiv.
But according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Kiev's forces are
“firmly”
holding the bridgehead on the eastern bank of the Dnieper River, occupied by Russia in the south of the country, brushing aside Russian declarations on its conquest.
Le Figaro
takes stock of the situation.
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Moscow claims new gains before two years of offensive
In its daily report, the Russian Defense Ministry assured that the army had seized the village of Pobeda, not far from the destroyed town of Mariïnka, itself located near Donetsk, in the east of the Ukraine.
“The units of the Southern grouping of forces liberated the village of Pobeda
,” he said, also assuring that the Russian army had improved its positions in the same area, near the villages of Novomykhaïlivka and Krasnogorivka.
Since the capture of Mariïnka at the end of December, a Ukrainian stronghold reduced to ashes after months of resistance and intensive bombardments, the front was largely unchanged in this sector.
The Ukrainian army did not immediately confirm the loss of Pobeda, saying it was fighting
“in the area”
.
“In the Mariinka sector, the defense forces continue to hold back the enemy in the areas of Georgiyivka, Pobeda and Novomykhailivka
,” the commander of the Ukrainian forces in the region, Oleksandr Tarnavsky, said on Telegram.
Zelensky denies loss of Krynky on the Dnieper
Russia had already claimed on Tuesday the recapture of the village of Krynky (south), on the occupied bank of the Dnieper, where the Kiev army had difficulty built a bridgehead in October, one of its only advances after the failure of its summer counter-offensive.
The Ukrainian army, for its part, denied having lost control of Krynky.
“Our marines firmly hold the beachhead
,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Telegram on Thursday.
Above all, Moscow's claim on Thursday comes after the conquest, announced last weekend, of the town of Avdiïvka, a fortress town in eastern Ukraine which resisted Russian forces, a symbolic victory for Russia.
14 million people have fled their homes since Russian invasion, UN says
More than 14 million people have fled their homes in Ukraine at some point in the two years since Russia's invasion in 2022, with nearly 6.5 million still sheltering abroad, the UN said Thursday .
These figures represent in total almost a third of the Ukrainian population, specifies the United Nations International Organization for Migration (IOM), in a report published as the second anniversary of the Russian invasion approaches, on February 24 2022.
The IOM specifies that in addition to people who have taken refuge abroad, there are some 3.7 million Ukrainians remaining displaced in their country.
To date, more than 4.5 million people have returned home, either from abroad or after being displaced within Ukraine, according to the IOM.
“The country is devastated, and the loss of life and suffering continues
,” laments IOM Director General Amy Pope in a statement.
kyiv accuses Moscow of using North Korean missiles against civilian targets
Ukraine's security services (SBU) on Thursday accused Russia of using North Korean-made missiles to carry out deadly strikes in Ukraine against civilian targets.
“We are talking about ballistic missiles of the Hwasong-11 (KN-23/24) type (...) According to our investigation, Russian troops fired more than 20 (of these) North Korean weapons at Ukraine
,” he said. indicated in a press release the SBU, specifying that these strikes had killed
“at least 24 civilians”
and left more than a hundred injured.
The SBU also released images of suspected debris from these missiles.
London strengthens its sanctions against Russia
The United Kingdom on Thursday strengthened its sanctions against Russia to mark two years since the launch of the major invasion of Ukraine, targeting 50 additional individuals or companies to show its
“unwavering support”
for Ukraine.
“The international economic pressure we are exerting means Russia cannot afford this illegal invasion.
Our sanctions deprive Putin of the resources he desperately needs to finance his ailing war
,” said Foreign Minister David Cameron in a statement.
“Together, we will not give up in the face of tyranny. We will continue to support Ukraine in its struggle for democracy, for as long as it takes
,” he added.
He stressed that while the Ukrainian economy is smaller than the Russian economy,
"the economies of Ukraine's friends are 25 times larger than that of Russia
. "
Warsaw considers crossing points with Ukraine as “critical infrastructure”
Poland will include crossing points with Ukraine on the list of
“critical infrastructure”
to avoid disruptions that could impact the delivery of military and humanitarian aid, the head of the Polish government announced on Thursday.
After a long blockade of the Polish-Ukrainian border by truckers, Polish farmers began a new protest movement on Tuesday by blocking around a hundred roads in their country and border crossing points with the eastern neighbor, denouncing in particular agri-food imports. from Ukraine deemed
“uncontrolled”
and European agricultural policy.
Ukrainian wheat was dumped on the roads and rails by angry farmers, provoking strong reactions in kyiv and also in Warsaw.
“To ensure a 100% guarantee that military (...), humanitarian and medical aid arrives without delay in Ukraine, border crossings with Ukraine, certain roads and railways will be included on the list of critical infrastructure,”
he said. Donald Tusk told reporters.
“It will also mean a different organization at border crossings, on the roads and on the railways that lead to the Ukrainian border
,” he added without giving further details.
Donald Tusk, however, estimated that until now
“there have never been any significant disruptions or problems”
with military or humanitarian transports going to Ukraine.
Poland has been among Ukraine's biggest supporters since the launch of the Russian offensive in February 2022, but their relations have been poisoned in recent months by commercial disputes.