Did you miss the latest events on the tensions in Ukraine? Do not panic, 20 minutes updates you every night at 7:30 p.m. Who did what? Who said what? Where are we ? The answer below:
news of the day
Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was “proud” on Tuesday of the action of his soldiers in Ukraine, and promised to further strengthen his army. “We are proud that during the special military operation our fighters acted with courage, professionalism, like real heroes,” he said, using the expression authorized by the authorities to describe the Russian offensive against Ukraine.
Referring to the sanctions that hit Russia, he also judged “that they will, for sure, be overcome”. And “in the face of new threats and risks, we will further develop and strengthen our armed forces”, he said, promising the commissioning this year of the latest intercontinental missile, the Sarmat. “There is no doubt that we will be even stronger,” hammered the Russian leader.
sentence of the day
You are my hero. »
American actor Ben Stiller met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in kyiv on Monday, to whom he expressed his admiration. “It is a great honor for me (…) You are my hero”, declared Ben Stiller, Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations, on the occasion of the world refugee day. “What you have done, the way you have mobilized the country, the world, it is truly an inspiration,” added the 56-year-old American.
The number of the day
$103.5 million. Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov sold his Nobel medal to benefit Ukrainian children. The editor of the independent investigative journal Novaya Gazeta sold to an unidentified buyer the medal of 196 grams, including 150 in gold on Monday. Proceeds from the sale, which will be donated to UNICEF’s program for Ukrainian children displaced by war, far exceed the previous record of $4.76 million set in 2014 for a Nobel medal.
The trend of the day
Two days before the summit of European Union leaders called to decide on granting Ukraine the status of candidate country for the European club, the situation is tense on the ground for kyiv. In eastern Ukraine, the Russians “fully control” the village of Tochkivka on the front line, a few kilometers from Severodonetsk and Lyssytchansk where the fighting is raging.
This region is almost completely controlled by forces from Moscow. Only the pocket of Ukrainian resistance around Lyssytchansk and Severodonetsk still escapes the control of the Russian army. Putin’s forces are advancing city by city, like a steamroller. And the situation is likely to get worse.
Several cities in Donbass still under the control of kyiv are preparing for a new advance by Russian troops, such as Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, east of Severodonetsk. But hope remains: Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiï Reznikov has announced the receipt of German Panzerhaubitze 2000 self-propelled artillery guns, after weeks of negotiations. A new firepower, with which kyiv hopes to turn the tide.
