Did you miss the latest events on the tensions in Ukraine? 20 minutes takes stock for you every evening at 7:30 p.m. Who did what ? Who said what? Where are we ? The answer below:
news of the day
Pass of arms at the G20 in New Delhi between Westerners and Russians. In India, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged the Russians to renew the deal on Ukrainian grain exports, which expires this month. “Russia has deliberately and systematically slowed its pace of inspections, creating a backlog of ships that could deliver food to the world today,” the Biden administration executive charged.
On the Russian side, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov denounced the lack of “good manners” of Westerners. As a result, Russia did not sign the joint communiqué, followed by its Chinese ally. Unsurprisingly, the two countries were the only G20 members not to endorse the statement demanding “Russia’s complete and unconditional withdrawal from the territory of Ukraine”.
sentence of the day
The Russian army protects Russia and our people against neo-Nazis and terrorists (…), those who carried out a new terrorist attack today, infiltrated our border territory and opened fire on civilians”
These are the words of Vladimir Putin. The Russian head of state, during a televised address, denounced an attack by a group of “saboteurs” infiltrated in a region of southern Russia bordering Ukraine.
The Ukrainian presidency denied these allegations, seeing in them a “deliberate provocation” which aims to justify the Russian offensive. Later that day, the FSB claimed to have repelled “Ukrainian nationalists” infiltrating Russian territory.
The number of the day
15. Like the number of years in prison that Russian citizens face if they make “hostile” remarks about their own army. Russian deputies adopted amendments on Thursday aimed at increasing these sanctions. Before this Thursday, making remarks that “discredit” the military was punishable “only” by five years in prison.
Thousands of Russians who publicly criticized the conflict or alleged abuses by Russian forces in Ukraine have been tried and fined. Dozens of other people, prosecuted in criminal proceedings, often after having received several fines, have been sentenced to heavy prison terms or are awaiting trial.
The trend
Russia announces that it fears “catastrophic consequences” to the support of the United States and NATO for Ukraine and denounces Western attitudes that push “to escalation”. “Their involvement [des Occidentaux] increasing armed confrontation risks leading to a direct military confrontation between nuclear powers with catastrophic consequences,” Sergei Riabkov, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, warned the Conference on Disarmament.
European, American and British diplomats boycotted his speech, preferring to gather outside the room around the Ukrainian ambassador, Yevheniia Filipenko, who hailed this “extraordinary show of solidarity with the Ukrainian people. »
