Vladimir Putin’s alerting of his country’s nuclear deterrent forces sparked global outcry on Sunday and even the EU’s promise to supply fighter jets to Ukraine, which is fiercely resisting the fourth day of a Russian invasion.
• Read also: LIVE | Details on the 4th day of fighting in Ukraine
• Read also: Ukraine: political agreement of the 27 to block the transactions of the Russian Central Bank
• Read also: Ukraine: Canada sends $25 million in non-lethal military equipment
After intense fighting, particularly in Kharkiv (1.4 million inhabitants), Ukraine’s second largest city in the north-east of the country, which Ukrainian forces said they had regained control on Sunday after Russian armored vehicles entered the night, the fragile hope of a truce was born after the announcement of Russian-Ukrainian talks on the Belarusian border.
But Vladimir Putin, whose forces have come up against Ukrainian resistance and the mobilization of Westerners since Thursday, ordered in a filmed meeting with his Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to “put the deterrent forces of the Russian army under special alert”, which concerns nuclear forces, invoking “the bellicose declarations of NATO” and the “illegitimate” sanctions imposed on Russia.
The United States immediately denounced an “unacceptable” escalation, accusing Vladimir Putin of “manufacturing threats that do not exist in order to justify the continuation of aggression”. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg denounced Moscow’s “irresponsible” attitude.
German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht accused the Russian head of state of having “gone a further step” because “the rapid invasion of Ukraine was stopped by courageous and determined actions of Ukraine “.
“What is really happening is that they may be defending themselves with more effect, more resistance, than the Kremlin imagined,” said British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
AFP
In response, the G7 countries ordered Russia on Sunday evening to “immediately put an end to attacks against Ukraine”, threatening it with new sanctions after those, already considerable, which were adopted this week.
The EU announced on Sunday closing all of its airspace to Russian planes, releasing 450 million euros to finance arms deliveries to Ukraine, and banning the Russian media RT and Sputnik and their “lies”.
As for Switzerland, its president Ignazio Cassis declared Sunday “probable” that it decides to freeze in turn the billions of Russian assets which it holds.
But also, considerable evolution and potential source of escalation with Moscow which threatened any country coming to the aid of Ukraine, the EU announced on Sunday evening that it intended to provide combat aircraft to the Ukrainian forces.
“The head of Ukrainian diplomacy Dmytro Kouleba said he needed planes that Ukrainians could fly. Some member states have this kind of planes and we are going to supply them with other armaments necessary for a war”, declared the head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell at the end of a meeting by videoconference with the ministers of EU foreign affairs.
ZUMAPRESS.com/MEGA
Regarding the hypothetical talks, the Ukrainian presidency did not specify the date, Russia initially affirming that they would take place on Sunday.
According to Kiev, the meeting was to take place on the Ukrainian-Belarusian border, “in the region of the Pripyat River”, near Chernobyl.
Moscow mentioned the region of Gomel, on the other side of the border of Belarus, a country which serves as a rear base for its soldiers.
The head of Ukrainian diplomacy Dmytro Kouleba, however, warned that his country will not “capitulate”.
“I don’t really believe in a result”, but “we have to try”, declared President Volodymyr Zelensky in a video.
AFP
On the ground, the flood of refugees fleeing Ukraine is swelling. Since Thursday, some 368,000 refugees have fled to neighboring countries and their numbers “continue to rise”, announced the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
The EU said it expected more than 7 million displaced people.
AFP
“Vassylkiv, Kiev, Cherniguiv, Soumi, Kharkiv and many other cities live in conditions that we had not seen on our lands (…) since the Second World War”, declared for his part on Sunday the Ukrainian President Zelensky, accusing Russia of considering populated areas “as a legitimate target”.
Ukraine reported some 200 civilians killed and dozens of military personnel killed in action, but did not release an exact toll on Sunday.
The UN recorded Saturday at least 64 dead among civilians and hundreds of thousands of people without water or electricity.
According to the Ukrainian general staff, the Russian army “has not achieved” its “main objective (which) is to lock Kiev” and resorts to “sabotage” with “reconnaissance groups which destroy the civil infrastructure “.
In Kiev, under curfew until Monday 8 a.m., the day was calm after clashes during the night “with subversive groups” according to the mayor’s office.
For its part, the Russian Ministry of Defense claimed to have surrounded two large cities in the South, Kherson and Berdiansk, which have 290,000 and 110,000 inhabitants respectively.
He also claims territorial gains for pro-Russian separatists in the east, backed by the Russian military.
The Russian army for the first time on Sunday recognized human losses, without quantifying them. Ukraine says more than 4,300 Russian soldiers have been killed.
Kiev also accuses Russia before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) of planning a genocide in Ukraine, the Court, the main judicial body of the United Nations, announced on Sunday.
The UN Security Council adopted on Sunday, at the request of the West, a resolution convening Monday “in an emergency special session” the United Nations General Assembly so that its 193 members decide on the invasion of the Ukraine by Russia.
Faced with the violence of the Russian invasion, the European Union confirmed on Sunday that it had agreed with the powers of the G7 to block the transactions of the Russian Central Bank.
As for the eviction of Russian banks from the Swift international interbank messaging system, a key cog in global finance, announced on Saturday, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell announced that the EU “will continue to work on it” with its partners around the world.
Mr Zelensky hailed the formation of an international “anti-war coalition” to support Ukraine and called on foreigners to come and fight “against Russian war criminals” in an “International Legion” in the making.
The first country to react to this call, Denmark said it did not see it as a “legal obstacle”. “It’s a choice anyone can make,” said Premier Mette Frederiksen.
Brussels will offer to use an EU emergency funding line “to provide Ukrainian forces with lethal weapons, as well as fuel, protective equipment and medical supplies”, said the head of European diplomacy Joseph Borrell.
The EU will also close its airspace to all Russian planes, including “private jets of the oligarchs”, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Sunday. Canada made the same decision.
The Russian Aeroflot has therefore announced that it will cancel all its flights to Europe.
Brussels will also ban Russian state media in foreign languages RT and Sputnik from the EU, which “will no longer be able to broadcast their lies to justify Putin’s war and sow division in our Union”, said Ms von der Leyen. .
Finally the EU will take new sanctions against Belarus by banning exports from the “most important economic sectors” of the Minsk regime, “accomplice” of the Russian invasion.
The first decision affecting the oil sector, the British major BP announced on Sunday that it would withdraw from the capital of the Russian giant Rosneft in which it holds a 19.75% stake, despite the significant financial loss caused.
AFP
Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman has denounced the war in Ukraine, becoming the first Russian oligarch to speak out against the conflict, a “tragedy” which he says will “ravage” the two countries.
“Stop the war! Stop Putin!”: At least 100,000 people demonstrated in Berlin on Sunday in solidarity with Ukraine, and 70,000 in Prague, 40,000 in Madrid, 15,000 in Amsterdam and 10,000 in Copenhagen.
The sporting world also puts Russia on the sidelines. The International Judo Federation has announced the “suspension” of Mr Putin’s status as honorary president.
Boycotts of Russia in sport are on the rise. The Czech Football Federation will refuse to face Russia for the World Cup-2022, like Poland and Sweden, the French Federation “leans for an exclusion of Russia”.
Reference-www.tvanouvelles.ca