Follow the day’s events live:
9:50 a.m. Russia is behaving “like thugs and bullies”, according to the Australian Prime Minister. In turn, Scott Morrison said Australia would target Russia with a series of sanctions. He also accused Russia of behaving “like thugs and bullies”.
9:40 a.m. Germany “can do without” Russian gas if necessary, according to Berlin. Germany will be able to do without Russian gas in the long term if necessary, on which it still depends enormously today (60%) for its energy, estimated the Minister of Economy and Climate. According to him, if Berlin were to give up Russian gas completely one day, this would first result in “a big gap” to be filled in the energy market, with the consequence of “first driving up the price” of gas. But in the end, the gas purchased from Gazprom could be “compensated” by other suppliers and energy sources, he added.
9:35 a.m. European banks called for vigilance in the face of cyberattacks. The European banking supervisory system has called on European banks to increase their vigilance against the risks of cyberattacks in the context of the escalation of the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, according to the Governor of the Banque de France François Villeroy de Galhau.
9:25 a.m. Ukraine calls on its nationals to leave Russia “immediately”.
9 hours. London considers it “highly probable” that Putin intends to take Kiev. Britain’s Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said it was “highly likely that he would carry out his plan for a full invasion of Ukraine”, she told Sky News television. .
8:45 a.m. Sanctions are not the best way to solve problems, according to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. China hopes relevant parties “can try to solve their problems through dialogue and remain calm and exercise restraint,” said ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying.
8:40 a.m. “We have much more penalizing sanctions in store if Vladimir Putin persists in violating the law”, according to Bruno Le Maire. According to the Minister of the Economy on BFMTV, the impact on the French economy will be limited. However, the Minister of Economy acknowledged a possible increase in energy prices. Bruno Le Maire recalled that the gas price freeze had been taken. This measure could be extended. “The gas price freeze commitment will be respected for individuals,” insisted Bruno Le Maire.
8:10 a.m. One soldier killed and six wounded in a bombardment. L’ukrainian army said one soldier had been killed and six injured in shelling by pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine in the past 24 hours, according to Archyde.com. According to the news agency, the army recorded 96 incidents of shelling by separatists in the past 24 hours compared to 84 a day earlier.
7:55 a.m. “There will be a discussion with the Prime Minister with all the political forces of the country”, according to Clément Beaune. In addition, the Secretary of State for European Affairs on France Inter detailed the sanctions taken against Russia.
7:45 a.m. Satellite images show a new deployment of military vehicles in Belarus. Satellite images show a new deployment of more than 100 military vehicles and dozens of troop tents in southern Belarus near the Ukrainian border. These images published by a private American company Maxar Technologies, however, could not be independently verified by the Archyde.com news agency but they were widely shared by correspondents from Ukraine.
7:35 a.m. The sanctions against Russia will mainly harm the world’s financial and energy markets, according to the Russian ambassador to the United States. The Russian ambassador to the United States has responded to the imposition of sanctions imposed by US President Joe Biden. On his Facebook page, Anatoly Antonov estimated that “Sanctions will not solve anything concerning Russia. It’s hard to imagine anyone in Washington counting on Russia to revise its foreign policy under the threat of restrictions. I don’t remember a single day when our country lived without any restrictions from the western world. We have learned to work in such conditions”. And to add: “There is no doubt that the sanctions imposed on us will harm the world’s financial and energy markets. The United States will not be left out, where ordinary citizens will fully feel the consequences of rising prices. »
7:25 a.m. Why the United States must intervene in Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs. In an interview with CNN, Dmytro Kuleba compiled a list of reasons why the United States should intervene in Ukraine. “First, in 1994, Ukraine abandoned its nuclear arsenal, which was the third largest in the world. We abandoned it in exchange for security guarantees issued in particular by the United States. We were promised that if someone attacked us, the United States would be among the countries that would help us,” he explained. Second, according to him, President Putin is challenging the Euro-Atlantic order. If the West fails in Ukraine, Putin’s next target will be one of the NATO members on his eastern flank. Finally, if Putin succeeds in Ukraine, “the other players around the world who want to change the rules” will see that it is possible, that the West is incapable of defending what it stands for.
7:25 a.m. Russian banks had anticipated the crisis. Russian banks had been prepared for sanctions for months thanks to a record amount of imported foreign currency in December. According to Russian rating agency ACRA, Russian banks imported some $5 billion in foreign currency in December of 2021. This is almost double the previous year. This will allow them to somewhat lessen the shock of Western sanctions.
7:15 a.m. Taiwan condemns Russia’s attitude. Taiwan’s president condemned Russia for ordering troops into disputed territories in Ukraine and ordered the military to step up its own defenses against rising tensions with neighboring China. Beijing claims sovereignty over Taiwan and has vowed to take it one day, by force if necessary. China has stepped up military, diplomatic and economic pressure on Taiwan since President Tsai Ing-wen came to power in 2016, who believes the island is a sovereign nation and not part of China. In addition, Beijing, which has so far adopted a cautious attitude towards Ukraine, has nevertheless offered increasing support to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
6:50 a.m. Russia is ready to find “diplomatic solutions” with the West. This is what Vladimir Putin assures us this Wednesday morning. The Russian president says Russia’s interests and security are “non-negotiable”.
6:45 a.m. A Russian field hospital near the border. Satellite images show that a field hospital was recently set up by the Russian army near Belgorod, 20 km from the Ukrainian border. Kharkiv, the 2nd largest city in Ukraine (2 million inhabitants), is less than 80 km away. And Joe Biden warned, “You don’t need a blood bank unless you intend to go to war.”
6:25 a.m. Blinken cancels his scheduled meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov. The head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken announced that he would not meet his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov as planned, after Moscow’s recognition of two separatist regions in eastern Ukraine. “Now that we see the invasion has started and Russia has clearly rejected any diplomacy, it makes no sense to meet at this stage,” Antony Blinken said. However, he declared himself ready to pursue diplomatic efforts “if Russia is ready to take verifiable measures to prove to the international community (…) that it is serious when it talks about de-escalation and finding a diplomatic solution”.
6:15 a.m. “Venezuela is with Putin,” says President Maduro. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro assured his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin of his support in the crisis in Ukraine. “Venezuela is with Putin, he is with Russia. He is with the brave and just causes in the world,” President Maduro said on television during the cabinet meeting as the Russian parliament gave the green light on Tuesday to a military operation in Ukraine. Maduro recalled that his predecessor and mentor Hugo Chavez (1999-2013) had supported Russia when it recognized the independence of South Ossetia in 2008 during the conflict with Georgia.
6:10 a.m. Japan imposes financial sanctions on Russia. After the United States, Great Britain, Canada and Europe, Japan will impose sanctions on Russia and the separatists. Tokyo’s sanctions include banning visas for people linked to the “two so-called republics”, as well as freezing their assets and banning trade with those regions. They also prohibit the issuance and trading of Russian government bonds in Japan.
6:05 a.m. “It’s genius”: Trump hails Putin’s strategy on Ukraine. Donald Trump, the former President of the United States saw “genius” in the strategy of Russian President Vladimir Putin on Ukraine, castigating in passing the management by his successor Joe Biden of the crisis. “How clever is he,” added the former president about Vladimir Putin, praising in passing his relationship with the Russian leader.
6 hours. Hello and welcome to this live. It will allow you to follow the events and the evolution of the crisis in Ukraine.