Published on : 18/05/2022 – 06:39Modified : 18/05/2022 – 08:42
Finland and Sweden formally submitted their application to join NATO on Wednesday. In Ukraine, the justice of the country begins its first trial for war crimes since the entry of troops from Moscow on its territory. A Russian soldier accused of shooting dead an unarmed 62-year-old civilian is to appear in kyiv. He faces life imprisonment. Follow our direct dedicated to the day of Wednesday, May 18.
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8:16 a.m .: Finland and Sweden submit their application for NATO membership
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg received the membership applications presented by the ambassadors of the two Nordic countries. Consultations are still ongoing between the Allies to lift Turkey’s opposition to the integration of Finland and Sweden into the Alliance.
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6:44 a.m.: Continuation of evacuations at the Azovstal factory
The “evacuation” operation of the last Ukrainian soldiers entrenched in the strategic city of Mariupol continues according to kyiv, which did not specify the number of soldiers entrenched in the old steelworks. Ukraine assured last week that more than 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers – including 600 wounded – were there.
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4 a.m.: First war crime trial in Ukraine, against a Russian soldier
Ukrainian justice begins Wednesday its first war crime trial since the entry of troops from Moscow on its territory, that of a Russian soldier accused of having killed an unarmed civilian.
The trial, which should soon be followed by several others, will be a test for the Ukrainian judicial system, as the International Criminal Court (ICC) deploys 42 investigators and experts to Ukraine.
Vadim Chichimarine, 21, will appear from 2 p.m. before the Solomiansky District Court in kyiv, where he will have to explain himself in the death of a 62-year-old man on February 28 in northeastern Ukraine. .
Charged with war crimes and premeditated murder, the soldier, originally from Irkutsk in Siberia, faces life imprisonment. “He understands the charges against him,” his lawyer, Viktor Ovsiannikov, told AFP, without revealing his defense strategy. According to the Ukrainian authorities, he is cooperating with the investigators and admits the facts, which took place four days after the start of the Russian invasion.
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12:45 a.m .: the European Commission will unveil an energy independence plan
According to Archyde.com, the European Commission will unveil a 210 billion euro plan on Wednesday to enable Europe to end its dependence on Russian fossil fuels by 2027 and accelerate its transition to green energy.
Russia supplies 40% of the gas and 27% of the oil that the EU imports, and the countries of the bloc are struggling to agree on sanctions for the latter.
Brussels will propose a three-pronged plan: importing more non-Russian gas, accelerating the deployment of renewable energy and stepping up energy-saving efforts, according to draft documents that could be modified before their publication.
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11:49 p.m .: Volodymyr Zelensky is invited to Cannes
“We need a new Chaplin who will prove that cinema is not silent” in the face of war: the Cannes Film Festival immediately gave a political tone to its 75th edition by offering a platform, from kyiv, to the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.
The surprise appearance of the face of the Ukrainian president, in fatigues, on the screen of the Palais des Festivals, was followed by a long ovation by the gratin of world cinema, gathered for the opening ceremony of a festival which promised that the war would be “on everyone’s mind”.
With AFP and Archyde.com