Emmanuel Macron spoke Wednesday evening with the Ukrainian president, according to whom 200,000 Russian soldiers are massed on the Ukrainian border. Faced with the risk of invasion, the Quai d’Orsay asks French nationals to leave Ukraine “without delay”.
© Provided by Le Monde
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a press conference in Kiev on February 23, 2022.
The more the hours pass, the more the prospect of a war invasion of Ukraine by Russia seems destined to materialize. On the night of Wednesday February 23 to Thursday February 24, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky adopted an alarmist tone in an address to the nation. A Russian invasion of Ukraine could begin “any day” at the risk of “becoming the start of a great war in Europe”, warned Mr. Zelensky, speaking in Russian and not only in Ukrainian as he is used to.
- Ukrainian President appeals to Russian civil society
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in a personal and emotional speech in Russian, called on civil society in Russia to put pressure on its leaders to prevent a “great war in Europe” which could start “any day the other “.
“Do the Russians want war? I would love to know the answer to this question. And this answer depends on you, citizens of the Russian Federation,” he said, accusing Moscow of having deployed 200,000 men to attack his country and revealing that he had tried to speak, without success, to Vladimir Putin.
Volodymyr Zelensky, former comedian without experience propelled warlord
During the day, Ukraine began mobilizing around 40,000 of its reservists, voted a state of emergency and announced that it was the target of a new “massive” cyberattack targeting official websites.
- Russia says it received request for help from separatists
During the night of Wednesday to Thursday, the Kremlin announced that the leaders of the self-proclaimed pro-Russian separatist “republics” in eastern Ukraine had asked for Vladimir Putin’s “help” to “repel Ukrainian aggression”.
The Russian state news agency Tass published the letters dated February 22, the day Russian parliamentarians authorized the Kremlin to deploy the army in Ukraine. A call denounced by Europe. The head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell thus warned on his Twitter account:
“The request for assistance sent to Moscow by the so-called DPR/LPR separatist regions (Editor’s note: Donetsk and Lugansk) announces a very dangerous additional step against the sovereignty of Ukraine which would put thousands of lives in danger. The EU urges Russia to refrain from any further escalation. »
- France reiterates its support for Ukraine, but calls on the French to leave the country “without delay”
Video: Conflict in Ukraine – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron that he would ‘not retaliate against Russian provocations'” (Dailymotion)
France now recommends to all its nationals to “leave without delay” Ukraine and formally advises them not to travel to the border areas in the north and east of the country, the most exposed to the risk of war, in a press release published on Wednesday evening.
“In the context of the heightened tensions created by the concentration of Russian troops on the borders of Ukraine, by the Russian decision to recognize the independence of the provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk and in view of the establishment of the state of “emergency decided today by the Ukrainian Parliament, French nationals in Ukraine must leave this country without delay”, according to the latest travel advice published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“It is also not recommended to travel to Ukraine until further notice. Any travel to the border areas in the north and east of the country is formally discouraged,” according to the text. On Saturday, French diplomacy had “recommended to all French nationals whose stay in Ukraine has no compelling reason to leave the country”.
“Our embassy remains hard at work in Kiev to continue its work with the Ukrainian authorities,” the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also specified on Wednesday evening. “We are in contact with all our nationals through a systematic campaign of calls,” she said.
A little earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron spoke by telephone with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky to whom he reiterated his support for Ukraine. “The President of the Republic reiterated his support for Ukraine and his attachment to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country,” the statement said.
The communiqué also specified that the support that the European Union can provide to Ukraine will be on the agenda of the extraordinary meeting of the European Council scheduled for Thursday.
- Europe sanctions Russian personalities, elected officials and banks
The European Union on Wednesday sanctioned the Russian defense minister and military chiefs, the head of the Kremlin administration, the boss of Russia Today television and the spokeswoman of the Foreign Ministry for their involvement in the recognition separatist regions of Ukraine.
The European measures consist of a travel ban and an asset freeze in the EU. They strike a total of 23 “leading figures”, three banks, a company and 351 members of the Duma. Adopted by EU foreign ministers on Tuesday, they entered into force on Wednesday evening with the publication of identities and functions in the EU’s official journal.
Will the new economic sanctions against Russia be more effective than the previous ones?
This is a first package of sanctions and neither Russian President Vladimir Putin nor his Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov are concerned, the head of European diplomacy said on Tuesday.
But the measures hit Vladimir Putin’s entourage with the head of his presidential administration, Anton Vaino and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu; Mr. Lavrov’s spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, and several media personalities like Margarita Simonian, the editor-in-chief of Russia Today and journalist Vladimir Solovev, both accused of being “figures of government propaganda”.
- A vote expected at the UN Security Council
A draft resolution by the United States and Albania aimed at condemning Russia for its actions with regard to Ukraine should be submitted shortly to the UN Security Council, we learned on Wednesday. from diplomatic sources.
This vote should be organized “in the coming days”, one of these sources told AFP on condition of anonymity. We must take advantage of the “momentum” favorable to the UN, which saw Africa in particular strongly condemn Russia’s actions on Monday in the Security Council, she added. On Wednesday, during a very long meeting of the United Nations General Assembly devoted to Ukraine, a very large majority of countries, from all continents, denounced Russia’s behavior.
The draft text obtained by AFP provides that the Security Council “condemns Russia’s decision” relating to the recognition of the separatist regions of Donetsk and Luhansk and “reaffirms its commitment to the sovereignty and independence of the Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders”.
Because of the right of veto enjoyed by Russia, a permanent member of the Security Council, this draft resolution is doomed to failure in this forum. It would then be submitted to the UN General Assembly where the resolutions are not binding and where there is no right of veto.