- A senior Russian officer, General Rustam Minnekayev, claimed that “one of the objectives of the Russian army is toestablish full control over Donbass and southern Ukraine”, allowing to“ensure a land corridor to Crimea”then “a corridor to Transnistria”, a pro-Russian separatist region in Moldova. Several experts analyze this statement as “a diversion” to divert the attention of Donbass towards the south, Russia not currently having the military capacities to achieve this objective.
- In the Donbass, “Heavy shelling and fighting continues as Russia attempts to advance to places like Lyman, Buhaivka, Barvinkove and Popasna as part of its plan for the region”the British Ministry of Defense reported on Friday morning.
- The strategic port of Mariupolwhich Moscow claims to have ” released “, is still resisting Russian forces, says kyiv, according to which Ukrainian fighters continue to fiercely defend the huge Azovstal metallurgical complex, where civilians are also entrenched. Vladimir Putin accuses kyiv of preventing the surrender of Ukrainian fighters.
- The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, who represents the member states of the EU, asked Vladimir Putin on Friday, during a telephone interview, to guarantee humanitarian corridors in Mariupol on the occasion of Orthodox Easter. For its part, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church under the Patriarchate of Moscow has proposed to organize an Easter procession to the besieged city of Mariupol in order to evacuate wounded civilians and soldiers. Several humanitarian corridors in this city were canceled at the last minute.
- Satellite images, released Thursday by the American company Maxar Technologies, show « l’existence mass graves in the northwest of Manhouch », a village 20 kilometers from Mariupol. According to Maxar, the images reveal long rows of graves, more than two hundred, near an existing cemetery.
- Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine have produced no apparent progress et “skate”, said the head of Russian diplomacy, Sergey Lavrov. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson earlier called it a “realistic” the possibility that the war in Ukraine will last until the end of 2023, due to Russia’s determination to continue its offensive.
- The Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres will go to Russia on Tuesday, where he will meet with Vladimir Putin, for the first time since February 24, before going to Ukraine two days later, where he will be received by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The UN on Friday accused the Russian army of actions “possibly a war crime” in Ukraine since the February 24 invasion.
- One sailor died and 27 others are still missing after the sinking last week of the cruiser “Moskva”the Russian Defense Ministry said on Friday, acknowledging losses for the first time.
- The Russian opponent Vladimir Kara-Mourza, fierce detractor of the Kremlin, was remanded on Friday until June as part of an investigation into “false information” about the activities of the army in Ukraine, according to his lawyer.
Read all our articles, analyzes and reports on the war in Ukraine
Narrative. War in Ukraine: after the Russian occupation, the slow return to normal at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant
Decryptions. The war in Ukraine, priority of the Elysée
Reportage. Russia claims victory in Mariupol before its fall
Testimonials. Ukrainian and Russian exiles in France: “I hope to spend a few days in kyiv with my parents – to see them, to touch them, to be reassured”
Factual. Arms deliveries and military aid promised by Western countries
Narrative. Putin, the cult of war
Factual. UNESCO, collateral victim of the war in Ukraine
Reportage. On the Donbass front, near Donetsk, the Ukrainian army is still waiting for the “big battle” promised by Moscow
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