The Russian military said it would step up its strikes on kyiv.
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Until now, the Pentagon had refrained from commenting on the origin of the sinking of the “Moscow”, Russian flagship on the Black Sea which sank during its tow on Thursday evening. On Friday April 15, a senior Pentagon official finally broke the silence, supporting the version put forward by kyiv. “We estimate they hit it with two Neptunes,” two Ukrainian missiles, he told some reporters. A version which goes against that advanced by Moscow, which affirms that its flagship was “severely damaged” by a fire. It is still not known how many casualties this attack caused. Franceinfo takes stock of what to remember from this day.
kyiv threatened again
Is it in retaliation for the attack on the “Moskva” that the forces are stepping up their strikes on kyiv? For now, it is difficult to know. Russia has announced that it has destroyed an arms factory, which manufactures Neptune missiles in the suburbs of kyiv. She also assured that the strikes on the Ukrainian capital would be intensified. Officially, it’s for answer to “attacks” on Russian territory, of which it accuses Ukraine.
Zelensky highlights Russian nuclear risk
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed that “the whole world” should be “worried” the risk that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, cornered by his military setbacks in Ukraine, may resort to a tactical nuclear weapon. He is not the only one. On Thursday, the head of American foreign intelligence, William Burns, felt that it was not necessary “take lightly the threat posed by the potential use of tactical nuclear weapons” or “low power” by the Russian President if he should “fall into despair” faced with the failures of his army.
Video: Vladimir Putin once again justifies the invasion of Ukraine (Dailymotion)
New victims in Kharkiv
A new report shows at least ten dead and 35 injured in Russian bombardments on a residential area in Kharkiv, in northeastern Ukraine, announced the regional governor. A first assessment in the morning reported the death of “seven people, including a seven-month-old infant”.
On the Russian side, the spokesman for the Ministry of Defense affirmed that Russian artillery had caused the death of around thirty “Polish mercenaries” in northeastern Ukraine. An announcement that risks heightening the already strong tensions between Moscow and Warsaw.
Moscow expels 18 EU officials
Moscow announced the expulsion of 18 diplomats from the representation of the European Union in Russia, in retaliation for a similar measure taken by Brussels in early April. For its part, the European Union has judged “unjustified” this expulsion, believing that it would only“aggravate” the international isolation of Moscow.
Finnish candidacy for NATO “very likely”
Will Finland finally join NATO? He is “very probable” that the Scandinavian country submits a candidacy in this sense, said Friday the Finnish Minister for European Affairs, Tytti Tuppurainen. Nevertheless, “the decision has not yet been made”, added the minister on the British channel Sky News. It must be said that Russian diplomacy warned Finland and Sweden that such a measure would have consequences for these countries and European security.