The situation on the ground, particularly in Bakhmout, remains confused. Part of the besieged city is under Ukrainian control, the channel told Tuesday CNN the country’s national security adviser, Oleksiy Danilov. Moreover, on the side of the unprecedented incursion into Russia, if the Kremlin indicated yesterday that it had eliminated and intercepted the group responsible, bloggers indicate that certain rebel groups could still be active.
In addition, France and the European Union are determined to support Ukraine “over time” and “in all areas”, Paris reaffirmed Tuesday to a Chinese envoy, sent by Beijing to Europe to discuss a settlement. politics of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
New drone attacks
“Numerous” drone attacks targeted the Russian region of Belgorod overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday, said the governor of this territory shaken by a recent incursion by armed groups from Ukraine.
“The night was not really quiet. There were many drone attacks. The anti-aircraft defense took care of a large part of them,” Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram, adding that these attacks had nevertheless damaged vehicles, houses and public buildings in the region, but without causing any casualties.
Russia says it intercepted two US bombers over the Baltic
Russia said on Tuesday that it took off one of its warplanes to meet two American bombers over the Baltic Sea, which it said were approaching its border. “After the withdrawal of foreign warplanes from Russia’s border, the Russian fighter returned to its original airfield” without incident, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Telegram.
According to the ministry, the two aircraft in question were US Air Force B-1B strategic bombers which “approached the Russian border”, specifying that they had launched an Su-27 fighter to meet them. The Russian border was not violated, he said. The interception was confirmed by Pentagon spokesman General Pat Ryder, who said the bombers were taking part in a “long-planned exercise in Europe.” Incidents involving Russian planes and aircraft from NATO countries have multiplied in recent years, even before the start of the conflict in Ukraine.
Detention of American journalist Gershkovich extended until August 30
“The court has accepted the investigators’ request to extend the preventive measure in the form of detention until August 30,” the court said, quoted by Russian news agencies. This decision corresponds to what the Russian security services (FSB) demanded. In Washington, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller immediately reiterated a call for his “immediate release”, as well as that of a former Marine, Paul Whelan, also detained in Russia and sentenced to 16 years in prison. prison for espionage.
The Kremlin claims that Evan Gershkovich was arrested in “flagrante delicto”, without providing evidence, the file being classified secret. He is notably accused of having collected information on the Russian defense industry. Evan Gershkovich, his family, his employer the Wall Street Journal and the American authorities categorically reject these charges punishable by 20 years in prison. Evan Gershkovich, who previously worked for AFP in Moscow, is the first foreign journalist arrested in Russia for “espionage” since the fall of the Soviet Union. He is currently in the Moscow prison of Lefortovo.
Part of Bakhmout still under Ukrainian control (national security official)
Part of the besieged city of Bakhmut remains under Ukrainian control, the country’s national security adviser Oleksiy Danilov told CNN on Tuesday. “If they [les Russes] believe they took Bakhmout, I can say that is not true. As of today, part of Bakhmout is under our control,” Oleksiy Danilov told CNN international correspondent Frederik Pleitgen in an exclusive interview on Tuesday. our fire.” Oleksiy Danilov then defended Kiev’s decision to keep the city as long as possible and therefore to continue the fighting.
Belgorod: Ukrainian groups may still be active, say Russian bloggers
Russia claims to have “crushed” the group that attacked the Russian region of Belgorod the day before from Ukraine and is beginning to publish images of the equipment used by the Russian Volunteer Corps (RVK) and the Russian Freedom Legion and the bodies of combatants. The Russian army said it killed more than 70 “Ukrainian nationalists” and destroyed four armored vehicles.
These statements were immediately unverifiable from an independent source. Indeed, some Russian Telegram accounts claim that “it is always possible that enemy armed groups will try to cross the state border into other regions”, writes Gray Zone, Igor Girkin wondering about other actions by groups from Ukraine.
France and the EU will support Ukraine “for the long term”, Paris reminds China
The French Foreign Ministry, through its Director General for Political and Security Affairs Frédéric Mondoloni, underlined “Russia’s full responsibility for the outbreak and continuation of the war”, during a meeting with the special envoy Chinese Li Hui in charge of the Ukrainian file, according to a press release from Paris.
According to the text, France, while welcoming “the resumption of dialogue between China and Ukraine”, recalled that Kiev was “exercising its right of self-defence” and underlined that it and the EU were ” determined to support (Ukraine) over the long term, in all areas”.
UN chief denounces world’s failure to protect civilians in armed conflict
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday denounced the “failure” of the international community to “protect” civilians from armed conflict, the number of victims of fighting and their humanitarian consequences having increased by more than 50% between 2021 and 2022. “The truth is terrible: the world is failing to fulfill its commitments to protect civilians, commitments enshrined in international humanitarian law”, thundered the head of the United Nations before the Security Council.
A report states that in “in 2022, the United Nations recorded at least 16,988 civilian deaths in 12 armed conflicts, an increase of 53% compared to 2021”. In “Ukraine alone, the United Nations counted 7,957 civilians killed and 12,560 injured, although these figures are probably higher”, according to Mr. Guterres. For French Ambassador Nicolas de Rivière, “the results are overwhelming” and “the very sharp increase in 2022 in the number of civilians killed in armed conflicts is very worrying”. He castigated “violations of international humanitarian law” such as “committed by Russia in Ukraine and […] by the Wagner group, particularly in the Central African Republic and Mali”.