Emmanuel Macron will explain this Thursday evening to the French, “eye to eye”, on the issues of support for Ukraine, after his controversial comments on the possible sending of Western soldiers, in the face of an increasingly most “threatening” in Europe.
Three months before the European elections, his interview on the 8 p.m. television news on TF1 and France 2 will also de facto mark his entry into the campaign, after his camp’s first meeting on Sunday in Lille. “The president will report on the situation in an educational manner,” summarizes a close friend, after the signing of the bilateral security agreement with kyiv and the debate in Parliament on support for Ukraine.
Information to remember
⇒ Russia shows “no signs” it is preparing to use a nuclear weapon
⇒ One dead and three injured in strikes on the Belgorod region
⇒ The FSB arrested activists of a pro-Ukraine paramilitary group
Presidential election: Putin calls on Russians to show “patriotism” by voting
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday called on his people to show “patriotism” by voting in the presidential elections scheduled for March 15 to 17 in Russia.
“I ask you to go vote and express your civil and patriotic position, to vote for the candidate you have chosen, for a bright future of our beloved Russia,” declared Vladimir Putin in a video address, broadcast on the public television. “Participating in the elections today is showing your patriotic feelings,” he stressed.
Russia: one dead and three injured in strikes
One person was killed and three others were injured Thursday in Ukrainian strikes targeting the Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, said regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov.
This statement comes as the Russian Ministry of Defense indicated that it had destroyed 14 Ukrainian drones overnight over the Belgorod region and that of Kursk, which also borders Ukraine.
Arrest of activists of a pro-Ukraine paramilitary group
The Russian security services (FSB) announced Thursday that they had arrested four militants from a pro-Ukraine paramilitary group in Saint Petersburg (northwest), accused of preparing attacks in Russia and seeking to poison Russian soldiers.
“The FSB put an end to the illegal activities in St. Petersburg of an underground cell of the Ukrainian paramilitary group “Russian Volunteer Corps” (RDK), which acted in the interests of the Ukrainian Intelligence Service,” he said. indicated in a press release.
Poland, Germany and France at summit on Friday
The leaders of Poland, Germany and France will meet in Berlin on Friday for an emergency meeting on Ukraine, as European countries seek to iron out differences over support for Kiev . This meeting is a “joint initiative” of Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Berlin said on Wednesday. Before the three-way summit, Olaf Scholz and Emmanuel Macron will have a bilateral meeting, their services said on Wednesday.
The three capitals “have the task and the power to mobilize all of Europe” to provide new aid to Ukraine, said Donald Tusk in an interview with the public television channel TVP Info, broadcast Tuesday evening. According to the French presidency, Friday’s summit should reaffirm the “will” of the three leaders “to provide unwavering and long-term support to Ukraine.” It also aims to discuss their respective “contributions”, a subject which has caused debate among Europeans in recent weeks.
No risk of Russian nuclear weapons in Ukraine
The United States has seen no sign that Russia was preparing to use a nuclear weapon in Ukraine, the White House assured Wednesday, in reaction to remarks by Vladimir Putin. “We saw no reason to adjust our own nuclear posture, nor any sign that Russia was preparing to use a nuclear weapon in Ukraine,” White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said.
She was questioned by journalists about the remarks of the Russian president who shortly before said he was ready to deploy nuclear weapons if Russia’s sovereignty was threatened. According to the American spokesperson, Vladimir Putin seems to have only “reiterated Russia’s nuclear doctrine” during an interview on Russian television.
“Nevertheless, Russia’s rhetoric on the nuclear subject has been reckless and irresponsible” since the start of the war in Ukraine, she added aboard Air Force One for a Joe Biden campaign trip to the northern United States.
EU: an envelope of 5 billion euros for the purchase of weapons
The 27 member countries of the EU reached an agreement on Wednesday to add 5 billion euros to a fund aimed at financing the purchase of weapons for Ukraine, which has been demanding more ammunition against Russian forces for months.
“Agreement!” announced the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU on X. “EU ambassadors agreed on the principle of reforming the European Peace Facility (EFF) to support Ukraine with a budget of 5 billion euros for 2024,” a- she added.
The Senate in turn very largely approves the agreement with Ukraine
After the National Assembly on Tuesday, the Senate largely approved the security agreement between France and Ukraine on Wednesday, despite certain reservations from the upper house where the presidential camp is in the minority. Senators voted 293 to 22 in favor of the French strategy of supporting kyiv in a non-binding vote.
In a hemicycle which has no elected representatives from La France insoumise and only three from the National Rally, the declaration of Prime Minister Gabriel Attal did not give rise to debates as lively as at the Palais Bourbon, where the RN abstained. while LFI voted against. The immense majority of senators The Republicans, the leading political force at the Luxembourg Palace, voted in favor, despite six oppositions and four abstentions. Only the communist group voted against.
MEPs cap Ukrainian grain imports
MEPs voted on Wednesday to cap Ukrainian imports of cereals exempt from customs duties, in the same way as eggs, poultry or sugar, a measure demanded by the agricultural sector and which will have to be negotiated with member states.
The European Parliament, meeting in plenary session, validated following the Twenty-Seven the renewal for one year, from June, of the exemption from customs duties for Ukrainian agricultural imports granted since 2022, but extending to cereals from reinforced “safeguard mechanisms”.