Fighting continues in Ukraine, while the Americans have released their last tranche of aid available for kyiv without a new vote in Congress. This Thursday, December 28, a commercial ship flying the Panamanian flag exploded on a mine in the Black Sea, injuring two people and relaunching the question of the security of the export of Ukrainian cereals.
Information to remember
⇒ Sweden in NATO: the Turkish vote “probably” after the New Year
⇒ Russia reopens its embassy in Burkina Faso
⇒ Washington releases its last tranche of military aid available for Ukraine
Commercial ship heading to Ukraine hits mine, two injured
A Panamanian-flagged commercial ship heading to a Ukrainian port to load grain hit a mine and two sailors were injured, border guards said Thursday.
According to them, the ship lost control and a fire broke out after the impact. Tugboats were sent to the ship to escort it back to port. “Two sailors were injured. One of them was treated on the spot, while the other was transported to the nearest hospital for further examination. His condition is satisfactory,” said the border guard service.
Sweden in NATO: Turkish vote “probably” after New Year
The vote by the Turkish parliament to validate Sweden’s entry into NATO, approved in a parliamentary committee on December 26, will “probably” have to wait until early 2024 with the return of deputies on January 15, parliamentary sources indicated on Thursday.
Parliament has officially been in recess since Wednesday evening. Its Foreign Affairs Committee approved on Tuesday the protocol for Sweden’s accession to the Atlantic Alliance, but it must still be voted on by a majority of deputies to put an end to the suspense which has lasted for 19 months. Turkey is the last member of the Atlantic Alliance with Hungary to block Sweden’s path, multiplying demands and pretexts to justify its reluctance.
Two Russians heavily condemned for a poem hostile to the offensive in Ukraine
A Moscow court on Thursday sentenced two Russian poets who took part in a reading against the conflict in Ukraine to terms of between five and a half and seven years in prison, a new example of the repression plaguing the country.
Artiom Kamardine and Iegor Shtovba were arrested in September 2022 after participating in a public reading in Moscow on Triumfalnaya Square, near the monument to the poet Vladimir Mayakovsky, a meeting point for dissidents since Soviet times. During this reading, Artiom Kamardine recited a poem, “Kill me, militiaman!”, very hostile to the pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.
The next day, he was arrested during a search of his home during which he claimed to have been beaten and raped with a dumbbell by police officers. First prosecuted for “incitement to hatred”, the two poets were then also charged with “public calls to commit activities against state security”.
Russia reopens its embassy in Burkina Faso
Russia is reopening its embassy in Burkina Faso this Thursday, after its closure in 1992, AFP learned from the Burkina Faso Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Russian ambassador to Côte d’Ivoire accredited to the Sahel country.
This announcement follows discussions on Wednesday on this subject between the newly appointed head of Burkinabe diplomacy, Karamoko Jean-Marie Traoré, and the Russian ambassador to Côte d’Ivoire accredited to Burkina Faso, Alexeï Saltykov.
“We arrived in Ouagadougou to relaunch the activities of the Russian embassy in this country which is our long-standing partner and with which we are linked by strong bonds of friendship,” declared Alexei Saltykov, quoted by the official Russian agency TASS. He added that he will initially head the diplomatic mission in Burkina.
Washington releases its last tranche of military aid available for Ukraine
The United States announced on Wednesday the release of $250 million in military aid for Ukraine, their last tranche available without a new vote in the American Congress.
Negotiations are still slipping between Republican and Democratic parliamentarians on the validation of the 61 billion envelope insisted on by American President Joe Biden and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky.