On the 87th day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, this Saturday, May 21, follow live the latest information on the conflict.
► Moscow has blocked the RFI website, which broadcasts information in fifteen languages including Russian. An alternative URL address allows access to the site in French and in Russian. RFI in Russian is also available on Telegram: https://t.me/RFI_Ru via a VPN and in Russia in French via satellite on Hotbird.
► The site of the Russian editorial staff of RFI broadcasts Ukrainian public radio (in the Ukrainian language) from the home page.
The essential points :
► Fighting escalates in Donbass, eastern Ukraine, with Russian Defense Minister saying the conquest of the Luhansk region was almost complete. In this region, Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansknow surrounded by Russian forces, constitute the last pocket of Ukrainian resistance.
► The Russian army claims to have ” fully released » steelworks Azovstal in the strategic city of Mariupolafter the surrender of the last Ukrainian soldiers present on the spot.
►“ I am really sorry “, declared Friday Vadim Chichimarine, the 21-year-old Russian soldier who has appeared since Wednesday in a Ukrainian court for having killed a civilian. On Thursday, the prosecution had requested life imprisonment. The verdict is expected on Monday.
Times are given in universal time (UT), click here to refresh
4:30 am: “It was the Ukrainians who forced Volodymyr Zelensky to become a hero”
Régis Genté and Stéphane Siohan, correspondents for RFI in Georgia and Ukraine, published a biography on May 19 entitled Volodymyr Zelensky, inside the head of a hero (Robert Laffont editions). Listen to the interview in clicking here.
4:10 am: The Pentagon spokesperson joins the White House
The most familiar face of the Pentagon, its spokesman John Kirby, will join the National Security Council (NSC), within the White House, announced Friday evening the American presidency. He will hold the position of strategic communications coordinator. “ John understands the intricacies of U.S. foreign and defense policy well, and will ably represent the government on important national security issues. “, greeted President Joe Biden in the statement from the White House.
Since the beginning of the Russian invasion in Ukraine, John Kirby has gained momentum within the Biden administration thanks to his daily press briefings, broadcast live on television. ” There just isn’t another communicator like him anywhere. “, praised for his part the American Minister of Defense Lloyd Austin in a separate press release. By joining the National Security Council, this former career sailor, promoted to the rank of rear admiral, will work in a highly strategic cell for the United States. Within the White House, the NSC is the group that assists the President with international affairs.
04:00: “Intense fire” on the Donbass
After failing to take kyiv and Kharkiv, the second Ukrainian city (northeast), Russia is concentrating its military efforts in the east and south. Moscow seeks in particular to completely conquer the Donbass, partially controlled since 2014 by pro-Russian separatists. ” The Russian occupation forces are carrying out intense fire along the entire front line said Ukrainian Defense Ministry spokesman Oleksandre Motouzianyk, adding that the situation “ showed signs of worsening “.
” The enemy is constantly carrying out offensive operations in the eastern operational zone in order to establish full control of the territory of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions and to maintain the land corridor with the temporarily occupied Crimea “, said the staff of the Ukrainian forces on Facebook Saturday morning.