Several explosions rang out on Thursday March 21 in the center of kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, after an air alert for missiles and drones launched by Russia, noted an AFP journalist. Ukraine and Russia reported strikes on Wednesday that caused the deaths of several civilians on each side of their common border, where bombings have increased in recent times, prompting Vladimir Putin to promise to ensure “security” in the Russian regions targeted.
Information to remember
⇒ Ukraine: explosions heard in central kyiv
⇒ Russia “wants to punish” Armenia, accuses Attal
⇒ The 27 are desperate to better arm Ukraine in the face of the Russian threat
Ukraine: explosions heard in central kyiv
Several explosions rang out Thursday morning in the center of kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, after an air alert for missiles and drones launched by Russia, noted an AFP journalist. Around ten loud explosions were heard from 5:00 a.m. (03:00 GMT), as well as anti-aircraft fire.
Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported “rocket debris” falling in certain neighborhoods of the capital, notably on a “residential building”, and with “cars on fire”, in a message on Telegram. The last large-scale Russian strikes on the Ukrainian capital took place at the end of January.
Russia “wants to punish” Armenia, accuses Attal
French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal on Wednesday accused Russia of wanting to “punish Armenia” for its “aspiration for peace and respect for its sovereignty, principles that (Moscow) flouts in Ukraine.” Russia “wants to punish Armenia, because it chose the path of the fight against impunity, by joining the International Criminal Court” and “quite simply, because it chose democracy and the State of right”, added the head of government, who was speaking at the annual dinner of the Coordinating Council of Armenian Organizations in France (CCAF).
Gabriel Attal also castigated “the complacent attitude of Russia which did not condemn the use of force” by Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave, where he lived until the end of last year a majority Armenian population, and “in reality endorsed it”. The “Russian forces supposedly ‘peacekeeping’ have allowed the humanitarian crisis to take hold,” he added.
The 27 are desperate to better arm Ukraine in the face of the Russian threat
European leaders, meeting on Thursday and Friday at a summit in Brussels, will strive to better arm Ukraine, and to better arm themselves, in the face of a Russian threat considered increasingly worrying. Western aid is running out of steam and several European leaders are worried about a defeat for Ukraine against a Russia that will not stop there. “If we leave Ukraine alone, if we let Ukraine lose this war, then for sure Russia will threaten Moldova, Romania, Poland,” French President Emmanuel Macron warned last week.
The Europeans are therefore seeking the parade and increasing the number of announcements to try to strengthen the Ukrainian arsenal, as well as their own defense industry, at a time when American aid of more than 60 billion dollars is still blocked in Congress in Washington. Several ideas are on the table at the European summit.
Prague, Warsaw and the Baltics want an EU embargo on Russian and Belarusian grain
The Czech Republic, Poland and the three Baltic states on Wednesday called on the European Union to impose an embargo on grain from Russia and its ally Belarus, citing the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “As EU members, we consider it imperative to fulfill our moral obligation to block any activity that could potentially strengthen” Russia and Belarus, said the Polish, Czech, Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian agriculture ministers. .
In a joint letter received by AFP, they call on the European Commission to take legal measures to “limit grain imports” from Russia and Belarus. It is also “crucial to put in place measures to prevent grain potentially stolen in Ukraine from entering the EU market”, they add.
The American Congress will leave for two weeks, without an agreement on Ukraine
The elected representatives of the American Congress are preparing to leave Washington for two weeks without having voted on new aid for Ukraine, whose army is cruelly lacking in ammunition in the face of Russian troops. During a press conference on Wednesday, the leader of the House of Representatives, Republican Mike Johnson, mentioned several scenarios under study to progress on this burning issue, such as the idea of a loan to Kiev rather than a check or the use of frozen assets of Russian oligarchs.
Everything except the $60 billion envelope already approved by senators from both sides and demanded for months by Democratic President Joe Biden. Mike Johnson, a Donald Trump loyalist, categorically refuses to allow this bill to be examined, citing a host of reasons to justify it. “We are considering a certain number of avenues” instead, he said on Wednesday, without putting forward any timetable or providing details on these avenues.