Particularly in the Donbass, where tensions are growing. ” Peace on a Thread » in One of Release.
Supporting tank photo. “Sirens, mortar and artillery fire between pro-Russian separatist rebels and the Ukrainian army. Displaced families, embarked on trains from the separatist republics of Lugansk and Donetsk to emergency Russian holiday villages. It looks like war and yet, officially, it is not. Not yet “ warns Release.
Same observation in the columns of the Figaro
“On Friday, the authorities of the two separatist territories ordered the evacuation to Russia of women, children and the elderly. At the Ouspenka border post, all the grayness of the Donbass already oozes out. Dozens of trucks are waiting to supply Donetsk under Russian infusion. A group of civilians cross on foot. Mothers, all loaded with plastic bags and holding toddlers by the hand. Others pass by in their car, the roof loaded with suitcases. But most don’t seem to have prepared for a long absence. How long are they gone? Where do we take them? We do not know. No screaming, no crying, just eyes reddened by goodbyes and a kind of weariness.
Defuse the crisis
“After the impression that the switch to open conflict was imminent on Saturday, the day on Sunday ended with a new diplomatic impetus” detailed Release. “on the European side, Emmanuel Macron relaunched the diplomatic machine, talking Sunday morning for nearly two hours with Vladimir Poutine. They agreed on the need to do everything to restore the ceasefire and to favor a diplomatic solution. Every day that passes without war is a day won for peace, said the French presidency.
On the Kremlin side, the reactions were more measured, in the tone of nothing new under the sun and a denunciation of supposed Ukrainian provocations” continues Release.
The invasion of Ukraine, a risky scenario for Putin
Russia could attack on several fronts, from the North-East, Donbass and Crimea, the newspaper claims The cross.
“Russian troops, still deployed in Belarus (…) would spearhead a push south to encircle the capital. The Ukrainian army deployed in the Donbass would, in theory, be forced to surrender. The goal, continues The cross : the rapid capitulation of the Ukrainian government and the “neutralization” of its elected leaders. Pro-Russian Ukrainian politicians like oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk could be brought to power, possibly rigging future elections ». According to several analysts, it would be “the best way for Moscow to achieve lasting political gains. Other experts believe that Russia could opt for a more limited and less risky offensive, for example by seizing the rest of Kiev-controlled Donbass and the ports of Mariupol on the Azov Sea and Odessa on the Sea. Black “.
Either way, the cost would be high. The United States estimates that the clashes could cause 50,000 civilian casualties.
The Quai d’Orsay calls on French nationals to leave Ukraine
The Parisian met French people who arrived at Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle yesterday.
They are part of the 500 French expatriates out of the thousand officially present in Ukraine to have left the country. Many prefer not to comment when getting off the plane… “We are obedient, we work with the embassy, so we follow the instructions. There, life takes its course, so the choice was complicated, but if we are asked to leave, there is surely a reason. explains one of them.
But for others it’s not so obvious… David Franck, adviser to the French in Kiev, has returned for the holidays but will then return to Ukraine… He is calm and he doubts ” of the credibility of the English and the Americans”. As for Jérémy, 31, he feels cowardly to have left but assures us that he had to. “An attack on Kiev seems unlikely to me, but the risk is that the air links will stop and I didn’t want to be stuck there. »