The Russian army struck Odessa with missiles on Wednesday, not far from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. This strike in this large port in southern Ukraine left five people dead. The Ukrainian navy has confirmed an attack on port infrastructure and the death of five people.
Information to remember
⇒ Italy condemns Russian strikes on Odessa, “yet another act of intimidation”
⇒ Russian occupation official responsible for elections killed in explosion
⇒ Sweden officially becomes the 32nd member of NATO on Thursday
The fear of the Greek Prime Minister
Kyriakos Mitsotakis recounted his fear while he was with Volodymyr Zelensky in the port of Odessa. “We heard the sound of anti-aircraft sirens and explosions very close to us. We did not have time to take shelter,” he said, recalling “an impressive experience”. “I think this is the best, most stark reminder for us that this is a real war going on here. […] And I think this is another reason why all European leaders should come to Ukraine,” he also said.
The Russian military “does not care whether (the targets) are military or civilians […], to know if they are international guests. These people don’t care,” Volodymyr Zelensky, for his part, reacted. In Moscow, the Russian Ministry of Defense claimed to have struck a port area and to have hit a “hangar” in which “naval drones were prepared for the combat by the Ukrainian armed forces.
Rome condemns Russian strikes on Odessa
The head of the Italian government Giorgia Meloni strongly condemned the Russian strikes on Odessa on Wednesday evening. “I express my strongest condemnation of the attack launched today against Odessa during the meeting between (Ukrainian President) Volodymyr Zelensky and (Greek Prime Minister) Kyriakos Mitsotakis,” declared Giorgia Meloni, quoted in a press release. “This umpteenth act of Russian intimidation will produce no effect and will not weaken the Ukrainian resistance supported by Italy and its government without hesitation,” added the head of the ultra-conservative Italian government.
Furthermore, the United States, through a spokesperson for the National Security Council of the White House, indicated on Wednesday that the Russian strikes on Odessa recall “the urgent need” for military aid for Ukraine, and in particular “anti-aircraft defense systems”.
Russian occupation election official killed in Ukraine explosion
Svitlana Samoilenko, an official working with Russian authorities and responsible for organizing the elections, was killed Wednesday in the explosion of her car in Berdyansk, in Ukrainian territory occupied by Russia, according to Moscow. “On the morning of March 6, a homemade explosive device was placed under the vehicle of a member of the district election commission,” the investigative committee said in a statement. “The victim succumbed to his injuries in a medical facility,” the text added.
The head of the Zaporizhzhia region, Yevgeny Balitsky, appointed by Moscow, accused Ukrainian authorities of being responsible for the attack and said it was an attempt at “intimidation” by Kiev ahead of the Russian elections. “They hope to prevent the legitimate expression of our will, which is impossible,” he added in a statement on social media. Ukraine’s military intelligence service GUR confirmed that “Svitlana Samoilenko, who organized Putin’s pseudo-elections in the occupied territories of the Zaporizhzhia region, was eliminated”, but did not claim responsibility for the attack.
Since Russia’s offensive in Ukraine began two years ago, several officials that Moscow has placed in the territories it controls have been targets of attacks. The one reported by the Russian investigative committee comes one week before the Russian presidential election on March 15-17, which will also be held in the occupied territories.
After long negotiations, Sweden officially joins NATO
After two centuries of neutrality then military non-alignment and two years of negotiations, Sweden officially became the 32nd member of NATO this Thursday. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson is traveling to Washington, where the head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken is to officially receive the ratification documents. The latter had been obtained through a hard struggle after long negotiations with certain members of the Alliance.
The blue and yellow Swedish flag is to be raised on Monday in front of NATO headquarters in Brussels. Russia promised last week to take “countermeasures” in reaction to Stockholm’s accession, which will depend “on the conditions and extent of Sweden’s integration into NATO.”
Sweden’s accession, following that of Finland last year, means that all countries bordering the Baltic Sea, with the exception of Russia, are now members of the Atlantic Alliance. Sweden and Finland, although militarily close to the United States through their membership of the European Union, have historically preferred to stay away from the alliance, formed during the Cold War against the Soviet Union. . Although Sweden contributes to international peacekeeping forces, it has not experienced war since a conflict with Norway in 1814.