Russia claimed Tuesday the recapture of the village of Krynky, on the occupied bank of the Dnieper, in southern Ukraine. This is where the Kiev army had difficulty building a bridgehead last October, one of its only advances after the failure of its summer counter-offensive.
This new success for Moscow was announced by the Minister of Defense to Vladimir Putin, shortly after the capture by the Russian army of the town of Avdiïvka, in the east, and a few days before the start of the entry of the war into its third year. “Krynky has been cleaned, we de facto control the entire bank,” assured Sergei Shoigu in response to a question from the Russian president during a meeting between the two men.
Information to remember
⇒ A meeting of G7 leaders dedicated to Ukraine will take place on Saturday
⇒ A former FBI informant received Russian information about the Bidens
⇒ The Ukrainian army headquarters noted on Tuesday 84 Russian attacks in the last 24 hours
The Ukrainian army denies losing its bridgehead on the occupied bank of the Dnieper
The Ukrainian army denied on Wednesday having lost control of its Krynky bridgehead on the occupied bank of the Dnieper, in southern Ukraine, and which Russian President Vladimir Putin himself had claimed the capture the day before. “The military and political leadership of the aggressor country announced the capture of the bridgehead on the left bank of the Dnieper River. We officially say that this information is false,” the Southern Command of the Ukrainian forces said on social networks. “The defense forces of southern Ukraine continue to hold their positions, inflicting significant losses on the enemy,” he added.
The G7 will discuss new sanctions against Moscow on Saturday
The Italian presidency of the G7 announced on Tuesday a meeting by videoconference of its leaders on Saturday devoted to Ukraine, which should decide on a tightening of sanctions against Russia. This meeting, which will be attended by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, is the first of the heads of state and government of the G7 member countries (United States, Japan, Germany, France, United Kingdom, Italy, Canada) under Italian presidency .
It was convened “on the occasion of the second anniversary of Russian aggression against Ukraine”, specifies a government press release in Rome, at a time when Kiev recognizes that it is experiencing an “extremely difficult” situation for its forces, deprived of ammunition. and American aid. At the end of the meeting, which should last an hour and a half during the afternoon, a joint declaration on Ukraine should be adopted, according to Italian diplomatic sources. The participants should decide on “a toughening of the sanctions regime”, according to the same sources. “The EU will launch a new sanctions package and the United States will also approve a tightening of its sanctions.”
A former FBI informant received Russian information about the Bidens, according to the prosecution
A former FBI informant, prosecuted for lying and fabricating false corruption charges against Joe Biden and his son, admitted to investigators that he received information from people linked to Russian intelligence, US prosecutors reported Tuesday, calling them “lies”.
Alexander Smirnov, 43, a former American-Israeli federal police informant arrested Thursday in Las Vegas, is suspected of having lied by accusing the American president and his son Hunter Biden of having each received five million dollars in bribes -win to allow a Ukrainian gas company, Burisma, to escape prosecution. But according to prosecutor David Weiss and other magistrates, “the misinformation that Alexander Smirnov is spreading is not limited to 2020. He is actively peddling new lies that could have an impact on the American elections (of 2024), after a meeting with Russian intelligence officials in November.
“During his custodial interrogation on February 14, Alexander Smirnov admitted that officials associated with Russian intelligence were involved in spreading a story” about Hunter Biden, prosecutors add in a court document filed with a Nevada court.
84 Russian attacks in 24 hours
The Ukrainian army headquarters noted on Tuesday no less than 84 Russian attacks in the last 24 hours, all of which were “repulsed”, he assured. If Russian operations were significantly reduced around Avdiïvka itself, numerous assaults took place near Mariïnka (east), near Bakhmout (east) and in the Zaporizhia region (south).
“The situation is extremely difficult at several points on the front line,” Volodymyr Zelensky admitted Monday evening. Russian troops are “taking advantage of the delay in aid to Ukraine,” he said, as the country is deprived of crucial US military aid of $60 billion, currently blocked in Congress.
Western components in North Korean missile found in Ukraine
The remains of a North Korean-made missile found in Ukraine contain components visibly manufactured in Europe and the United States, despite sanctions on Pyongyang, a specialist organization said in a report on Tuesday. North Korea supplies weapons to Russia for its war against Ukraine, according to the West, who have imposed significant sanctions against this isolated Asian country for years. But Pyongyang seems able to circumvent these sanctions to obtain parts, according to this report from the NGO Conflict Armament Research (CAR).
Its investigators “determined that a ballistic missile produced in (North Korea) and recovered in Ukraine contains more than 290 non-national electronic components.” Three-quarters of them are linked to companies based in the United States and 16% in Europe, according to the NGO. She estimates that the missile studied, found on January 2 in Kharkiv, was assembled in March 2023 at the earliest.
Vladimir Putin ‘categorically opposed’ to nuclear weapons in space
Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that Moscow was “categorically opposed” to the deployment of nuclear weapons in space, after Washington accused Russia of developing such an anti-satellite weapon. “We have always been categorically opposed to the deployment of nuclear weapons in space and we continue to be,” declared the Russian president during a meeting with his Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, broadcast on television.
“Not only do we call for compliance with all existing agreements in this area, but we have also repeatedly proposed strengthening this joint work,” added the Russian president, referring to the 1967 Space Treaty, whose United States and Russia are parties that prohibit the deployment of nuclear weapons in space.