Three months before the European elections, while the far right is racing in the polls, aid to Ukraine has become one of the key themes of the campaign. Particularly since the controversial remarks of Emmanuel Macron who has not ruled out sending Western troops on the ground and does not want to put “any limits” on support for kyiv.
The National Assembly provided broad support for the security agreement between Paris and kyiv on Tuesday evening, despite the abstention of the RN and the opposition of LFI and the communists, during a non-binding vote. After long debates, 372 deputies voted for and 99 against, announced the President of the National Assembly Yaël Braun-Pivet at the end of the vote.
Information to remember
⇒ For Putin, Ukraine wants to try to undermine the presidential election
⇒ A Russian strike on the town of Kryvyï Rig leaves at least 3 dead
⇒ One dead and ten injured in the Ukrainian incursion
For Putin, Ukraine wants to try to undermine the presidential election
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday accused Ukraine of attacking Russian regions in an attempt to undermine the presidential election scheduled for March 15-17 in Russia. These attacks can be explained “very simply. All this is happening against a backdrop of (Ukrainian, editor’s note) failures on the front line”, said Vladimir Putin in an interview with the Rossia 1 channel and the press agency Ria Novosti, extracts of which were broadcast on Wednesday morning.
“Nevertheless, the main objective, I have no doubt, if they fail to undermine the presidential elections in Russia, is at least to try to prevent in some way citizens from expressing their will,” assured the Russian president.
Ukraine: Russian strike on Kryvyi Rig kills at least three people
A Russian strike hit an apartment building in Kryvyi Rig, central Ukraine, the hometown of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The toll is heavy: at least three people died in this strike which also left 44 injured, according to Sergiy Lisak, the governor of Dnipropetrovsk province. “Eight people are in serious condition, including three children, including a 4-year-old boy,” he detailed.
Volodymyr Zelensky for his part indicated on X (formerly Twitter) that “dozens of people were injured, including nine children”, confirming that “three people were killed” before sending his “condolences to all those who lost a loved one.
“Every day our cities and villages are subjected to such attacks. Every day Ukraine loses people to Russian evil,” he said. “And there can be no pause in support for a day, a week – let alone months – when it comes to protecting lives and simply saving people from terrorism. All those who stand Ukraine’s sides in the world at this time are true defenders of life and justice,” added the Ukrainian president.
Russia ‘won’t stop at Ukraine’ warns Biden
US President Joe Biden warned on Tuesday that Russia would go beyond its invasion of Ukraine, urging Congress to pass a military aid package for kyiv as quickly as possible. “We must act before it is literally too late. Because as Poland can remember, Russia will not stop at Ukraine,” said the American president on the sidelines of a meeting with the President Andrzej Duda and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk at the White House. “We must not let Russian imperialism disrupt the stability and peaceful existence of Europe,” President Duda said after the meeting.
Washington has, at the same time, approved an arms contract with its NATO ally. The US executive branch notified Congress of a contract providing for the sale to Warsaw of long-range air-to-ground missiles and medium-range air-to-air missiles, for a total of $3.5 billion. Earlier in the day, Washington announced new military aid of $300 million to Ukraine, an amount however far from the large envelope requested by President Biden for months.
Russia: one dead and ten injured in Ukrainian incursion
A member of the territorial defense was killed and ten civilians injured Tuesday in the armed incursion of Russian pro-Ukraine fighters in the Belgorod region, one of the two border regions targeted, its governor announced.
“Ten civilians were injured, six of them are hospitalized […] a member of our territorial defense has died,” Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram. Apart from the Belgorod region, the neighboring Kursk region was also the target of an incursion by fighters from Ukraine on Tuesday.
Lithuanian president expressed support for Macron
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda expressed his support on Tuesday for his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, who provoked an outcry by not excluding sending soldiers to Ukraine.
“All options regarding our support for Ukraine must remain on the table,” declared Gitanas Nauseda upon his arrival at the Elysée. In this regard, the Lithuanian president welcomed France’s “role in military aid and its proposals for reflection on additional, non-traditional means to be implemented to help Ukraine.”
It is appropriate to “maintain pressure on Russia without entering into a logic of escalation”, reiterated Emmanuel Macron alongside his counterpart, adding that France was ready to work alongside the Lithuanians in mine clearance operations in Ukraine.
Emmanuel Macron will speak on Ukraine Thursday evening
Emmanuel Macron will speak “on France’s support for Ukraine” in the 8 p.m. news on TF1 and France 2 on Thursday March 14, the two channels announced on Tuesday. “The Head of State will answer questions from Anne-Sophie Lapix (France 2) and Gilles Bouleau (TF1) live from the Elysée,” these two channels specified in a joint press release.
“It’s about speaking directly to the French about this important subject for everyday life and for the future,” the President of the Republic’s entourage told AFP.