Three people died in a new Russian strike on an apartment building in Zaporizhia, southern Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky denounced the act of a “terrorist state which wants to make each of our days a day of terror”. Despite the situation on the ground, the President also hailed the courage of the Ukrainians during the winter, which is now over. The period was “very difficult, every Ukrainian felt it,” he said in his daily address. “But we managed to supply Ukraine with energy and heating.”
At least three dead in Russian strike in Zaporizhia
At least three people were killed and six others injured in a night strike on an apartment building in Zaporizhia, southern Ukraine, local authorities said on March 2. The missile destroyed more than 10 apartments “where people were sleeping peacefully”, denounced the Ukrainian police.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky blasted the act of a “terrorist state that wants to make every day a day of terror”. Images, published by the Ukrainian emergency services, show residents being evacuated in the middle of the rubble, helped by firefighters.
Indian PM calls on G20 to ‘overcome divisions’
“Overcoming divisions” on the subject of the war in Ukraine: such is the wish of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The G20 meeting, of which New Delhi holds the presidency, opened on March 1. “The experience of recent years – financial crisis, climate change, pandemic, terrorism and war – clearly shows that global governance has failed”, said the head of the Indian government during his speech.
India has a long-standing friendship with Russia, and has not condemned the invasion of Ukraine. It is also a major customer of Moscow in the military field and has increased its imports of Russian oil over the past year, contrary to Western countries.
Blinken calls on Russia to renew grain export deal
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken demanded at a G20 meeting on Thursday that Russia renew the deal on Ukrainian grain exports, which expires this month.
“It is imperative that the G20 speaks out on behalf of extending and broadening the grain initiative to enhance food security for the most vulnerable,” Antony Blinken told foreign ministers in New Delhi. of the G20, according to a report.
Scholz appeals to China
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Thursday called on China not to supply arms, as feared by the United States, to the “Russian aggressor” of Ukraine.
“My message to Beijing is clear: use your influence in Moscow to demand the withdrawal of Russian troops! And do not supply weapons to the Russian aggressor,” the German leader told the Bundestag, the lower house of the German parliament. .
Ukraine believes it has overcome ‘winter terror’
Spring is making a comeback in Ukraine. The government congratulated itself on March 1 for having “defeated the winter terror”, marked by major Russian bombings which cut off electricity and plunged millions of people into the cold. “Winter is over. It was very difficult, every Ukrainian felt it,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said. “But we managed to supply Ukraine with energy and heating.”
Earlier in the day, the head of Ukrainian diplomacy Dmytro Kouleba was delighted: “It was cold and dark, but we were unbreakable […] Ukraine has conquered the “winter terror”. He considered that the European Union had “also won” because it “did not freeze without the Russian gas”, targeted by sanctions. Russia, which was one of Europe’s main suppliers, had relayed catastrophic predictions in the event of a cut in supplies.
In Bakhmout, “the intensity of the fighting only increases”
“The intensity of the fighting is only increasing” in Bakhmout, acknowledged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on February 28. Since the summer, Russian troops have been trying to take this city in eastern Ukraine, of disputed strategic importance, but which has become a symbol of the struggle for control of the Donbass region.
Volodymyr Zelensky accused Moscow of sending its men en masse to certain death, with the sole aim of seizing Bakhmout. “The greatest difficulties, as before, are in Bakhmout,” he said in his daily address. The commander of the Ukrainian land forces, Oleksandre Syrsky, blamed the Russian paramilitary group Wagner, which he accused of “surrounding the city”.
Despite the situation, the Ukrainian army does not intend to leave the city. Eastern Command spokesman Serguiy Tcherevaty denied that a Ukrainian withdrawal from Bakhmout was underway. This “will depend on the operational situation. So far, such a decision has not been taken,” he told AFP.