The final events of the war have been played out behind the scenes rather than on the front lines in recent hours. The Ukrainians have multiplied their presence in the bodies of international representation in order to bring to bear on its Russian adversary the weight of the accusations they support. A first case of a war crime could lead to the first trial since the start of the conflict and the Russian invasion on Ukrainian soil at the end of February. The UN Human Rights Council, meeting in extraordinary session, is due to consider, this Thursday, the allegations of serious abuses committed, in particular in Mariupol and Boutcha.
On the ground, the fights continue with the anguish for the bordering countries of an externalization of the war. Russia is also suspected of coveting Transdniestria, a separatist region of Moldova whose southern tip is only about sixty kilometers from the large Ukrainian city of Odessa, on the Black Sea. The Kherson region, which has already been occupied by the Russians since the beginning of March, could be attached to Moscow.
- Towards the first war crimes trial
Private Vadim Shishimarin, 21, is accused of firing a Kalashnikov through the window of a car he was traveling in to shoot dead a 62-year-old unarmed civilian. was not identified, “died on the spot, only a few tens of meters from his home”, advance the Ukrainian officials. Which constitutes a war crime. The country led by Volodymyr Zelensky, through the voice of prosecutor Iryna Venediktova, in a press release, announced on Wednesday that it wanted to bring the first war crime trial against this soldier.
Vadim Shishimarin, detained, faces life imprisonment if convicted of war crimes and premeditated murder. The date of the trial has not been specified. This case is part of a larger wave of war crime accusations. Investigations by the International Criminal Court and the Ukrainian authorities are ongoing. Russia “is today the most direct threat to the world order with the barbaric war against Ukraine, and its disturbing pact with China”, declared the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
- Human rights council considers Boutcha and Mariupol cases
An extraordinary session of the Human Rights Council is to be held this Thursday in Geneva. She was summoned at the request of kyiv to look into “the deterioration of the human rights situation in Ukraine”. This extraordinary session is motivated by “the alarming number of civilian victims caused by the aggression against Ukraine”, detailed the United Nations council. The cases of abuses committed against civilians in Boutcha and Mariupol should be mentioned.
Russia, which became a simple observer after leaving this organization in April in anticipation of its suspension, chose not to participate. “The Russian delegation will not legitimize by its presence this new political show organized in the form of an extraordinary session”, justified the spokesperson for Russian diplomacy, Maria Zakharova.
The UN Security Council is also due to meet from 2 p.m., at the request of France and Mexico, always with a view to discussing the situation in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian president once again called on the West to strengthen their sanctions against Russia. An appeal made to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. “Little by little, we are doing everything so that the aggressor feels the greatest suffering as a result of this aggression,” noted Volodymyr Zelensky. The leader also reformulated his wish for rapid accession to the European Union despite Emmanuel Macron’s warning on Monday that such a procedure would take “decades”. “It’s like a table where the whole family is gathered, and where you are invited, but you have not been given a chair,” lamented the Ukrainian president. “And I think that’s unfair.”
For now, the European effort is focused on the Russian oil embargo. This sanction is currently blocked by Budapest. Another European country, not a member of the EU, Finland, still harbors the ambition of joining NATO. President Sauli Niinistö and Prime Minister Sanna Marin are due to officially clarify their position on Thursday on the Nordic country’s accession to the Atlantic Alliance, which is one of the first steps towards integration. Sweden, a country also part of a tradition of military non-alignment, is also in the process of joining the military organization.
- Moldova, Finland and Sweden worried
Faced with Russia’s planned invasion of Ukraine and multiple repeated offensives in the border areas by Moscow, many neighboring countries are holding their breath. Vladimir Putin is suspected of coveting Transdniestria, a separatist region of Moldova, the southern tip of which is about sixty kilometers from the large Ukrainian city of Odessa, on the Black Sea. In late April and early May, several explosions shook the region, prompting the European Union to “significantly increase” its military aid to Moldova.
The accusation of wanting to extend the conflict is not limited to Russia. It is also carried by his opponent. The governor of the Russian region of Belgorod, neighboring Ukraine in southwestern Russia, said Wednesday that shelling from Ukraine had left one dead and six injured.
- Kherson in the Russian fold, Kharkiv in the Ukrainian fold
kyiv is pleased to have pushed back the Russian forces which have been increasing the bombardments for weeks on the north-eastern districts of Kharkiv, the second largest city in the country, and to have taken over some small towns in this region very close to the Russian border. Conversely, the Kherson region, occupied by Russian forces since the beginning of March, will ask to be annexed by Russia, one of its pro-Russian officials said on Wednesday. “There will be a demand to integrate the region of Kherson as a full subject of the Russian Federation,” said Kirill Stremoussov, deputy head of the administration of the coastal city of Kherson. The legal basis (…) will be ready before the end of the year,” he said.
- In football, Ukraine reconnects with the pitches
More than two months after the Russian invasion on its soil, Ukraine has regained its national football team. In a charity match organized by the Rhine city of Mönchengladbach for the benefit of the victims of the conflict, they won 2-1 against the German club. “This game is very important, for our team and for our country,” said former international striker Andreiy Voronin, who commented on the game for the German channel ProSieben: “We feel that we are not alone, the whole world is behind us”. A thousand people were present to follow the return of the yellow tunic to the meadow.