On the second day of the NATO summit in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, and nearly 18 months after the start of the Russian invasion, the G7 countries pledged this Wednesday, July 12 to provide military support “over the long term to Ukraine, in order to help it combat the current Russian offensive and deter Moscow from any future attack on its neighbor.
Irreparably provoking the Kremlin’s anger, the announcement was described as “an important victory for Ukraine’s security” by Volodymyr Zelensky. But the Ukrainian president took care to recall that “the best guarantee for Ukraine is to be in NATO”, after sharply reproaching the leaders of the Alliance the day before for not having set a timetable for the integration of his country into this organization after the end of the war.
The G7 declaration constitutes a framework for the subsequent conclusion of bilateral agreements between its member states (United States, United Kingdom, France, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan) and Kyiv detailing the weapons they will supply. Eight other countries have joined this initiative, according to Madrid: Spain, the Netherlands, Portugal, Iceland, Norway, Denmark, Poland and the Czech Republic.
Russia “fragile” militarily and support for Ukraine “sustainable”, underlines Macron
The French president said for his part that Russia was “fragile” militarily and that it would find Westerners determined to provide “sustainable” support to Ukraine, during a press conference after from the NATO summit.
Emmanuel Macron conceded that the Ukrainians may have been disappointed not to have obtained a more concrete commitment from NATO in favor of their membership of the Alliance. “It is legitimate for the President of Ukraine (Volodymyr Zelensky) to be demanding with us because he is fighting on the ground, his army is engaged and he is defending the integrity of his territory, the sovereignty of his people,” he said. But “this path to NATO is there”, “the most direct path has been opened to Ukraine”, he assured. “In my eyes, we did what we had to do.”
Wagner handed over more than 2,000 pieces of military equipment and 20,000 small arms to the Russian army
The Russian army has announced that it has received from the paramilitary group Wagner more than 2,000 pieces of equipment, 2,500 tons of ammunition and 20,000 small arms, thanks to the agreement reached after its abortive rebellion in June. “The Russian Armed Forces, according to plan, are completing the receipt of weapons and military equipment from the units of the Wagner Group,” the Russian Defense Ministry said on Telegram.
He also posted a video showing soldiers inspecting tanks, armored personnel carriers, boxes of ammunition, Kalashnikovs and mines. Wagner’s boss, Yevgeny Prigojine, had agreed to hand over the armaments of his men to the Russian regular troops after the abandonment of his rebellion at the end of June.
Germany to supply more Patriot systems to Ukraine
Following a meeting with Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Volodymyr Zelensky thanked Germany for sending Patriot systems to Ukraine. In a message, the Ukrainian President writes: “We have continued the conversation on security guarantees for Ukraine with Chancellor Scholz. Thank you for your support! An agreement has been reached with Germany regarding the acquisition of additional Patriot launchers and missiles. This is very important to protect life in Ukraine from Russian terror! I am grateful to Germany for being ready to provide long-term support to Ukraine and our defense of freedom.”
Ukraine claims to have downed 11 Russian drones in second night of attacks
Ukraine has claimed to have shot down 11 Russian drones over the capital kyiv in a second straight night of attacks. “A total of 15 explosive drones were involved in the strikes. Eleven of them were destroyed in the areas under the responsibility of the central and eastern command” of the country, the air force said. Ukrainian on a social network.
In the Cherkassy region of central Ukraine, two people were hospitalized with burns after a drone hit a non-residential building and caused a fire, local governor Igor Taburets said on social media. “Cherkassy was on alert for more than three and a half hours,” he added.
The kyiv military authorities also indicated that a drone attack had taken place in the capital without specifying the number of machines involved. The air alert triggered in the capital lasted more than two hours.
A Ukrainian locked up in a detention center near Paris with a view to his deportation
A Ukrainian, representing according to the authorities a “disorder of public order”, was locked up in a detention center near Paris with a view to his expulsion to his country, we learned on Tuesday, a decision deemed “scandalous” by the association which accompanies it. The 37-year-old Ukrainian, who was issued an obligation to leave French territory (OQTF) on July 3, was placed last weekend in the administrative detention center (CRA) of Mesnil-Amelot, attached to the he Parisian airport of Roissy, where foreigners in an irregular situation are locked up pending their expulsion, according to the association La Cimade.
“It’s a mind-blowing and scandalous situation on several counts: firstly because it comes at a time when France is offering unconditional welcome to people fleeing the war in Ukraine,” lamented Paul Chiron to AFP. a manager of La Cimade. “Then because even if he comes from a region far from the front and the fighting, Ukraine remains a country at war. This decision therefore seems completely illegal under international law, which prohibits expulsions to countries in war”, explains the head of the association, whose organization has been supporting this Ukrainian for a few days.
Russia says it has advanced 1.5 km on a portion of the front in eastern Ukraine
Russian troops have succeeded in breaking through 1.5 kilometers deep on a portion of the front near Lyman, in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, the Russian Defense Minister announced on Tuesday. After repelling a Ukrainian offensive, “Russian units launched a counterattack, advancing 1.5 kilometers deep on two kilometers of front” near Lyman, a town recaptured in October 2022 by the Ukrainian army, said Sergei Shoigu on television.
Ukrainian troops last week reported Russian assaults around Lyman, an important railway junction located about 50 kilometers northeast of Kramatorsk, the main city under Ukrainian control in the east of the country. Sergei Shoigu added that Ukrainian forces continued to “try to break through our defenses in different areas”, saying there had been “waves of attacks” in the past two days. But “the enemy has not achieved its objectives in any area” since the start of the Ukrainian counter-offensive in early June, continued the Minister of Defense.