Under the rule of the rotating presidency, Russia took over Saturday, for one month, the head of the Security Council of the United Nations. Furious, Volodymyr Zelensky denounced the bankruptcy of the institution. Later in the day, during a telephone conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron, Volodymyr Zelensky spoke of “the diplomatic efforts to be made to organize a summit on peace”.
On the battlefield in Ukraine, a new French volunteer was killed a week ago in Ukraine, the French Foreign Ministry said on Saturday, confirming information from the daily The world.
Discovery of bodies in Boutcha a year ago: Ukraine will continue the fight for its independence
Ukraine “will continue the fight for its independence”, affirmed, this Sunday April 2, the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army Valeri Zalouzhny on his Telegram account, one year to the day after the discovery of bodies of civilians in the town of Boutcha, in the suburbs of Kiev, after the Russian withdrawal from the region.
Russian presidency at the UN: Zelensky denounces the bankruptcy of this institution
“It’s hard to imagine anything that proves (more) the complete bankruptcy of such institutions,” Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening message. “There is no form of terror that Russia has not already exercised,” he continued, calling for “reform of global institutions, including the UN Security Council.” This “reform which is obviously long overdue is to prevent a terrorist state […] to destroy the world. Terrorists must lose, must be held responsible for terror and should not preside anywhere.”
His Foreign Minister Dmytro Kouleba had previously described the Russian presidency as a “slap in the face” given to the “international community”, with Westerners talking about “April Fool’s Day”. The European Union “will oppose any abuse” by Russia of the presidency of the UN Security Council, European Foreign Minister Josep Borrell said on Twitter on Sunday.
These criticisms from Kiev did not prevent Moscow from ensuring that its delegation to the UN this month, to succeed Mozambique, will be well led by the head of Russian diplomacy, Sergei Lavrov. At the UN, Russia says for its part to face “the collective West”, which has banned it from nations since the start of its military offensive in Ukraine in February 2022. The first meeting of the Security Council under the current Russian Presidency will take place on Monday morning, but it will only be the usual closed-door discussions on the work program for the month.
In Ukraine, a French volunteer killed
“A certain ‘T’, died a week ago”, indicates the log The world in his daily update on Ukraine. “We have learned the sad news of this death. We offer our condolences to the family, with whom the relevant departments of the Ministry […] are in contact,” the Quai d’Orsay confirmed to AFP.
Last week, the ministry had already confirmed the death in the Bakhmout region, the hot spot on the front line in eastern Ukraine, of Kevin D., a former humanitarian who left more than a year ago. to fight alongside the Ukrainians. “We recall that Ukraine, in its entire territory, is a war zone. In this context, it is formally inadvisable to travel to Ukraine, whatever the reason,” he told AFP. the ministry, repeating word for word its statements of last week. Several French people went to fight in Ukraine, where an international legion under his command brings together foreign fighters. Their number is not officially known. The world claims that eight of them were killed.
Macron and Zelensky discuss efforts for a peace summit
The two heads of state made “an update on the military situation in Ukraine and Emmanuel Macron “reiterated his support for Ukraine to put an end to Russian aggression”, indicated the French presidency in a press release. For his part, Volodymyr Zelensky clarified on Telegram that he and his counterpart had looked “over the next steps to implement” his 10-point peace plan. “We have coordinated actions for the next international events”, has he added.
“We discussed in detail for an hour. We talked about the situation on the front line, our political cooperation, and how to move forward with the implementation of Ukraine’s peace project. I thank France for his constant support”, added Volodymyr Zelensky during his daily message to his fellow citizens. The two men also discussed “the worrying situation at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant occupied by the Russian armed forces” since March 2022, Paris said.
This exchange comes a few days after the visit to Ukraine of Rafael Grossi, director of the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency), “with whom President Macron will meet soon”, according to the Elysée, indicating that Macron and Zelensky underlined “the importance of supporting the IAEA’s action on the spot”.
Divided over the war in Ukraine, Bulgarians still vote
For the fifth time in two years, a record in the EU, Bulgarians at the end of their patience began to vote this Sunday to elect their Parliament, in a country torn in the face of the war in Ukraine. Far from the hopes born of the wave of anti-corruption demonstrations in the summer of 2020, this country of 6.5 million inhabitants, the poorest in the European Union, is sinking into crisis. Since the fall of former Conservative Prime Minister Boïko Borissov after a decade in power, the different parties have struggled to agree to build a coalition and interim governments have succeeded one another.
A stagnation accentuated by the conflict in Ukraine in a society historically and culturally close to Moscow, which is torn over the aid to be provided to kyiv. Two major forces are clashing this Sunday: on the one hand, the conservative Gerb party of Boïko Borissov, 63; on the other, the pro-Western reformers of Kiril Petkov, a 42-year-old entrepreneur who briefly ruled in 2022.
Reintegrated or not, the puzzle of Russian fencers
Announced in early March, the reinstatement of Russian fencers takes time to materialize and appears to be a headache for the selection, three weeks after a decision to this effect by the International Fencing Federation (FIE). “There must be a limit to this nonsense,” denounced to AFP the president of the Russian Fencing Federation, Ilgar Mamedov. “We can’t live in suspense all the time.” “Athletes must understand where we are today, whether or not we participate” in competitions to qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
The FIE had decided on March 10 to reinstate Russian and Belarusian athletes, from mid-April and subject to the recommendations of the IOC. Which recommended on March 28 a return of these athletes, but set a number of conditions, including participation under a neutral banner, deemed “discriminatory” by the Russian Olympic Committee. Once the IOC’s decision was made public, the Russian Fencing Federation turned to the FIE to ask if the reinstatement was now valid. Friday evening, no answer had yet arrived.