New barbaric execution at Wagner?
A video broadcast on social networks (and Telegram in particular) on Monday morning – but not yet identified – shows a man who could be a former member of the Wagner militia being killed with a sledgehammer, Portal reports. In the pictures, the man presents himself as Dmitry Yakushchenko, a 44-year-old Ukrainian who was born in Crimea. He explains that he left his prison to join Wagner but looked for loopholes to escape the militia. He says he was then found in Dnipro and captured by the paramilitary group to be “tried” for treason.
damage in Kherson
The Guardian reports, citing local media, that one person was killed in the Russian shelling in the Kherson region last night. They also damaged the railroad so badly that trains can no longer run.
Chinese visit to Russia
Wang Yi, director of the Bureau of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and a former foreign minister, is planning a state visit to Russia, Portal reports.
“We’re not belligerent, but it’s starting to look serious”
“As much as the Russians engage in military discourse, like the Ukrainians, there is never the word diplomacy,” notes Colonel Peer de Jong, vice president of the Themiis Institute and specialist in geopolitics, on LCI. In order to find a diplomatic solution, “the two must therefore agree”, to discuss, “but we don’t see any prospects today”, he regrets. “By coming to Europe, Zelenskyy showed that we are the geographic strategic depth of Ukraine,” he continues. “We’re not belligerent, but it’s starting to look serious,” he concludes.
Russia, “old-fashioned” at the front
“Russian ways of doing things are old-fashioned ways of doing things where the price of man doesn’t count,” Colonel Peer de Jong, vice president of the Themiis Institute and specialist in geopolitics, said on LCI. However, compared to the first days of the conflict, “the strategy has changed”, particularly because of the terrain.
One dead in Donetsk region
The governor of Donetsk region Pavlo Kyrylenko reports on Telegram one death as a result of Russian shelling in the last 24 hours.
New American call for vigilance
The American Embassy in Moscow is calling on American citizens not to travel to Russia. “American citizens residing or traveling in Russia should leave immediately,” particularly because of the risk of arbitrary arrests, but also because of the “limited ability” of American diplomacy to assist its citizens on Russian territory.
Russia claims progress
The Guardian reports that Russian troops advanced two kilometers in four days, shifting the front line that far west. However, Interfax, the Russian agency reporting this information, does not specify which location it is.
Supplying aircraft, a “sensitive” topic
“His territory was invaded, today (Volodymyr Zelensky) needs the help of European countries to resist (…)” acknowledges Hélène Conway-Mouret, Senator (PS) representing French living outside France, in the Public Senate . But for them, the delivery of planes is “a very sensitive issue” because “European countries don’t want any escalation, nor for Russian territories to be accidentally affected.” It would be “an excuse for Russia to escalate the conflict,” she fears. “France continues to believe in diplomacy,” the senator continues.
Helping Ukrainians to resist
“We must give the Ukrainians the means to resist and retake the territories” that the Russians have seized since the beginning of the conflict, believes Pierre-Alexandre Anglade, chairman of the National Assembly’s European Affairs Committee and Renaissance MP for the established French outside France on RFI. “I hope that we can deliver heavy weapons to the Ukrainians,” because the conflict “has repercussions throughout the European continent. The future of Europe is also at stake in Kiev,” he says.
to make a choice
According to the British secret service, the Russians are currently faced with a major dilemma: whether to defend the Zaporizhia region from a Ukrainian breakthrough or that of Luhansk. In the first case, a Ukrainian advance would significantly impede access between Russia’s Rostov region and Crimea. In the second, it would shake the Russian will to “liberate” Donbass.
The Russians are well represented in Zaporijjia
According to the daily update of the British Ministry of Defense, since the beginning of February, Russian troops have strengthened their defensive positions, particularly in the Zaporijjia region (centre).
Homage to Ukraine at the Berlinale
The Berlin International Film Festival, which opens on Thursday, is demonstrating its commitment to Ukraine, almost a year after the invasion began, with nine films – mostly documentaries – on the program about the life of Ukrainians in wartime. Including “Superpower” by actor and director Sean Penn. The Oscar-winning American was in Kiev filming a documentary when the Russian invasion began on February 24. It features President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praising his courage at the time.
The Presidential Office of Ukraine via – Photo by Icon Sport
Air alert in Kherson
An air alert is already underway in the Kherson region this Monday morning, regional authorities report on Telegram. The neighboring Mykolayiv region is also affected.
Bakhmout, a deadly fight
The Bakhmout sector is the scene of the longest and bloodiest battle since the Russian invasion began. Moscow is looking to claim its first significant victory after months of setbacks, but Kiev is determined to persevere.
According to British intelligence, the pressure remains, even though the Russian advance has been halted. In addition, this Sunday the Russian paramilitary group Wagner demanded the capture of Krasna Hora, a few kilometers north of Bakhmout.
Berlusconi attacks Zelensky, Meloni turns him around
Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, whose party is part of Giorgia Meloni’s ruling coalition, launched a full-scale attack on the Ukrainian president on Sunday, drawing the prime minister’s immediate ire.
When asked about the meeting between Giorgia Meloni and Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday in Brussels, he replied: “I’m talking to Zelenskyy? If I had been President of the Council, I would never have gone there”. Then he explained his motivations: “It was enough for him (Zelensky) to stop attacking the two autonomous republics of Donbass and none of this would have happened, so I judge the behavior of this gentleman very, very negatively,” he said when he just finished voted for the regional elections in Lombardy. The government promptly issued a press release to reiterate Italy’s “firm support” for Ukraine.
Vladimir Putin and Silvio Berlusconi pictured in June 2019. Sputnik/Alexey Druzhinin/Kremlin via Portal.
Silvio Berlusconi, 86, a close friend of Vladimir Putin when he was in power, was not his first controversial statement on the conflict in Ukraine. In September he caused an uproar when he believed Vladimir Putin had been “pushed” by his people and pro-Russian forces in Donbass to invade Ukraine.