10:14
Emmanuel Macron is on his way to Irpin
Emmanuel Macron, who visited Ukraine this Thursday for the first time since the start of the war, left his hotel in Kyiv to make his way to Irpin.
The city, which was in Russian hands at the beginning of the war, was recaptured by the Ukrainians at the end of March. Located on the north-west outskirts of Kyiv, Irpin is a powerful symbol, particularly because it appears like a sluice gate to the capital.
>>Our complete paper
10:05
A Japanese company is changing its logo, which evokes the “Z” used by the Russian army
Japanese low-cost airline Zipair, a subsidiary of Japan Airlines, has announced it is abandoning its Z-shaped logo, a letter worn by the Russian army in Ukraine and its supporters, to avoid confusion.
“I think some people might be wondering if they saw this logo without explanation,” Zipair chairman Shingo Nishida said at a news conference on Wednesday.
Nishida added that the logo should be changed to deny any connection between his company and the Russia-Ukraine conflict: “The best thing was to address those concerns,” according to his remarks, which were reported by local media.
9:55
Warning sirens could be heard in Kyiv
On the sidelines of the trip of Emmanuel Macron and his German and Italian counterparts Olaf Scholz and Mario Draghi, several bomb threats and warning sirens sounded in Kyiv. The guides are still in their hotel in Kyiv.
According to our on-site special correspondent, Ulysse Gosset, six alerts were raised. This means that Ukrainian airspace was violated.
9:42
What will Emmanuel Macron do on his first trip to Ukraine since the war began?
Emmanuel Macron has always said that he doesn’t just want to go to Kyiv for a photo. So what will he do there? Speaking on BFMTV this morning, our international political columnist Patrick Sauce detailed the President of the Republic’s program on the ground. He is especially expected at places of massacres.
9:27
A press conference is scheduled for 2 p.m. as part of Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Ukraine
As part of the visit of Emmanuel Macron and his German and Italian counterparts to Ukraine this Thursday, a press conference will be held at 2 p.m. that can be followed on BFMTV.
In particular, the President of the Republic must meet Volodymyr Zelensky, who has been impatiently waiting for his arrival since the beginning of the war.
9:17
Scholz promises to help Ukraine ‘as long as it lasts’
Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who arrived in Kyiv on Thursday morning with his Italian counterpart Mario Draghi and Emmanuel Macron, promised in an interview with the daily Bild that he would help Ukraine “for as long as necessary”.
During this visit, “not only do we want to show our solidarity, we also want to make sure that the aid we are organizing – financial, humanitarian, but also in terms of arms – continues,” he said. “We will continue it as long as Ukraine’s struggle for independence lasts,” he added in the interview, published when the three leaders arrived in Kyiv after a train ride.
8:55
Clément Beaune on Ukraine’s EU accession: “We must open negotiations and grant candidate status”
While Emmanuel Macron arrived in Kyiv this Thursday morning with his German and Italian counterparts, Clément Beaune, Minister Delegated for European Affairs, made the plea this Thursday morning in Franceinfo:
“We have to start negotiations and give candidate status, we have to give this signal to Ukraine. A country that is at war today and tomorrow, I hope, has to be rebuilt as soon as possible, it will take time”. to meet the essential standards for entry into the EU.
8:43
Emmanuel Macron’s first words in Kyiv: “Message of European unity to Ukrainians”
In a short speech at the exit of the train in Kyiv, Emmanuel Macron said to himself “Concentrated before explaining his daily program:
“We will find President Zelensky both going to a theater of war where massacres have been committed and conducting scheduled interviews.” That city is that of Irpin.
And to add when asked for a message for the Ukrainian people:
“I want to send a message of support and European unity to the Ukrainians.”
8:31
Macron arrived in Kyiv
As of this Thursday morning, Emmanuel Macron arrived in Kyiv on board a train, accompanied by his German and Italian counterparts. His first trip since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began on February 24.
8:29
BFMTV on board the Presidential train
French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi boarded a special train to Kyiv, Italian and German media said Thursday ahead of the confirmation from the French side of the Elysee.
Our international political columnist Ulysse Gosset reports from the train on the President’s trip, the first since the beginning of the war.
8:29
About 10,000 civilians are still present in Severodonetsk
About 10,000 civilians are still in the city of Severodonetsk, a key Donbass city that the Russians have been trying to capture for weeks, Sergei Gaidai, the governor of the Luhansk region, said by telegram on Thursday.
The city, which is constantly bombed and whose three bridges that connected it to the neighboring city of Lysytchansk are now destroyed, had a population of 100,000 before the Russian invasion began on February 24.
7:33
Olaf Scholz under pressure for arms sales
The German Chancellor, who is currently on his way to Kyiv, has promised a large number of arms deliveries since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, which have since been difficult to realise. A waltz hesitation that brought him criticism in Kyiv as in his country.
According to several media, Olaf Scholz will travel to Ukraine with the French head of state on Thursday. This trip comes at a sensitive time for the leader, who has been accused by his critics of being too complacent with Moscow, like Emmanuel Macron.
“All the heads of state and government of our partner countries and of course the Chancellor know exactly what Ukraine needs, the only problem is that the (arms) supplies from Germany are not at the level where they could be,” said the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the German weekly Die Zeit on Wednesday.
7:31
Macron, Scholz and Drahi on a train to Kyiv
Several German and Italian media circulated photos of the three leaders on a night train leaving Poland bound for Kyiv. This trip is a first for the leaders of the three main European Union countries since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began on February 24.
Note that Romanian President Klaus Iohannis will also be present when he meets Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the Elysée Palace confirmed to BFMTV. In fact, after Moldova on Wednesday, Emmanuel Macron was also scheduled to meet his Romanian counterpart.
Emmanuel Macron had already visited Kyiv on February 8 after meeting Vladimir Putin in Moscow, but had not returned there since.
7:22
Macron, Scholz and Draghi on the train to Kyiv
French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi boarded a special train to Kyiv, Italian and German media reported on Thursday.
The three leaders boarded this special train in Poland and are expected in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Thursday morning, according to ZDF in Germany and Italian daily La Repubblica, which publishes a photo of the three leaders on board the train.
4:16
Two Americans missing fighting in Ukraine, feared capture by Moscow
Americans who volunteered to fight with Ukrainian forces have been missing for days and may be captured by Russia, lawmakers and family members said Wednesday.
According to these reports, Alexander Drueke and Andy Tai Huynh, both from Alabama state, were involved in the fighting north of the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.
Earlier this week, the mother of Alexander Drueke, an army veteran who volunteered to help the Ukrainian army fight Russia, contacted my services after “losing contact with his son for several days,” she said Alabama House Representative Terri Sewell made a statement.
4:15
The food crisis threatens to increase the number of displaced people worldwide
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees warns that if the world fails to contain the severe food crisis caused by Russia, the record of 100 million uprooted people will increase by “many people”.
“What is being done to respond to the food insecurity crisis (…) is crucial to prevent more people from moving,” Filippo Grandi stressed during a briefing.
He does not know how many, “but it will be a large number,” underlined the High Commissioner when presenting the 2021 annual report of the organization he heads.
>> Our full article
4:14
Hi
Welcome to this directive dedicated to the post-war in Ukraine