Who did what? Who said what? And who supports whom and why? Find out everything you need to know about the progress of negotiations and the events of this crisis that is shaking Russia, Ukraine, Europe and even the United States.
On Thursday, Russia announced that local “elections” would be held on September 10 in the territories it occupies in Ukraine, which it has claimed will be annexed in September 2022.
Missed the latest on the war in Ukraine? Don’t panic, 20 Minutes brings you up to date every evening at 7.30pm. Who did what? Who said what? Where do we stand? Find out below.
Fact of the day
On Thursday, Russia’s electoral commission announced that local “elections” would be held on September 10 in the territories occupied by Russia in Ukraine, which it has claimed will be annexed in September 2022. According to the body, the purpose of these polls is to elect regional assemblies and municipal councils, even though Moscow controls only part of the regions of Lugansk and Donetsk in the east, and Zaporozhie and Kherson in the south.
Fighting is still raging there, and Ukraine is currently leading a counter-offensive aimed at liberating these territories. Almost a year and a half after launching its assault on Ukraine, Russia controls some 17% of Ukrainian territory, including Crimea, a peninsula annexed in 2014. Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed annexation of these regions last September, after holding pseudo-referendums there, despite fighting and near-unanimous criticism from the international community.
Sentence of the day
To our great regret, Australia continues to move forcefully in the wake of the authors of the Russophobic hysteria currently raging in Western countries”.
This is a statement by Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov. Australia took radical legal action on Thursday to prevent Russia from building its new embassy a stone’s throw from its Parliament, after intelligence services warned of a risk of espionage. The Kremlin immediately reacted by denouncing a “manifestation of hostility” which will call for a “reciprocal” response from Moscow.
Number of the day
- The number of Russian explosive drones that Kiev claims to have shot down on Wednesday night. The Ukrainian army also claims to have destroyed a cruise missile. However, three more hit the hometown of President Volodymyr Zelensky. These attacks come at a time when Ukraine has launched the start of its counter-offensive and claims to have recaptured “more than 100 km of territory”.
Trend of the day
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) visited the Zaporozhie nuclear power plant on Thursday. Rafael Grossi explained after his visit that the situation was “serious” but in the process of stabilizing following the destruction of the Kakhovka dam. His visit, postponed for a day, came as Ukrainian forces went on the offensive against Russian positions in southern and eastern Ukraine.