Russia launched its “military operation” in Ukraine on Thursday, February 24, 2022. Every evening, at 7.30pm, 20 Minutes brings you its recap of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, which is claiming lives, injuring people and creating thousands of refugees every day.
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.
This Monday, we shift the focus to the rest of the world. Between the African diplomatic mission and China’s announcement that it will not supply arms to Russia, Moscow finds itself increasingly isolated, while Ukraine is claiming progress.
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
It’s never too late to be neutral. So, on the 481st day of the conflict, China decided not to send arms to Russia. Beijing made this promise to the United States, as part of a vast “détente” meeting between the two superpowers.
“We and other countries have received assurances from China that it does not and will not provide lethal assistance to Russia for use in Ukraine,” said Antony Blinken, US Secretary of State, at the end of two days of talks in the Chinese capital.
Sentence of the day
This initiative is historic, because it’s the first time that African leaders have embarked on a peace mission beyond the continent’s shores”.
These were the words used by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa to describe the new African diplomatic mission. The mission visited Ukraine at the end of the week and then Russia to offer mediation in the conflict, but failed to achieve any immediate results. The South African head of state was at the head of a delegation made up of three other presidents: Macky Sall (Senegal), Hakainde Hichilema (Zambia) and Azali Assoumani (Comoros), current Chairman of the African Union, as well as representatives from the Congo, Uganda and Egypt. They met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev on Saturday, before holding talks with Russian head of state Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg the following day.
Number of the day
The number of additional years in prison Alexei Navalny faces. A Russian court began trying the political opponent, a veritable bête noire of the Kremlin, on Monday in a new trial for “extremism”. This case illustrates the climate of repression at the height of the conflict in Ukraine.
Since the start of the military campaign in February 2022, most major opponents who have not fled Russia have been imprisoned or prosecuted, notably for denouncing the conflict. Alexeï Navalny, known for his anti-corruption investigations, is already serving a nine-year prison sentence for “fraud”, a conviction he considers political.
Trend of the day
The Ukrainian army has recaptured the village of Pyatykhatky, located on the southern front of the conflict with Russian forces, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense said on Monday. With this village, a total of “eight localities have been liberated” in the two weeks since the start of the counter-offensive, with 113 km2 of territory recaptured, according to the ministry.
In the south, Ukrainian troops “advanced up to seven kilometers in depth” of Russian positions, said the official. Moscow continues to insist that Ukraine’s ongoing offensive on Russian-held positions is a failure. For its part, Kiev reported last week that it had liberated seven localities and 100 square kilometers, mainly on the southern front.
On the eastern front, “the general intensity of fighting decreased last week” and the Ukrainian army “advanced in several directions”, it said, without giving details.