Live – Donbass: Russia announces dozens of strikes overnight

Despite the announcement of the start of the Russian offensive against eastern Ukraine on Monday by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zhelensky, the northern line is about 70 km from the Russian border.

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As the so-called Battle of Donbass begins, Russia on Tuesday morning called on all “Ukrainian armies to lay down their arms” and the last defenders of Mariupol (Southeast) to call off their “anti-stupidity”.

“Do not be deceived by fate, make the only right decision to stop military operations and lay down your weapons,” the Russian Defense Ministry told Ukrainian forces. He also promised to “save lives” for Ukrainian militants from Mariupol, which still occupies the Azovstal industrial site, if they surrender on Tuesday at 12 noon Kiev time (11 a.m. Paris time).

The two, who represented France in Eurovision, condemned the Russian attack on Ukraine in a song dedicated to one of their fans, a Ukrainian named Tania. The latter is an ardent fan of Madame Monsieur.

“Since this morning I heard from Tania / a few words on insta, she says she’s fine”, especially the song says.

Russia announced on Tuesday morning that it had launched dozens of airstrikes and missiles into eastern Ukraine overnight, while the Russian military launched a major offensive against Donbass, according to kyiv.

“High-precision missiles of the Russian space forces neutralized 13 strongholds of the Ukrainian military units” and “concentrations” of troops near the main city Sloviansk in the Donetsk region, the Ministry of Defense said. He announced dozens of other missile strikes and hundreds of artillery targets in the south and east of the country.

The Governor of Donetsk (Donbass Region), Pavlo Kyrylenko, gave preliminary information about the consequences of the Donbass fighting in recent hours.

According to him, a civilian was killed in the city of Avdiivka, there was no electricity in Ocheretyn and the electricity and gas supply in Toretsk was damaged.

Hours after Ukraine announced the launch of a new Russian offensive in the Donbass, the halt to European imports of Russian oil was “more necessary than ever.” Repeat on Tuesday in Europe 1 Bruno Le Myre.

“We have always said that there should be a ban on coal, and when it is over, there should be a ban on Russian oil,” argued the Minister of Economy and Finance. “When you look at what is happening in Donbass, it is more important than ever to stop importing oil from Russia,” Bruno Le Myre said.

“The Great War has begun in Donbass”, Oleksiy Goncharenko, Ukrainian deputy, announced on BFMTV this Tuesday, he talks about “a lot of bombings, a lot of fighting, a lot of fighting”, even “the army is defending the region”.

“I hope our army can stop Russia. I think Russian weapons were lost during the Kiev war, and the Battle of Donbass will have a similar effect,” he declares. However, he explains that he is concerned about “the atrocities that Russian weapons can commit, such as Bautista”, and speaks of “barbaric atrocities” and “barbarism.”

A few hours after the Russian military’s attack on Donbass, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry released a message on Twitter, quoting President Volodymyr Zhelensky.

“No matter how many forces fight, we will not stop defending Ukraine. We will never give up any part of Ukraine and seek to take land that is not ours.”

Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said Reuters About 20 to 30% of Ukraine’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed by the war, and $ 100 billion will be needed to rebuild everything.

More than 300 bridges have been damaged or destroyed and 8000 km of road needs to be rehabilitated.

While the attack on Donbass was going on, Ukrainian Vice President Lesia Vasylenko lamented our antenna, “It continues, it is unarmed and takes the lives of innocent people affected by this war. This is a very scary thing and the local authorities are trying to stop it,” for example by trying to evacuate people.

“We do everything we can [le Donbass] It is Ukrainian, our forces are concentrated there, but this is a very serious situation, ”he explains, recalling the need for Ukrainian military weapons. Ukraine and the Ukrainians are at war for world peace. “

Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Irina Vareshchuk announced on Tuesday that an evacuation march for civilians would not be held in Ukraine due to a lack of agreement with the Russian side.

“Today, April 19, unfortunately there is no humanitarian corridor. Intensive shelling continues in the Donbass,” Russian forces in the east of the country launched a major offensive on Monday, according to kyiv, he said in the Telegram.

The Russians “are destroying all the buildings, we do not have hospitals that have not been bombed yet, they are bombing maternity wards, schools, nursing homes from tanks, so they are firing on residential areas,” the PFMTV governor said Monday. Of the Luhansk region.

It is not clear how many people have died at this time because “there are active wars, we have cities and villages where people are lying, torn apart by explosions, it is not possible to get rid of them.”

Many eminent economists, including the Frenchman Thomas Pigetti and the American Joseph Stiglitz, have urged G20 leaders to create a global property register to better target the hidden fortunes of Russian oligarchs.

“The case of the Russian oligarchy is a rhetoric that hides fortune within opaque structures,” the economists said in a letter to the British daily Tuesday. Defender. According to published estimates, they have “at least $ 1000 billion in wealth abroad”.

Asked about BFMTV, the governor of the Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine describes the first hours of a major offensive by the Russian military to seize control of the Donbass.

“All the villages are bombed without exception. They are bombing maternity schools, schools. There is no safe place,” he explains.

The White House said on Tuesday that US President Joe Biden would attend a virtual meeting in Ukraine dedicated to the Russian offensive, and kyiv assured that Moscow had begun a new phase of its offensive in the Donbass.

The U.S. president will discuss with the United States “allies and partners,” whose list has not been released, saying “continued support for Ukraine and efforts to ensure that Russia is held accountable.” .

Liechtenstein convenes the 193-member UN General Assembly on Tuesday to discuss a draft resolution backed by Washington. Forcing the five permanent members of the Security Council to justify the veto means, in other words, that they will use it less.

This old idea was revived with the Russian occupation of Ukraine. Moscow, thanks to its veto rights, disables any action contained in this document of the Security Council, although it must intervene in accordance with its mandate as a guarantee of world peace as defined by the United Nations Charter.

The Liechtenstein program was co-sponsored by fifty countries, including the United States, but not significantly by referendum on the other four permanent members of the Security Council (Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom). , According to diplomats.

There are ten non-permanent members of the Security Council who have no veto power.

The White House said on Monday that US President Joe Biden had planned to visit Ukraine, but did not plan to do so at any time.

“The president is not expected to go there. Let me do it again,” US executive spokeswoman Jen Zhaki told a news conference.

The U.S. government is considering sending an ambassador to kyiv, but the White House has ruled out a more risky trip for the president for security reasons.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zhelensky on Monday announced the start of a Russian offensive against eastern Ukraine, part of which is in the hands of pro-Russian separatists and where deadly fighting has intensified.

“We can now say that the Russian troops have started the war for the Donbass, for which they have been preparing for a long time. A large part of the entire Russian army is now devoted to this offensive,” he said. Speech broadcast on telegram.

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Welcome to this live dedicated to following the war in Ukraine