DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private energy company, announces 5 out of 6 power plants will cease operation Damaged or destroyed during two weeks of Russian attacks, 80% of power generation capacity lost. Company officials said repairs could take up to 18 months. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia was carrying out a “despicable attack” aimed at causing a “leakage” of Ukraine’s energy. DTEK, which meets about a quarter of the country’s needs, has seen its thermal power plants and other facilities repeatedly attacked by Russian missiles, drones and artillery during more than two years of war.
France’s defense minister said Paris would provide “hundreds” of armored personnel carriers and anti-aircraft missiles as part of a new package of aid to Ukraine in its war against Russia. “To hold such an extensive front, the Ukrainian army needs VAB vehicles, for example, which are absolutely essential for the mobility of the army,” said Sebastian Lecornu. “We’re talking about hundreds of cases towards 2024 and early 2025,” he said. France has called on defense companies to increase production to meet the needs of its military and ensure continued support for Ukraine after Kiev warned that munitions stocks were running low. There is.
According to the UK Ministry of Defense’s latest intelligence report, Russia maintains a quantitative advantage in the conflict, outnumbering Ukraine in munitions and equipment.. Moscow is likely recruiting around 30,000 additional personnel per month and is likely to absorb losses and continue attacks aimed at wearing down the Ukrainian military. Russian forces are also making gradual advances west of Avdiivka, almost certain to capture two villages in late March, and continue fighting other villages in the region, the report said.
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said on Saturday that athletes from Russia and Belarus will not be welcome at this year’s Olympics in the French capital.reported France Presse. “I want to say to the Russian and Belarusian players that they are not welcome in Paris, and to the Ukrainian players and all Ukrainian people that we I want to let them know that I strongly support them.” Hidalgo made the comments during a trip to Kiev where he visited the Ukrainian players’ training center. Russian athletes can compete at the Paris Olympics, which will be held from July 26 to August 11, but only as neutral athletes.
In response, Moscow launched a ferocious attack on the International Olympic Committeeclaimed that the IOC’s restrictions on Russian athletes constituted “neo-Nazism.” The IOC last year suspended Russia from participating in the 2024 Games, but gave the green light for Russian athletes to compete as a neutral country unless they actively support the Kremlin’s attack on Ukraine.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Europe was entering a “pre-war” era, warned the continent was not ready and urged European countries to step up defense investment. Tusk’s comments came days after Russian missiles briefly violated Polish airspace during a major attack on Ukraine, prompting Warsaw to step up military preparedness.In an interview with a European newspaper group BBC reported, Mr. Tusk said. “I don’t mean to scare anyone, but war is no longer a concept of the past. It’s true, and it started more than two years ago.” Amid concerns about the future of U.S. aid and concerns about defense industrial capabilities. , Mr. Tusk is using his platform to inject a sense of urgency into the European debate over Ukraine’s defense and aid.
Russian diplomats laid flowers at the scene of last week’s attack on a concert hall on the outskirts of Moscow that killed 144 people. Attendees included ambassadors from the United States, EU countries, Africa, and Latin America. Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported that “about 130 diplomatic missions” took part, including representatives of “unfriendly countries.” Officials from the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack, which was Russia’s deadliest in years. But the Kremlin alleges that Ukraine and the West also had a role, a charge Kiev vehemently denies.
A Moscow court has ordered a Russian journalist who covered the trial of late Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny and other dissidents to remain detained pending investigation and trial on extremism charges. . The suspect, Antonina Favorskaya (also identified by court officials as Antonina Kravtsova), was arrested earlier this month. On Friday, Moscow’s Basmany District Court ordered her to remain in pretrial detention until at least May 28. The hearing was held behind closed doors at the request of the investigators, and the presiding judge supported this request. Mediazona, an independent Russian news site, reported that Favorskaya and her lawyer protested the decision.
