Volodymyr Zelensky is counting on the support of Paris after the legislative elections, which will take place in two rounds, on June 30 and July 7.
Ukrainian and Russian representatives met for the first time since the start of the conflict as part of an exchange of prisoners of war, Moscow and kyiv said on Wednesday.
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More than two years of war in Ukraine
ZELENSKY IN BRUSSELS
Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Brussels this Thursday. The Ukrainian president is attending a meeting of the European Council, after which he will honor several bilateral talks. “We will sign three security agreements, including one with the entire EU,” specified the head of state in a message posted on X.
ZELENSKY
President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was convinced that the new French government which will emerge from the legislative elections would maintain its support for Ukraine in the face of Russia, Thursday in an exclusive comment made to AFP.
These comments come as elections scheduled for June 30 and July 7 in France could bring to power the far-right National Rally (RN) party, regularly criticized for its proximity to Vladimir Putin’s regime.
“We believe that the French will continue to support Ukraine whatever the political situation,” Mr. Zelensky said in a written comment to AFP.
“Similarly, by the will of the French people, the next government will continue to fully support Ukraine both on the battlefield” and in its accession to the EU, he continued.
MEDIA
France denounced Thursday “the policy of violation of press freedom and intimidation of journalists working in the service of independent information”, two days after Moscow decided to block the broadcast of 81 European media on its territory .
“France condemns the decision taken by Russia to ban the broadcasting of several dozen European media in Russia,” said a press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“This unjustified decision will not allow us to hide the reality of the illegal Russian war of aggression in Ukraine,” adds French diplomacy.
Moscow announced on Tuesday that it was blocking access to the broadcasting of 81 European media outlets on its territory, including the AFP website, the German media Der Spiegel, the Spanish El Mundo and El Pais, and the Italian television RAI… in “retaliation” for the EU’s decision in May to ban four Russian state media outlets.
UPDATE ON THE SITUATION
Here is the news from the last 24 hours concerning the war between Ukraine and Russia:
- The “espionage” trial of American journalist Evan Gershkovich, who has been detained in Russia for 15 months on charges he denies, opened on Wednesday. Mr Gershkovich, 32, was arrested in March 2023 while reporting in Yekaterinburg by the Russian security service (FSB), becoming the first Western journalist since Soviet times to be accused of espionage in Russia. The US embassy in Moscow called on Russian authorities to release him “immediately”. “We have made it clear from the outset that Evan committed no wrongdoing and should not have been arrested,” the embassy said on social media.
- Five Lithuanians were injured on Wednesday in Pokrovsk, in the Donetsk region (east) of Ukraine, by bombings while they were traveling by car and providing material aid to soldiers from that country.
- The Paris Court of Appeal issued an unfavorable opinion on Wednesday against the extradition of a Russian requested by his country for attempted murder, considering that Moscow did not provide the guarantees necessary for holding a fair trial. The suspect, 43, is being prosecuted in Russia for attempted murder in March 2023 and giving a bribe in a penitentiary establishment.
DIRECT
Hello everyone. You will be able to follow in this live today all the information on the war in Ukraine.
An unprecedented operation after more than two and a half years of conflict. A first direct meeting took place on Tuesday between Ukrainian and Russian representatives on the sidelines of a major exchange of prisoners of war, kyiv and Moscow announced on Wednesday. The belligerents announced on Tuesday evening that 90 prisoners of war from each side had been exchanged, following mediation by the United Arab Emirates.
“Yesterday, during the exchange of prisoners of war, representatives of the Russian ombudsman’s office arrived for the first time to record possible human rights violations”Ukrainian human rights commissioner Dmytro Loubinets said on Telegram on Wednesday. “During this joint work, representatives of the two offices interviewed prisoners released from both the Russian and Ukrainian sides.”he clarified.
A Ukrainian initiative
Contacted by AFP to give more details on this operation, Mr. Loubinets explained that“This was a new initiative of Ukraine, to which the Russian side agreed for the first time.” “It was representatives (…) and not the human rights commissioners themselves who were on site during this exchange”specified the Ukrainian official.
Her Russian counterpart, Tatiana Moskalkova, for her part said on Telegram that Russian representatives had “met with a representative of the Ukrainian Human Rights Commissioner, (interview) during which they exchanged information on possible options for the mutual return of civilians currently in detention centers”.
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Russia and Ukraine have exchanged hundreds of prisoners since the Russian invasion began in February 2022 and regularly exchange the remains of soldiers killed on the front.
