UPDATE ON THE SITUATION – «This aggression (against Ukraine) was a signal, that of the reign of brutal force»estimates François Bayrou during his general policy speech to the National Assembly.
The Ukrainian army indicated on Tuesday January 14 that it had struck a military chemical factory in Russia with missiles during the night. Energy and industrial sites were also targeted this morning. Le Figaro takes stock of the situation.
Bayrou deplores the “reign of brutal force”
The Prime Minister, François Bayrou, raised the situation of Ukraine at war against Russia during his general policy speech to the National Assembly this Tuesday, January 14. “Vladimir Putin’s Russia has set its sights on a sovereign country, a country the size of France”indicates François Bayrou.
“On February 24, 2022, with the indulgence of a certain number of currents of opinion, one of the main powers in the world, a geographical and military power, Vladimir Putin’s Russia set its sights on a sovereign country, Ukraine , to annex it. A country the size of France, which is an unprecedented fact on European soil for 75 years”adds the Prime Minister.
“This aggression was a signal, that of the reign of brutal force. It is on display today and immediately and significantly. Iran and North Korea have joined in supporting Vladimir Putin’s aggression. These are the other links in this chain of power, determined to no longer let themselves be stopped by the rules that we respect and whose legitimacy they now contest. Naturally, Chinese leaders are not left out. By rightly praising a multipolar world, China is in reality weaving the network of its economic, technological, diplomatic and military domination.assures the current mayor of Pau.
Major Pokrovsk mine in Ukraine shut down due to fighting
The Ukrainian group Metinvest announced on Tuesday the shutdown of the Pokrovsk mine, an essential economic pillar for the steel industry, and the evacuation of its staff, due to the fighting with the Russian army which is closing in on this locality.
“Metvinvest announces the suspension of operations at the Pokrovsk mine due to (…) the deterioration of the security situation”said this company in a press release. It is the only mine under kyiv control to produce coke, a coal necessary for the manufacture of steel, Ukraine’s second largest export product.
kyiv claims ‘most massive’ attack of war
The Ukrainian military said on Tuesday that the wave of nighttime strikes, which targeted industrial and military sites in Russia, was “the most massive” since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began three years ago.
“Ukrainian defense forces carried out the most massive strikes against military targets (…) at a distance of 200 to 1100 kilometers deep in Russia”indicated the Ukrainian General Staff in a press release.
Ukrainian strike against Russian military factory
The Ukrainian army said on Tuesday it had struck with missiles overnight a chemical factory producing explosives for the Russian army in the Russian border region of Bryansk.
“The drones managed to distract Russian air defenses, paving the way for missiles to hit the main targets” after which a new wave of drones struck infrastructure around this site, the Ukrainian army said in a statement.
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“A gas tank caught fire (…) following a drone attack”
A large-scale Ukrainian drone attack hit energy and industrial sites in two regions of Russia, hundreds of kilometers from the border, on Tuesday morning, causing fires, local authorities announced. Ukraine has increased air attacks in recent months against fuel depots, refineries and military sites in Russia to hamper the logistics of Russian forces fighting on Ukrainian territory.
Tuesday’s attack targeted the republic of Tatarstan and the Volga region of Saratov, both located several hundred kilometers from the Ukrainian border. In the suburbs of Kazan, capital of Tatarstan, “a gas tank caught fire (…) following a drone attack”indicated on Telegram the local government, ensuring that “no one was injured” and specifying that the regional leader, Rustam Minnikhanov, went to the scene of the fire.
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According to local media, which broadcast images of a large flame and a plume of black smoke rising into the sky, the attack targeted a liquefied gas depot near a chemical factory. In the Saratov region, located about 700 kilometers southeast of Moscow, “two industrial companies were damaged” following a “massive drone attack”regional governor Roman Boussarguine wrote on Telegram. A fire was caused by this attack on a company in Engels, he indicated, without specifying the nature of the damage caused to the second company struck, located in Saratov.
A Ukrainian official, Andriï Kovalenko, head of the center for combating disinformation, a government communications body, mocked the “shortcomings of the Russian air defense system”. “Oil refineries, oil depots, factories producing weapons components, all elements without which the Russian army will not be able to fight intensively”he assured.
Western missiles used by Ukraine, Russia accuses it
The Russian Defense Ministry on Tuesday accused Ukraine of targeting targets in the Russian border region of Bryansk using Western-made long-range missiles, saying it had shot them down and promising it would not remain “not unanswered”.
Six American ATACMS missiles and six British Storm Shadow missiles were fired from Ukrainian territory against “targets” of the Bryansk region, the Russian ministry said, saying that “all” had been shot. The Ukrainian army claimed to have struck with missiles at night a chemical factory producing explosives for the Russian army in this region.
