“Libération” selects the most important news concerning the war between Russia and Ukraine this Tuesday.
Russia further increases army strength
Russia fears for its border. As Ukraine continues to attack the Russian region of Kursk, Vladimir Putin has decided to increase the number of troops by 15% by decree, bringing it to 1.5 million, compared to 1.32 million today. “This is due to the number of threats that weigh on our country” And “to an extremely hostile situation on our western borders”said Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov. This increase would make the Russian army the second largest in the world after China’s, according to Russian media. To recruit more and more, the authorities are conducting major communication campaigns across the country promising very high salaries and numerous tax and social benefits to potential recruits. Now, new recruits are being offered 5,200,000 rubles, or around 52,000 euros. A golden promise, which represents almost 8 times the average annual salary.
FSB says it has killed Ukrainian agent
Russian intelligence services have claimed to have shot dead a suspected Ukrainian military intelligence (GUR) agent accused of planning to carry out a bomb attack on a manager of an arms factory in the Sverdlovsk region. He has reportedly been arrested “while he was placing an improvised explosive device in a hiding place,” according to the version reported by the FSB, which says it found an improvised explosive device “of great power” and some “means of communication involving exchanges” with the Ukrainian services. The suspect is said to be a Russian citizen, born in 1984, who was recruited by the GUR, according to the Russian intelligence version.
Germany provides 100 million euros in aid to Ukraine for energy sector
As Ukraine’s energy infrastructure has been severely damaged by Russian bombing, causing regular power cuts, Germany announced on Tuesday an additional €100 million in aid to Ukraine for its energy sector. Kiev has been repeatedly calling on its Western allies to help rebuild its power grid, a project that requires major investments, and to provide more air defense equipment to counter Russian airstrikes.
Five years in prison for denouncing the assault in Ukraine
A 38-year-old Russian man has been sentenced to five years in a penal camp by a Moscow court for criticizing the offensive in Ukraine during a street interview, according to the state news agency TASS. Yuri Kokhovets responded spontaneously in July 2022 to a request for an interview by the media outlet Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty with passers-by on the streets of Moscow. While hundreds of opposition figures, activists and ordinary Russians have been imprisoned for expressing their disagreement with the assault in Ukraine, this is the first known case of prosecution for answering journalists’ questions.
