Did you miss the latest events on the war in Ukraine? 20 Minutes takes stock for you every evening. Between the strong declarations, the progress on the front and the results of the fighting, here is the main part of this Saturday, the 948th day of the conflict.
Fact of the day
Nine people were killed, including a nurse, and nearly twenty others injured Saturday in a double Russian strike targeting a hospital, the Saint-Pantalémon Clinic, located in the Sumy region, in the northeast of Ukraine, Ukrainian regional authorities announced.
Russia, which struck using “Shahed drones (explosives, editor’s note.),” is “waging war on hospitals, civilian infrastructure and people’s lives. Only force can force Russia into peace,” insisted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. “Peace through strength is the only right path.”
According to Interior Minister Igor Klymenko, a first attack “killed one person” and damaged several floors of a hospital, which led to its evacuation. While rescuers and police arrived on site, “the enemy struck again during the evacuation of patients,” the minister explained.
Today’s statement
« The first priority is to engage against an expansion of the battlefield, an escalation of fighting and any provocation from any side. »
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned on Saturday at the UN against an “expansion” of the conflict in Ukraine, calling on all parties to avoid “provocations”. “The first priority is to engage against an expansion of the battlefield, an escalation of fighting and any provocation from any party,” Wang Yi said in New York, assuring that China was always ready to play a “constructive role ” towards peace negotiations.
The number of the day
77. This is the number of drones and missiles that Russia sent to Ukraine during the night from Friday to Saturday, according to a press release from the Ukrainian Air Force. It details that these are two Iskander-M ballistic missiles from occupied Crimea, two Kh-59/69 cruise missiles from the occupied Zaporizhia region and seventy-three Shahed type drones launched from several oblasts of Russia and occupied Crimea.
The trend
The head of Russian diplomacy Sergei Lavrov on Saturday once again warned European states against any confrontation with Moscow if they continue their “suicidal adventure” alongside Ukraine.
Speaking from the podium of the UN General Assembly in place of President Vladimir Putin who has not visited New York for years, Mr. Lavrov also warned against the possible entry of Ukraine “within NATO”. The West “hopes to defeat Russia by using the neo-Nazi and illegitimate regime in kyiv, but it is already preparing Europe to embark on a suicidal adventure,” threatened the head of Russian diplomacy.
