UPDATE ON THE SITUATION – In a video published on his Telegram channel, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that he had visited one of the sectors where the Russians have been on the offensive for several weeks.
Volodymyr Zelensky is visiting the Donesk region while Ukraine welcomes the appointment of Mark Rutte as head of NATO. At the same time, gynecologists travel to the “forgotten cities”. Le Figaro takes stock of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict this Wednesday, June 26.
Zelensky on the Eastern Front with his soldiers
The Ukrainian president announced that he had gone to a town in the eastern region of Donetsk, close to a particularly difficult area of the front, on Wednesday to meet his troops. “I started this day in the Donetsk region, with our soldiers, with Commander-in-Chief (Oleksandr) Syrsky and the new commander of the joint forces, General (Andrii) Gnatov”, he announced in a video published on his Telegram channel. The president is filmed there in front of the sign for the town of Pokrovsk, an area where the Russians have been on the offensive for weeks.
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Brigadier General Gnatov is “young, but his knowledge of the front line and his experience are exactly what we need”, Zelensky emphasized. Gnatov was appointed to the post on Monday and replaces General Yuri Sodol, who was accused of incompetence leading to the deaths of soldiers and setbacks at the front by a popular military commander. “General Gnatov’s task is obvious: destroy the occupier and, above all, save as many lives of our soldiers as possible”Zelensky argued.
The president also raised the question of aid to communities in the Donetsk region, one of the most affected by the fighting. He criticized government officials in charge of these issues for not having visited the area for months, promising “a serious conversation” about this in kyiv and “appropriate conclusions”. “People need immediate solutions, solutions that are not visible from kyiv”Zelensky argued. “I was surprised to find that some government officials had not been here for six months or more”he said.
Ukraine welcomes Rutte’s appointment as NATO president
The Ukrainian presidency on Wednesday welcomed the appointment of Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte as NATO Secretary General, emphasizing his crucial role in confronting the Russian invasion in Ukraine. “Congratulations to Mark Rutte”wrote the head of the Ukrainian presidential administration Andriy Yermak on X. “Your leadership and your commitment to democratic principles are crucial to our common future”he added, thanking the Dutchman for his “unwavering support”.
The Ukrainian president welcomed the appointment of Mark Rutte as the next NATO secretary general, calling him “strong and principled leader”. “I know that Mark Rutte is a strong and principled leader who has demonstrated decisiveness and vision on numerous occasions over the past years”Zelensky said on the social network
Kremlin says it expects no change from Rutte’s NATO appointment
The Kremlin said on Wednesday that the appointment of Mark Rutte as the next NATO secretary general should not lead to any changes in the “general line” of the Alliance, which Russia judges «hostile». “It is unlikely that this choice will change anything in NATO’s general line”Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitri Peskov told the press. “At present, this alliance is hostile to us”he added.
Read alsoNATO carries out an unprecedented maneuver in Eastern Europe
In eastern Ukraine, traveling gynecologists for “forgotten” villages
In a medical office with bright purple chairs, Doctor Mykola Papine welcomes a slightly intimidated patient. A consultation like any other, except that it takes place in the relative privacy of an imposing white truck, parked in the central square of a village in eastern Ukraine. Normally, this 63-year-old gynecologist and obstetrician would see patients, in a more traditional way, in the Kramatorsk perinatal center where he runs a department. But it was bombed by the Russian army after its invasion began in 2022 and part of the building is still in ruins.
The war has transformed parts of its Donetsk region into a medical desert. “Many doctors have left”in search of security like part of the population, Papine tells AFP. In his center, there are only two specialists left out of the 18 who used to work there. Mykola Papine had also left the region during the first months of the Russian invasion, before returning. “Life goes on”explains this doctor with a gentle look. “Yes, it’s difficult, yes, there are bombings, but people need medical care”. Like other colleagues, he now travels the roads of Donbass to meet isolated patients, behind the wheel of these specially equipped trucks.
