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10:08 : Accused by Washington of wanting to supply arms to Russia, the Chinese government has denied this possibility. “We do not accept the United States pointing fingers at China-Russia relations, much less exerting pressure and coercion”said Wang Wenbin, a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
10:01 a.m. : Released and then rearrested in Mariupol, Roman and Oleksandr say they then spent 92 days in inhumane conditions in the sordidly reputed Olenivka prison. As soon as they arrive, they are placed in a cell of about 18 m2, with 45 other people, according to them. “It was scary, some of the people stayed up and the other had to curl up to sleep” on the ground, for lack of space. Find their testimonials in our article.
10:00 a.m. : “I was in a lot of pain. I was covered in bruises, I couldn’t walk, sit or lie down.”
The two Ukrainians were then taken to a Russian forces command post in Tokmak, according to their accounts. Inside, men “chechens”, according to the two volunteers, ordered them to face the wall before putting a bag over their heads. “Roman asked questions and they started beating him”, says his fellow driver. On two occasions, according to their respective testimonies, the volunteers were struck in the liver, kidneys and knees.
09:50 : Roman and Oleksandr were arrested on the road to Mariupol, when they were supposed to deliver humanitarian aid there. After the first two nights, they were taken to a field. A guard then handed them two shovels and said: “You will dig your own graves”, pointing to what he presented as the graves “of volunteers bringing aid to a Ukrainian battalion”.
09:49 : They now live in safety, in a country neighboring their native Ukraine. But Roman and Oleksandr are no longer the same men. “I think I took ten years”, says Roman, 39, his teeth, liver and kidneys still damaged. For Oleksandr*, barely 25 years old, “anxiety does not pass”. These Ukrainian volunteers were arrested, beaten and held prisoner for more than three months by Russian and separatist forces. I collected their testimonies.
(ASTRID AMADIEU / FRANCEINFO)
09:47 : Still in this interview at Corriere della Sera (in Italian), Volodymyr Zelensky recalled that the defense of Bakhmout was important, “but not at any price and so that everyone dies”. “We will fight to a reasonable point”he assured.
09:34 : “It will be a useless dialogue, in reality Macron is wasting his time.“
In an interview at Corriere della sera (in Italian), the Ukrainian president no longer believes in dialogue with Russia. “We are not in a position to change the Russian attitude. If they have decided to isolate themselves in the dream of rebuilding the former Soviet empire, there is nothing we can do about it, it is up to them whether or not to cooperate with the community of nations on the basis of mutual respect (… ) It was rather the decision to go to war that marginalized Putin”said the leader.
09:17 : #7h50: the announcement ??Thursday evening, @LaTourEiffel will light up in the colors of Ukraine in solidarity with the Ukrainian people. One year after the start of the war, @Paris reaffirms its unwavering support for the Ukrainian people!# StandWithUkraine https://t.co/v6e1ANIRc3
09:17 : One year after the start of the conflict, the Eiffel Tower will light up on Thursday in the colors of Ukraine “in solidarity with the Ukrainian people”, announced on Twitter the mayor of Paris. The city “reaffirms its unwavering support for the Ukrainian people”added the mayor.
07:41 : “Bakhmut is our fortress. We won’t give up the city. The Ukrainians are Cossacks. They are ready to die to defend their families, because we are not slaves.”
Russian forces are tightening their grip on Bakhmout a little more each day. But the city of Donbass, in eastern Ukraine, is still controlled by troops from kyiv who are resisting the deluge of fire and the assaults of Russian forces.
07:43 : “It’s a first year of life that goes by without me. It’s very difficult. It’s very hard for him too because we were cycling non-stop. We were inseparable.”
In Ukraine, eight million mothers and children have fled the country, or one in five Ukrainians. Many fathers have not seen their children for almost a year. This is the case of Andrei, who lives in Mykolaiv, a city shelled for months by the Russian army.
07:04 : We begin the press review with the situation in Ukraine. The first year of the conflict will end and Release, The Parisian and the Latest News from Alsace make their one on this “dirty war” for which 60,000 war crimes investigations have been opened.
