Tensions were high between Moscow and Washington on Tuesday evening after the fall of an American drone in the Black Sea.
The diplomatic situation became tense between the American and Russian authorities on Tuesday March 14, when the first accused the seconds of having caused the fall of one of their drones in the Black Sea, which Moscow denies. Earlier today, at least one person was killed and three others injured in a Russian shelling of central Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine.
Franceinfo returns to the highlights of the day on the front of the war in Ukraine.
Washington accuses Moscow of having caused the fall of an American drone, which Russia denies
The Russian army admitted that two of its fighters had intercepted an American drone in the Black Sea on Tuesday but assured that they had not hit it or caused it to fall. “The Russian fighters did not use their armaments, did not make contact with the drone and returned safely to their base”added the Russian Defense Ministry.
The United States announced that it had summoned the Russian ambassador to Washington. “We are in direct contact with the Russians, at the level of senior officials, in order to convey to them our strong objection to this insecure and unprofessional interception which caused the downing of our drone”US Foreign Affairs spokesman Ned Price told reporters.
At least one dead and three wounded in a bombing in Kramatorsk
At least one person was killed and three others injured in a Russian bombardment of central Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Facebook. Six residential buildings were damaged, he said, adding that rescue operations are continuing. The mayor of the city told him of 25 damaged buildings.
Lithuania called the Wagner Group on Tuesday a“terrorist organization” for its activities in Ukraine. This group of Russian mercenaries is notably present in Bakhmout, a city that Moscow has been trying to take since the summer, at the cost of heavy losses and where the Ukrainians are seeking to “win time” to prepare for a counter-offensive which, according to them, should not be long in coming.
Phosphorus ammunition fired at a locality near Bakhmout
White phosphorus incendiary ammunition was fired by the Russians on Tuesday at an uninhabited area in Chassiv Iar, near Bakhmout, AFP journalists noted. Two projectiles were launched at five-minute intervals in the afternoon, on a road at the southern exit of the locality and leading to Bakhmout.
Phosphorus munitions are incendiary weapons whose use is prohibited against civilians, but not against military targets, under a Convention signed in 1980 in Geneva. kyiv has accused Moscow of having used them on several occasions since the start of the conflict, in particular against the civilian population, which the Russian army categorically rejects.
Ukrainian cereals: consultations continue after a Russian proposal
Consultations in Geneva on an extension of the Ukrainian grain export deal that helped ease a global food crisis continue on Tuesday after a Russian proposal limiting it to two months, making its continuation uncertain. “The United Nations will do everything possible to preserve the integrity of the agreement and ensure its continuity”said Jens Laerke, a spokesman for the United Nations humanitarian agency (OCHA), whose boss, Martin Griffiths, is at the heart of the negotiations.
In Russia, poets opposed to the war charged
Three Russian poets, imprisoned after taking part in a reading against the conflict in Ukraine, have been accused of threatening “state security” and charged, the lawyer for one of them told AFP. According to Leonid Solovyov, the three young men are being prosecuted for “public calls to commit activities against state security”, but also for “incitement to hatred” in an “organized group”. They face a total of ten years in prison for these two counts, said the lawyer.
