Did you miss the latest events on the war in Ukraine? 20 Minutes takes stock for you every evening. Between the strong declarations, the advances on the front and the results of the fighting, here is the essential part of this Monday, the 1006th day of the war.
Fact of the day
The Russian army claimed this Monday to have shot down eight ballistic missiles coming from Ukraine, without specifying whether they were American-made aerial bombs, in the midst of an escalation of the conflict, with Moscow threatening to strike the West if their weapons are used in Russian territory.
“Air defense downed eight ballistic missiles, six American-made JDAM guided aerial bombs as well as 45 drones,” said the Russian Defense Ministry, which provided no details on the type of missiles or the targets.
For its part, Ukraine said on Monday morning that it had struck several military targets on Russian territory, without specifying what weapons had been used. A civilian was killed in the Russian region of Belgorod, according to authorities, in a Ukrainian drone attack. Ukrainian explosive drones also struck a fuel depot in the Russian region of Kaluga overnight, according to a source within Ukrainian military intelligence.
At the same time, new Russian attacks left dozens injured in the city centers of Kharkiv (northeast) and Odessa (southwest) in Ukraine. In Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second city, 23 people were injured, including 14 hospitalized during a morning attack, which damaged “more than 40 buildings”, according to the latest report announced by the regional governor. In the Black Sea port city of Odessa, at least 11 people were injured in a missile strike.
Today’s statement
« “I remain dismayed by the scale and frequency of Russia’s use of riot control agents as a means of warfare against Ukrainian forces” »
The words are signed Bonnie Jenkins, the US Under Secretary of State for Arms Control, during the annual meeting of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). This organization announced on November 18 that it had discovered CS riot gas in samples provided by Ukraine, coming from the area where it is fighting Russian forces which it accuses of using it. The OPCW Chemical Weapons Convention prohibits the use of riot control agents, including CS gas, “as means of warfare.”
“Russia already lied when it said it had no intention of invading Ukraine. She also lied when she said she did not use riot control officers in violation of the Convention,” said Bonnie Jenkins. This is the first time that the use of anti-riot gas has been confirmed in areas where fighting is taking place in Ukraine, according to the OPCW, which however stressed that it is not seeking to identify the source.
Russia’s representative, Kirill Lysogorsky, responded, saying that “the West is trying to settle scores with countries it considers undesirable.”
The number of the day
30. This is the number of additional Russian ships subject to sanctions by the United Kingdom, the British government announced, bringing the number of ships subject to sanctions to 73. The latter belong to what is called the Russian “ghost fleet”. Made up of around 600 tankers, this fleet transports nearly 1.7 million barrels of oil per day, bypassing Western restrictions imposed since the invasion of Ukraine.
The United States, for their part, sanctioned 39 and the European Union, 19. Around fifty countries and the European Union signed the call to act against the “ghost fleet”.
The trend
Electoral earthquake Monday in Romania: a pro-Russian candidate that no one expected came first in the first round of the presidential election and is preparing for a duel on December 8 against a political novice, according to the almost final results.
After the counting of more than 99% of the ballots, Calin Georgescu, 62 years old, opposed to aid to neighboring Ukraine and critic of NATO, collected 22.94% of the votes cast, ahead of Elena Lasconi, 52 years old. , center-right mayor of a small town (19.17%) during the election held on Sunday. Pro-European Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, who was the favorite, was demoted to third position with only a thousand votes difference (19.15%).
Our file on the war in Ukraine
The Kremlin said this Monday that it “does not know” Calin Georgescu well. Its accession to the second round is an upheaval for the country of 19 million inhabitants which had until now resisted nationalist postures, distinguishing itself from Hungary or Slovakia. The President of the Romanian Republic occupies an essentially ceremonial function but exercises significant moral authority and influence in foreign policy.
Source: www.20minutes.fr
