Things to remember from Friday 19 August

Emmanuel Macron and Vladimir Putin spoke on the phone while the Pentagon pledged $775 million in new military aid to Kiev and Russian strikes claimed new casualties in Kharkiv and Donetsk province. FRANCEINFO returns to the highlights of the war front in Ukraine on Friday 19 August.

Emmanuel Macron and Vladimir Putin have called for an inspection of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant “as soon as possible”.

Whereas Moscow and Kiev accuse each other of attacking Ukraine’s Zaporizhia nuclear power plantThe Russian president estimated on Friday, August 19 “systematic bombing This site occupied by the Russian army, “Creates the risk of a large-scale catastrophe, leading to radioactive contamination of vast territories”. The two heads of state during a telephone conversation with Emmanuel Macron Called to arrange “asap” The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) visited the plant, the Kremlin said.

Elysée, for its part, assured that Vladimir Putin accepted the IAEA mission. “Ukraine under government control”, not by Russia or its occupied Ukrainian territories. It would also require the dispatch of IAEA experts “Ceasefire”, “Minimum hours of work”Elysee noted.

Washington announced $775 million in new military aid to Kyiv

This new aid will specifically include additional missiles US Himars precision artillery systems, according to senior US Defense Department official. These missile launchers allow kyiv to bombard targets several tens of kilometers away Within Russian-controlled Ukrainian territory. This includes mobile gun systems and additional bombs and drones.

For the first time, it also includes mine-resistant armored personnel carriers. “A good example of Ukrainians advancing their troops and reclaiming territory”, said a US spokesman. Another innovation is that the Ukrainians have adapted their Russian-made MiG bombers with anti-radar air-to-ground missiles: C.This is the first time that the US has fielded these supersonic missiles, which are designed to detect and destroy enemy air defense systems.

The American official finally insisted “The Russians’ complete lack of progress on the battlefield” Those last weeks. “We don’t see the region recovering” By Ukrainian forces, she admitted, “But we see a clear weakening of Russian positions in many places”.

Emmanuel Macron calls on the French to agree to “pay the price of freedom”.

During a speech in Bormes-les-Mimosas (Var), Emmanuel Macron Condemned “Heinous Attack” Vladimir Putin against Ukraine and appreciated “Heroic Resistance” In the face of the Ukrainian people “Horrible Attacks by the Russian Army and Its Subsidiaries”. In “This war is knocking at our door”The Head of State confirms“It takes strength of soul to face the times ahead, to face uncertainties, and sometimes to face adversity with ease, together, to agree to pay the price for our freedoms and our values”.

The Nord Stream gas pipeline will be closed for “maintenance” from August 31 to September 2

“On August 31, 2022, the only Trent 60 gas compression unit will be shut down for three days for maintenance” It will be attended by technical experts from Siemens, Gazprom said in a statement. The Russian gas company explains that gas supplies to Europe will therefore stop over time“Maintenance is required every 1000 hours”.

At the end of this period and “In the absence of technical defects”, supplies will resume with a gas flow of 33 million cubic meters per day, the company said. The announcement led to a further rise in European gas prices: the price of the Dutch TTF futures contract rose to 257.40 euros by the end of the session, an all-time high. The shutdown of supplies during a 10-day maintenance period in July had already raised concerns in European countries, which Moscow has accused of using the gas. “weapon of war”.

At least six people were killed in shelling in Donetsk and Kharkiv regions

In eastern Ukraine, fighting continues in the Donbass, Moscow’s top strategic objective. According to Ukrainian authorities, five deaths were reported in Donetsk province alone in the past 24 hours. In the country’s northeast, shelling hit Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second city, and at least one person died, according to local officials. At least 12 people have died in the area in the last two days, they said.