Trump veto, “conspiracy” and tensions between Paris and Moscow fail

Have you missed the latest on the war in Ukraine? don't panic, 20 minutes Takes stock for you every evening at 7:30pm. Who did what? Who said what? Where are we? The answer is below.

Today's reality

At least four people were killed and another wounded in a Russian attack on the city center of Kherson in southern Ukraine on Monday, according to the head of the local military administration, Roman Mrochkov. “Three of the dead were men aged 45 and 50 who were in the car [le quatrième est] A woman was on the street during the attack,” he lamented in a telegram, adding that another injured person was hospitalized. The soldier accuses Russia of wanting to “kill and injure civilians” in the city of Kherson, a symbol of the Ukrainian opposition, which Kremlin troops withdrew in November 2022 after occupying it for months.

The deadly strike came two days after a bombing of a bakery in Lysytsaskan in occupied eastern Ukraine, which Moscow blamed on Kyiv troops. At least 28 people died, according to Russian emergency services. Among them, there will be three official representatives of the Russian occupation and in particular the “Minister of Emergency Situations of the Luhansk People's Republic”, Colonel Oleksii Potaleshchenko. Kien has yet to officially respond to the allegations.

Number of days

6. This is the number of “explosive devices” that Georgian security services say they intercepted “in a mini-van belonging to a Ukrainian”. Tbilisi says “a plot” aimed at transporting these explosives to the Russian border has been foiled. Andrei Sarashitze, a Ukrainian of Georgian origin, is accused of being the “mastermind” of the convoy. Seven Georgians, three Ukrainians and two Armenians would have taken part in the transport without knowing the explosives, despite being invaded by Russia in 2008, reference the security services of this former Soviet republic in the Caucasus.

Relations between Kyiv and Tbilisi worsened in 2021 when Mikheil Saakashvili, the former pro-Western president of Georgia, who holds Ukrainian citizenship, was arrested. This episode of the famous “conspiracy” is unlikely to improve them.

Today's report

« Only an idiot or a far-left Democrat would vote for this monstrous bill [prévoyant notamment une aide 60 milliards de dollars à Kiev] » »

Donald Trump took to his social media site Truth Social this Monday to warn Republicans in Congress from voting on the much-anticipated package deal in Ukraine. After months of negotiations, the U.S. Senate released a resolution Sunday evening offering $60 billion in aid to Ukraine, $14 billion to Israel and reform of the U.S. immigration system. “We need a separate bill on the migration issue, which should not be linked in any way to aid to a foreign country,” says the former president, a candidate for the November presidential election.

Without the support of Republicans in the House, most of whom are loyal to Donald Trump, the speech supported by Joe Biden cannot succeed. Because to pass this huge bill, both houses of Congress must approve it. Democrats have a majority in the Senate, but Republicans control the House. Remember that if elected, Donald Trump says he will resolve the conflict between Russia and Ukraine “within 24 hours.”

Today's trend

Russian Ambassador to France Alexei Mechkov was summoned to the French Foreign Ministry on Monday, which reiterated France's condemnation of Russian strikes that killed two French humanitarian workers in Ukraine last Thursday. The invitation comes amid heightened tensions between Paris and Moscow ahead of Emmanuel Macron's visit to Ukraine.

Paris condemned Moscow's act of “barbarism” over the deaths of two French humanitarian workers in Perisla. The Kremlin did not directly respond to this clarification imposed on its ambassador. “We hope that French public opinion on the conflict in Ukraine will lead to further reflection on the merits of their leaders' reactionary and dangerous line,” her spokeswoman Maria Zakharova announced on Monday.

But France also has criticisms of Russia in the information sector. Especially the numerous reports from Moscow about the “French mercenaries” who died in the strike in Kharkiv on January 16-17. False ads and false graffiti are circulating on the Internet to support the idea that Western public opinion is tired of supporting Volodymyr Zelensky. But Emmanuel Macron warned last Thursday that “Russia cannot count on any fatigue from Europeans in their support for Ukraine.”