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UPDATE ON THE SITUATION – The British Prime Minister, visiting Poland, announced a new contribution of £500 million to Ukraine’s war effort against the Russian invasion.
Rishi Sunak in Poland to announce new military aid to Ukraine. Odessa is once again subject to drone attacks. China condemns “unfounded accusations” of the United States on its alleged support for the Russian war industry… Le Figaro takes stock of the situation.
London to increase defense spending, new aid to Ukraine
The United Kingdom will significantly increase its defense spending by 2030, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced Tuesday in Warsaw, while pledging to provide additional aid of 500 million pounds to Ukraine .
Visiting Poland, Mr Sunak explained that this “greatest strengthening of national defense in a generation” was necessary when “an axis of autocratic states like Russia, Iran and China are increasingly working together to undermine democracies and reshape the global order”.
He stressed that these countries were investing “massively in their own militaries, in their cyber capabilities and in low-cost technologies, such as the Shahed attack drones that Iran sent towards Israel last weekend”.
kyiv suspends consular services for men of fighting age
Ukraine announced on Tuesday that it had suspended its consular services for men aged 18 to 60, after the head of Ukrainian diplomacy announced upcoming measures to bring back to the country men of fighting age.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced a temporary suspension of the receipt of new applications for consular services regarding the mentioned category of Ukrainian citizens”Ukrainian diplomacy indicated in a press release, specifying that this concerned men aged 18 to 60.
Nine injured in Russian drone attack on Odessa
A nighttime attack by Russian drones left nine people injured, including four children, in Odessa, a large port city on the Black Sea in southern Ukraine, the regional governor said on Tuesday. This umpteenth Russian strike against Odessa has “damaged residential buildings” and caused a fire, Governor Oleg Kiper said on Telegram. Among the injured were two babies under the age of one and two children aged nine and 12, who were hospitalized, as well as three adults, the governor said. One person was also injured by falling debris from a drone shot down in the Mykolaiv region, also in the South.
In total, Russia fired two Iskander ballistic missiles and 16 Shahed-type explosive drones at Ukraine overnight from Monday to Tuesday, the Ukrainian army said. Fifteen of these drones were shot down by air defense, including seven in the Odessa region and four in the Mykolaiv region, according to the army. Kyiv, a less frequently targeted city, was also targeted by explosive drones overnight, but they were all shot down by air defense, without causing damage or casualties, the capital’s military administration said.
Beijing condemns Washington’s ‘unfounded’ claims over alleged support for Russian war industry
China on Tuesday condemned, on the eve of a visit by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, what it called“unfounded accusations” of the United States according to which Beijing would support the Russian army in Ukraine. “The United States unveiled a large-scale aid bill to Ukraine while making unfounded accusations against routine trade between China and Russia”declared a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Wang Wenbin. “This type of approach is extremely hypocritical and completely irresponsible and China strongly opposes it”he added.
“China has always maintained an objective and fair position, actively advocated peace talks and pushed for a political resolution”Wang said on Tuesday. “China consistently enforces regulations on the export of dual-use goods”he added. “China is neither the origin nor a party to the Ukrainian crisis and has never added fuel to the fire”he continued. “We will not accept that others pass the buck or blame us”he concluded.
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