A couple tried for abuse of 8 of their 10 children
AFP
Ukraine: no heavy tank delivered to kyiv, Berlin singled out
Germany was singled out on Saturday by other European allies of kyiv after taking the decision not to deliver its heavy tanks to Ukraine at this stage, a position also deplored by Volodymyr Zelensky, at a time when the Russians are on the offensive. In a rare public criticism, Baltic foreign ministers on Saturday morning urged Berlin “to supply Ukraine with Leopard tanks now,” pleading “particular responsibility” for Germany, ” leading European power”. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky himself regretted Germany’s cautious position on Friday evening, saying he was convinced that “there is no other solution” for his allies than to deliver tanks to his army. Direct criticism of Berlin also came from a Republican US senator, Lindsey Graham, after a visit to kyiv on Friday. tanks and when,” he lambasted on Twitter. “To the Germans: send characters to Ukraine because they need them. (…) To the Biden administration: send American characters so that others follow our example”. In Ramstein in Germany, the fifty or so countries represented did not agree on Friday on the sending of heavy tanks to kyiv , despite repeated requests from kyiv. Quoted by The Voice of America, the Ukrainian Minister of Defense, Oleksiï Reznikov, however indicated that Ukrainian soldiers would soon train on Leopards in Poland: “We will start with there was always “a window of opportunity between now and spring” to deliver tanks resolutely. According to Russia, sending such devices would not change anything on the ground, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov accusing the West of maintaining the “illusion” of a possible Ukrainian victory. But for many experts, however, modern heavy tanks would be a real advantage for kyiv in the battles in the east of Ukraine, where Russia resumes the offensive after suffering heavy setbacks in the fall.- Tribute -In kyiv, Volodymyr Zelensky and Olena Zelenska, as well as many Ukrainian leaders paid a last tribute on Saturday morning to the Minister of the Interior, Denys Monastyrsky, who died on Wednesday in a helicopter crash with 13 other people. The president and his wife were dressed in black and carried flowers, noted an AFP journalist. Inside the building where the ceremony took place, located very close to Maidan Square in the heart of kyiv, seven coffins were brought, carried by men dressed in military uniform. The blue and yellow Ukrainian flag was displayed on each coffin, and black and white portraits of the victims beside it. In the audience, family members of the victims stood side by side, some in tears. “Glory to our heroes “, launched in heart the people present, at the end of the speech of a moderator. Outside, the Ukrainian and European flags were at half mast. A heavy police presence was visible all around the building. Mr. Monastyrsky’s funeral is due to be held later Saturday at a historic cemetery in the Ukrainian capital’s city center. – Movements in the Zaporizhia region – Elsewhere in Ukraine, authorities of the Russian occupation said Friday reported a “sharp increase in the intensity” of the clashes in the region of Zaporijjia (south), “along the entire front line”. “This had never happened before,” said a leader of the regional occupation authority, installed by Moscow, Vladimir Rogov. ” in a dozen villages in the region. The line of contact between the Ukrainian and Russian armies in this southern region has largely not moved for several months and no major fighting has taken place there, at the the opposite of the regions of Kherson (south), until November, and Donetsk (east), the current epicenter of the clashes. Around Bakhmout, fighting remained intense on Friday between Ukrainian and Russian armies, supported by the paramilitary group Wagner, designated Friday as an international criminal organization by the United States.According to a senior American official, Ukraine should focus on a major counter-offensive in the spring, and not on the defense of this city today largely ravaged and almost emptied of and its population. But Bakhmout has become a political stake and a major symbol: Volodymyr Zelensky went to the front line in December to galvanize his troops, while Russia would like to announce a success after a series of setbacks in the fall.bur/ alc