War in Ukraine: agreement reached between Joe Biden and Emmanuel Macron, Sukhoi Su-57 fighter plane… an update on the situation

Le point sur la situation. MAXPPP – Vyacheslav Madiyevskyy/Avalon

Every day, Midi Libre takes stock of the situation in Ukraine. This Monday, June 10, 2024, discover the latest news about this conflict.

22 dead after a bombing by Ukrainian forces in Sadove,

The pro-Russian authorities in the Kherson region, in southern Ukraine, accused Ukrainian forces on Friday of bombing the village of Sadove, killing 22 and injuring 15.

Vladimir Saldo, the governor appointed by Moscow to lead the occupied zone of Kherson Oblast, said Ukrainian forces had deliberately struck the area a second time, using a missile fired from one of the HIMARS rocket launchers supplied by the United States.

He indicated on Telegram that a business in Sadove had been targeted, adding that 22 people had been killed and 15 others injured, including five seriously.

The TASS news agency reported statements made by Vladimir Saldo to journalists that "after the first strike, people living nearby rushed to the scene to help the injured. Shortly after, a HIMARS missile hit (the area). Two children were killed. Ukrainian forces "deliberately carried out a second strike in order to cause more casualties", he added. Leonid Pasetchnik, the Moscow-appointed governor of the Luhansk region in northeastern Ukraine, also declared that a Ukrainian strike had left three dead and 35 injured.

The Russian Defense Ministry reported that the Ukrainian army used ATACMS missiles, supplied by the United States, during the attack on Luhansk.

Ukraine has not made any comments on these incidents.

Ukraine says it has reached a Sukhoi Su-57 for the first time

Ukrainian forces have hit a latest-generation Russian Sukhoi Su-57 fighter jet for the first time, the defense intelligence agency GUR said on Sunday, releasing satellite images which it said confirmed the strike.

In a message published on Telegram, the GUR did not specify how the Su-57 was hit or by which unit of the Ukrainian army.

A popular Russian military blogger and war supporter, who calls himself Fighterbomber and focuses on aviation, said that the report of the Su-57 strike was correct and that ;rsquo;he had been hit by a drone.

Joe Biden says he has reached an agreement with Macron on the use of frozen Russian assets

US President Joe Biden said on Sunday that he had reached an agreement with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on the use of frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine in its war against Russia.

Asked whether he had discussed the issue with Emmanuel Macron and whether they had reached an agreement, Joe Biden, who ends a five-day visit to France on Sunday, replied: “Yes and yes”.

The issue of the use of frozen Russian assets will be at the heart of discussions at the next Group of Seven (G7) summit, which meets from June 13 to 15 in Italy.

G7 countries are considering how to use profits from Russian assets frozen shortly after Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022 to provide financial support to Kyiv.

Around 260 billion euros of Russian central bank funds are frozen worldwide, most of them in the European Union. These funds generate profits of 2.5 billion to 3.5 billion euros per year, which, according to the EU, are not contractually owed to Russia and therefore represent a financial windfall.

The United States is pushing to set up a loan to Ukraine backed by income from Russian sovereign assets but the project raises intense legal and diplomatic questions.

90 states and organizations registered at the summit on Ukraine, according to Switzerland

Ninety states and organizations have already registered to participate in the Ukraine peace summit to be held on June 15 and 16 in Switzerland, the Swiss government said on Monday.

The gathering, to which Russia was not invited, aims to "jointly define a road map" on how to involve Russia and Ukraine in a future peace process, Berne explained in a press release.

In January, Switzerland agreed to host the summit at the request of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. It has since tried to obtain the support of countries with closer relations with Moscow than the great Western powers.

Russia called the summit a waste of time. According to Berne, the country was not invited because it indicated that it was not interested.
Faced with the planned absence of Moscow, China, a close ally of the Kremlin, affirmed that the talks were only meaningful if Russia and Ukraine participated. Statements which have weakened hopes of any major progress during the discussions to be held in Switzerland.

The summit will also be an opportunity to address issues of general international interest, such as nuclear and food security, freedom of navigation and humanitarian issues, such as prisoners of war, said Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis.