War in Ukraine: American aid, 17 dead in a Russian strike on Chernihiv… an update on the situation

17 personnes tuées à Tchernihiv en Ukraine dans une frappe russe. EPA – SERHII OLEXANDROV

Tous les jours, Midi Libre fait le point sur la situation en Ukraine. Ce mercredi 17 avril 2024, découvrez les dernières actualités autour de ce conflit.

Towards a vote in the House on Saturday on aid to Ukraine and Israel

A vote will be held Saturday in the House of Representatives on additional security aid to Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific region, the 'speaker& ;#39; Republican of the House, Mike Johnson, who proposed several separate texts, after weeks of impasse.

A parliamentary committee unveiled during the day a bill providing some $60 billion in aid to Ukraine and its regional allies in the war against Russia. Another text is intended to allocate some 26 billion dollars to help Israel, in particular support for American military operations in the face of recent attacks against the Jewish state.

This announcement ends weeks of uncertainty over whether or not a vote will be held in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives on the envelope additional security requested by Democratic President Joe Biden. Mike Johnson announced on Monday that he had decided to split the $95 billion bill adopted two months earlier by the Senate, where Joe Biden's Democratic peers are in the majority, into four different texts.

The most conservative elected officials of the Republican Party are opposed to this additional spending, some having also wanted to link any additional aid to Ukraine to new border restrictions in the United States.

At least 17 dead in Russian strike on Chernihiv

Three Russian missiles hit the center of Chernihiv, in northern Ukraine, on Wednesday, killing at least 17 people and injuring more than sixty and damaging infrastructure, local authorities report.

For several weeks, Russia has been carrying out a massive campaign of strikes on the infrastructure of Ukraine, which is desperately awaiting increased military aid from its Western allies, particularly in anti-aircraft defense means. "This would not have happened if Ukraine had received sufficient air defense equipment and the international community's determination to counter Russian terror had been sufficient", President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Telegram messaging.

Videos obtained by Reuters show flames and columns of black smoke rising above Chernihiv, located about 150 kilometers from the capital kyiv and not far from the Belarusian border. Acting Chernihiv Mayor Oleksandr Lomako said three explosions shook a busy area of ​​the city shortly after 9 a.m. local time (0600 GMT). He said more than 60 people, including three children, were injured.

A multi-story building was destroyed and a hospital, an education center and dozens of vehicles were also damaged, he added. Local health authorities called on residents to donate blood and a day of mourning in the town was declared.

Germany calls for immediate strengthening of Ukraine's air defense

Germany has called on European Union and NATO countries to strengthen Ukraine's air defense as quickly as possible, officials said on Wednesday. responsible for these countries, while Russia relentlessly shells Ukrainian cities and energy infrastructure.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock have contacted many countries to ask them to quickly provide additional defense assets to kyiv, as part of the initiative which will be discussed this week at ;rsquo;a meeting of G7 foreign ministers.

Ukraine is facing a critical shortage of ammunition and in particular anti-aircraft missiles due to the blocking of aid from the United States by the Republicans, the majority in the House of Representatives, and the inability of the EU to keep its commitments in this area.

Taking advantage of this situation, Russia has increased strikes against Ukrainian cities, the latest having left at least 13 dead on Wednesday in Chernihiv, in the north of the country, which pushed President Volodymyr Zelensky to launch a new appeal for help.

The German initiative aims to convince Ukraine's allies to provide additional air defense assets without delay, a spokesperson for the German Defense Ministry said at a press briefing . "Because we see that the threats to Ukraine are evolving. Russia is increasingly using mass-produced glide bombs , which can be dropped at a great distance from the Ukrainian border", he said.

According to the spokesperson, several countries have already expressed their intention to participate in this Berlin initiative. Germany, the second largest supplier of military aid to Ukraine after the United States, recently promised Kiev an American-made Patriot air defense system, as well as missiles used for the ;feed.

Germany is the second largest donor of military aid to Ukraine after the United States and recently promised Ukraine an air defense system Patriot and American-made air defense missiles. "These systems must be delivered without delay", underlined a spokesperson for the German Foreign Ministry, according to which members of NATO and other countries have committed to reassessing the amount of weapons they can draw from their stockpiles.