War in Ukraine: drone attacks in Belgorod, the French ambassador to Russia summoned… update on the situation

Des attaques ukrainiennes de drones ont fait six morts et 35 blessés dans la région de Belgorod en Russie. MAXPPP – SERGEY KOZLOV (Illustration)

Every day, Midi Libre takes stock of the situation in Ukraine. This Monday, May 6, 2024, discover the latest news around this conflict.

Russia to conduct nuclear weapons exercises in the face of "Western threats"

Russia announced this Monday, May 6, 2024, upcoming military exercises, including tactical nuclear weapons, after what the Minister of Defense described as provocative threats from Western leaders. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the exercises were ordered by Vladimir Putin and will aim to test the suitability of non-strategic nuclear forces for combat missions. The tests aim to ensure the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Russia "in response to provocative and threatening statements by some Western leaders against the Russian Federation", specifies the ministry in a press release.

The Kremlin criticized Emmanuel Macron's comments last week on sending Western ground troops to Ukraine and accused the head of British diplomacy, David Cameron, of ;#39;powering an "escalation" in the conflict. In an interview with The Economist published last week, the French president reiterated his controversial proposal to send ground troops to Ukraine if the Russian army came to ' quot;piercing the front lines". David Cameron, the British Foreign Minister, estimated for his part that the weapons delivered by the United Kingdom to Ukraine could be used "to strike in Russia since the Russia strikes in Ukraine".

Six dead after drone attacks on Russian Belgorod region

Ukrainian drone attacks left six dead and 35 injured in the Belgorod region in Russia, the region's governor announced this Monday, May 6, 2024. The attack took place near the village of Bezezovka and targeted two buses carrying people, Governor Vyatcheslav Gladkov said. A man is in critical condition and two children have superficial injuries, he added. The Belgorod region, bordering Ukraine, has been the subject of repeated attacks by the Ukrainian army over the past year. Separately, Russian drone attacks temporarily disrupted power supplies to parts of the Sumy region in northeastern Ukraine, officials said.

kyiv says its defense forces shot down 12 drones in the region overnight from Sunday to Monday. "Electricity supply has been restored to affected localities and parts of Sumy city", declared the military administration of the region on the Telegram platform. The Ukrainian Air Force said Russia launched 13 drone attacks targeting Ukraine. Reuters was unable to independently verify this information. Russia did not comment.

France has not sent troops to Ukraine, declares the Quai d'Orsay

France denied this Monday, May 6, 2024 the sending of troops to Ukraine, denouncing a new campaign of "disinformation" against him. "The disinformation campaigns on France's support for Ukraine are not weakening, the proof", we can read on account "X" of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which crosses out with a red cross two foreign media having mentioned the alleged sending of elements of the Foreign Legion to Ukrainian territory. "No, France did not send troops to Ukraine", adds the Quai d'Orsay.

This clarification comes as French President Emmanuel Macron reiterated in an interview with The Economist published last Thursday his controversial proposal to send ground troops to Ukraine if the Russian army came to "pierce the front lines". The Kremlin considered these remarks "very dangerous".

The French ambassador to Russia summoned by the Russian authorities

Russian authorities have summoned the French ambassador to Moscow, Pierre Lévy, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Monday, without specifying the reason. The ambassador has already been summoned several times while relations between Paris and Moscow have deteriorated since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

France represented by its ambassador during Putin's inauguration-source

France will be represented by its ambassador to Russia, Pierre Lévy, during Vladimir Putin's inauguration ceremony on Tuesday in Moscow, a diplomatic source told Reuters this Monday, May 6, 2024. Vladimir Putin, in power for almost a quarter of a century, was unsurprisingly re-elected as leader of the Kremlin during the presidential election which took place in March.