War in Ukraine: Patriot missiles, Western arms train hit, pro-Russian espionage… update on the situation

Une bombe a touché la ville de Derhachi située dans l'oblast de Kharkiv. (illustration) MAXPPP – SERGEY KOZLOV

Tous les jours, Midi Libre fait le point sur la situation en Ukraine. Ce vendredi 26 avril 2024, découvrez les dernières actualités autour de ce conflit.

Spain to supply Patriot missiles to Ukraine

Spain will supply a small number of Patriot missiles to Ukraine, the daily El País reported on Friday, responding to urgent calls from the European Union and the European Union. rsquo;NATO to speed up deliveries of equipment to kyiv.

The intensification of Russian air attacks, against which the Ukrainian army appears a little more helpless every day, leads the West to demand greater efforts from countries with air defense systems. defense, like Greece and Spain.

If Athens indicated on Thursday that it would not be able to provide such devices, Spain seems on the contrary to give in to the injunctions of its partners.

Citing unidentified government sources, El País writes that Madrid rules out supplying Patriot anti-aircraft missile launchers while agreeing to supply the missiles themselves. "The number will be very limited because the Spanish reserves are around 50 units and the interceptors are very expensive."

Washington announces $6 billion in military aid to Ukraine

US Defense Minister Lloyd Austin announced on Friday a new round of $6 billion in aid to Ukraine, as Washington tries to catch up in its deliveries to Kiev after months of deadlock in Congress.

The new component is the second announced this week, following billion-dollar aid to kyiv unveiled on Wednesday. These two amounts are part of the budget of 61 billion dollars in assistance to Kiev voted this week in Congress and subsequently promulgated by Joe Biden, Ukraine currently encountering difficulties in his war against Russia.

Pro-Russian espionage will not prevent NATO support for Ukraine, says NATO chief ;NATO

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg ruled on Friday that the "unacceptable" Pro-Russian espionage and plots revealed in Germany and the United Kingdom would not prevent Alliance support for Ukraine.

"Such acts are dangerous and unacceptable", he declared in Berlin during’ a press conference with Chancellor Olaf Scholz. "They will not dissuade us from providing support to Ukraine and we are closely coordinating our response to any hostile acts against the NATO allies", he assured.

Agriculture Minister detained for corruption, then released on bail

Ukrainian Agriculture Minister Mykola Solsky was arrested and briefly detained on Friday on suspicion of corruption before being released on bail of nearly 1.8% ;nbsp;million euros.

The minister is accused of having illegally acquired land belonging to the State, for more than 6.5 million euros, during a period from 2017 to 2021, before his appointment to the government in March 2022. The Ukrainian courts ordered his detention, but Mykola Solsky later told Reuters that he had been released on bail.

The Minister of Agriculture, 44, submitted his resignation on Thursday but remains in office until Parliament decides on his request. An investigation is underway and the public prosecutor announced on Thursday that the minister was liable to a maximum sentence of 12 years in prison in view of the accusations brought against him.

Moscow claims to have hit a train carrying Western weapons

The Russian army claimed on Friday to have struck a train in the Ukrainian region of Donetsk (east) transporting Western weapons delivered to kyiv, an announcement coming after a series of strikes on railways from Ukraine.

"A train with Western weapons and military equipment was hit near the town of Oudatchné", indicated the Russian Ministry of Defense, without further details on the result of this strike.

Trump willing to renew his partnership with Viktor Orban

Donald Trump said he was ready to renew his partnership with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in a video broadcast Friday during a conference in Budapest bringing together personalities belonging to the European radical rights and American.

"I look forward to getting back to working closely with Prime Minister Orban when I become the 47th President of the United States", declared Donald Trump who must be officially designated this summer as the Republican Party's candidate for the presidential election next November.

Donald Trump's message was broadcast during CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference), an event bringing together ultraconservative personalities gathered for the third time in Budapest to bridge the gap between American Trumpists and the right European radicals. "I am proud to have worked with Prime Minister Orban when I was president", said Donald Trump, who welcomed ;rsquo;having been able to promote with Viktor Orban the "values ​​and interests of the two nations." "We cracked down on illegal immigration, protected our borders, created jobs and defended our Judeo-Christian values", he said.< /p>

Reappointed for a fourth term in 2022, Viktor Orban is seen as a model by many American ultraconservatives who welcome his firmness on immigration, his support for the family and Christian conservatism. Viktor Orban met Donald Trump last March in Florida for a meeting at the end of which he said he was convinced that only the return of Donald Trump to the White House would be likely to bring peace to Ukraine .

In a speech delivered Thursday at CPAC, he recalled that 2024 was a busy year for elections around the world and urged conservatives to join forces to end "the hegemony of the left".

Forbes magazine journalist detained

Serguei Mingazov, a journalist for the Russian edition of Forbes magazine, was arrested and remanded in custody in Russia on charges of &quot ;spreading fake news" on the Russian army, the publication reported on Friday.

Sergueï Mingazov's lawyer specifies on Facebook that the journalist was imprisoned in Khabarovsk, in the Russian Far East, the city where he lives. Forbes Russia states that it was unable to get in touch with him. Forbes is an American business magazine headquartered in New York.

Sergueï Mingazov is accused, according to his lawyer, of having reposted on Telegram messaging publications on alleged war crimes by the Russian army in the Ukrainian town of Boutcha, a few weeks after the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022. The Kremlin rejected these accusations, denouncing "a monstrous manipulation".