War in Ukraine: Putin's annual speech, destabilization of Moldova, Novaya Gazeta… update on the situation

Vladimir Poutine lors de son discours national annuel ce 29 février 2024. MAXPPP – DMITRY ASTAKHOV/SPUTNIK/GOVERNMENT PRESS SERVICE POOL/POOL

Every day, Midi Libre takes stock of the situation in Ukraine. This Thursday, February 29, 2024, discover the latest news around this conflict.

Putin brandishes nuclear threat in case of sending NATO soldiers to Ukraine

Vladimir Putin warned NATO member countries this Thursday of the risks of a nuclear conflict if they sent soldiers to Ukraine, a hypothesis raised on Monday by French President Emmanuel Macron and quickly dismissed by Washington and several European allies.

"(Western countries) must understand that we also have weapons capable of hitting targets on their territory" , declared the Russian president during an annual address to the nation delivered to the country's political and military elite. "All of this poses a real threat of conflict with the use of nuclear weapons and the destruction of our civilization. Don't they understand that ?" he continued.

Speaking a few weeks before a predetermined election, organized from March 15 to 17, which should give him a fifth presidential term, Vladimir Putin said touted the power of the Russian strategic nuclear arsenal "in a state of total availability". He noted that the next-generation hypersonic missiles, whose deployment he had announced in 2018, were either already deployed or under development.

The Kremlin leader said Russian forces had the initiative and were advancing on the Ukrainian battlefield, and would have to reinforce their numbers along its borders Western relations with the European Union due to the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO. The Russian president recalled the routs suffered by Russia's invaders, from Napoleon to Hitler, adding that the consequences today would be "even more tragic". "They see war like a cartoon", launched the head of the Kremlin to Western leaders, ignorant according to him of what an armed conflict means unlike Russia, which has been facing security challenges for thirty years.

Vladimir Putin also accused the West of seeking to drag Russia into an arms race. "Our task is therefore to develop the military-industrial complex to increase the scientific, technological and industrial potential of the country", he said said.

On domestic policy issues, the Russian president promised to release new funds for family policy, granting tax exemptions to families with children and additional funds to regions with the lowest rates of poverty. birth rate in Russia.

Vladimir Putin also wanted the government and Parliament to consider tax reform in order to tax more the country's richest individuals and companies.

Ukraine repels Russian attacks but the situation remains difficult

Ukrainian troops have pushed back Russian fighters from the village of Orlivka, west of Avdiivka, but the situation on the front remains difficult, it said. Thursday the chief of staff of the Ukrainian army, Oleksandr Syrsky. The village of Orlivka is located two kilometers northeast of Lastochkin, recently taken by Russia.

Russian forces seized the strategic town of Avdiivka last week after months of fighting and are increasing their pressure on different points on the front line, according to Ukrainian authorities. The Ukrainian army said this week it had withdrawn from two more villages near Avdiivka, losing ground as Kiev made repeated calls for stronger support from its Western allies.

"The enemy continues its active offensive actions in several regions of the front line. The situation is particularly tense in the areas of Avdiivka and Zaporizhia", Oleksandr Syrsky wrote on Telegram. The officer also specified that Ukrainian forces had shot down three Russian Sukhoi Su-34 tactical bombers in the Avdiivka and Mariupol sectors during the night from Wednesday to Thursday.

Russia did not react immediately. Visiting the conflict's eastern front, the general said he had resupplied troops with ammunition. "I have taken all measures to remedy the situation on the ground with the allocation of additional ammunition and material resources", said Oleksandr Syrsky.

The Ukrainian army is in difficulty on the Eastern Front and its leaders, supported by President Volodimir Zelensky, complain of a lack of weapons and ammunition that Western countries supporting Ukraine against Russia are struggling to fill.

Moldova faces "increasingly aggressive"destabilization

European countries examine measures to strengthen Moldova "faced with increasingly aggressive destabilization attempts" likely led by Russia, the deputy spokesperson for the Quai d'Orsay declared this Thursday.

The situation in Transnistria, a predominantly Russian-speaking separatist Moldovan region, is being followed with great attention, added Christophe Lemoine during a press briefing. The authorities of Transnistria asked Moscow on Wednesday to protect them against the economic and commercial pressures exerted, according to them, by Chisinau.

"The debate is therefore open on concrete measures", said Christophe Lemoine, specifying that the discussions would continue during a meeting of European Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defense which will be held in the coming days.

Novaya Gazeta editor-in-chief arrested in Moscow

Russian journalist Sergei Sokolov, editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta, was arrested this Thursday in Moscow for having "discredited" the army, the Russian newspaper and state media reported.

The arrest of Sergei Sokolov follows the publication of an article on the Russian army, engaged in a conflict in Ukraine since 2022, specifies Novaya Gazeta on its website, without providing further details. According to the Russian news agency TASS, Sergei Sokolov "published on the Telegram channel of Novaya Gazeta" documents presenting "signs of verbal discrediting of the actions" of the Russian army.

Sergueï Sokolov risks a fine of up to 50,000 rubles (507.94 euros), reported TASS and Novaya Gazeta. His predecessor, Dmitri Mouratov, co-winner of the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize, resigned last September to contest his designation by the authorities as "foreign agent".

This term is mainly used by the Russian authorities to discredit journalists, opposition figures or even NGOs whom they accuse of carrying out anti-state activities with the support from abroad.