War in Ukraine: Swedish aid, doubts from Nicolas Sarkozy, eight dead in a Russian strike… an update on the situation

Two bombs exploded in Kholodnohirsky on May 27, 2024. (illustration) MAXPPP – Nicolas Cleuet/Le Pictorium

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

Nicolas Sarkozy's doubts

Former President Nicolas Sarkozy issues "serious doubts" on the possibility mentioned by Emmanuel Macron of sending Western troops to Ukraine to fight Russia, in an interview posted online on Wednesday on the site internet of Figaro.

"Being strong with (Vladimir) Putin means taking the risk of negotiating directly and firmly with him, no problem ;engage in a war gear with incalculable consequences", affirms the former head of state, estimating that Ukraine must "maintain the link (…) between the Slavic world and Europe".

"As for sending ground troops, let me express serious doubts", he adds, returning to the controversy created at the end of February by Emmanuel Macron who affirmed that the sending of Western armed forces to Ukrainian soil should not " excluded" in the future.

"I cannot bring myself to see the country of Tolstoy and that of Balzac go to war. Have we even thought about the consequences ?", warns Nicolas Sarkozy, specifying however that he has &amp ;quot;cordial relations" with the current head of state and that he "likes to talk with him". S'he assures that "certain" of his ideas "please" to Emmanuel Macron, he recognizes that "this does not mean that he adopts them" , adding that he doesn't agree with everything he did.

Opposed to Ukraine's entry into the EU as head of the list LR François-Xavier Bellamy, Sarkozy admits to having &quot ;lots of sympathy" for the right-wing candidate, but does not reveal whether he will vote for him on June 9 as during the 2022 presidential election where he refused to vote ;#39;provide support to Valérie Pécresse.

"I do not hide the differences that I have with some of the current leaders of the Republicans (because) they forget that the right, if it does not doesn't come together, can't win", he says.

The former head of state reiterates his call for the right to reach an agreement with Emmanuel Macron: "I continue to think that my political family would do better to use its real influence so that the president is more in harmony with the current political matrix of our fellow citizens". "The Republicans are a government party. They would not be wrong in choosing France", he emphasizes.

The opposition of the United States

The United States, kyiv's primary military supporter, does not want Ukraine to use American weapons to strike "on Russian soil" quot;, a White House spokesperson said Tuesday.

"Our position has not changed at this point. We neither encourage nor permit the use of US-supplied weapons to strike on Russian soil", said John Kirby, spokesperson for the National Security Council, after French President Emmanuel Macron estimated that kyiv should be left "neutralize" the military bases from which Russia fires its missiles against Ukrainian territory.

Swedish aid is valuable according to Zelensky

The new military aid promised Wednesday by Sweden to Ukraine, amounting to 1.16 billion euros, will "save lives", welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, at a time when his army is in difficulty facing Russian troops.

"These contributions are critical to Ukraine's defense and resilience", said& nbsp;Zelensky on the social network"It is also important that Swedish aid not only saves Ukrainian lives, but also ensures long-term peace and security in Europe" , he continued.

Eight dead in Russian strikes

Eight people were killed by Russian strikes in several regions of Ukraine, and the death toll from this weekend's bombing of a hypermarket in Kharkiv rose to 19 dead, announced Ukrainian regional authorities on Wednesday.

In the Donetsk region (east), three people were killed and at least 12 injured in several bombings by the Russian army, Governor Vadim Filachkine said in the morning on Telegram. Several houses and civilian buildings were "damaged", said the official.

Still in the east but further north, in the Kharkiv region, "a 40-year-old man" was injured in a Russian bombing which caused a fire in a farm in particular, according to regional authorities. In the northeastern Sumy region, a Russian missile attack killed two people and injured three, according to the regional military administration.

Two other individuals were killed in a Russian strike in Nikopol, near the Dnieper River which serves as a natural dividing line in the south between the Ukrainian and Russian armies, the region's governor reported from Dnipropetrovsk, Serguiï Lyssak. In the neighboring Kherson region, "one person was killed as a result of Russian aggression", Governor Oleksandr said Prokudin.

The death toll from the Russian strike on May 25 on a hypermarket in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second city, rose to 19 dead after the death of an employee who was being treated in hospital. particularly for multiple burns, according to the Attorney General.

Kharkiv is the almost daily target of Russian bombings coming mainly from Russian territory. Russian troops launched an offensive in the region in early May, gaining ground against a struggling Ukrainian army, with the Kremlin vowing to do so in response to Ukrainian attacks on its soil. kyiv, for its part, says it is only attacking in depth the military sites of the Russian army used in particular to bomb its cities and its energy infrastructures for more than two years.

Blinken in Moldova amid tensions with Russia

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken flew to the Moldovan capital Chisinau on Wednesday, for the first leg of a European tour which is intended to strengthen Western support to Ukraine among NATO allies and neighboring countries of Kiev.

Antony Blinken's tour comes as Russian attacks in Ukraine intensify and as Vladimir Putin has warned Western countries to allow Kiev to using weapons supplied by allies to strike inside its territory could lead to global conflict.

In Chisinau, the Secretary of State will meet with Moldovan President Maia Sandu and other senior leaders of this former Soviet republic of 2.5 million inhabitants which shares a common border with ;#39;Ukraine and which is undergoing "influence operations" from Russia, according to Washington.

The United States should announce a plan "robust" to support energy independence Moldovan, according to Jim O'Brien, the top US representative for Europe at the State Department. Pro-European President Maia Sandu has always condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and expressed her ambition to join the European Union (EU).

"Supporting Ukraine is like supporting Moldova, but it also works the other way around. Support for Moldova strengthens Ukraine because Ukraine needs a strong and democratic Moldova and a supportive neighbor because we share 1,200 km of common border. ;, said Olga Rosca, foreign policy advisor to the Moldovan president.

Under his mandate, Moldova reduced its dependence on Russian natural gas and diversified its sources of electricity supply. Antony Blinken is then due to travel to Prague to attend an informal meeting of NATO foreign ministers to prepare for the alliance's summit in Washington in July.