War in Ukraine: warship struck, detention of a journalist extended, attack foiled… update on the situation

Odessa au lendemain de son attaque de missile. (illustration) MAXPPP – Nina Liashonok

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

Ukraine says it struck warship captured by Russia in 2014

Ukraine fired a missile at the landing ship Konstantin Olchansky, captured by Russia in 2014, Ukrainian Navy spokesman Dmitro Pletentchuk said Tuesday morning.< /p>

"Currently, this ship is not combat capable", Dmitro Pletentchuk said on national television. Russia did not immediately comment on the subject. Russia took the ship Konstantin Olchansky from Ukraine, along with most of the Ukrainian fleet, when its troops occupied the Crimean Peninsula in 2014.

"It had been renovated and was being prepared for use against Ukraine. The decision was therefore unfortunately made to strike this ship", the spokesperson said. A Ukrainian-made Neptune anti-ship missile was used for this purpose, he added. Ukraine, which still controls several hundred kilometers of coastline on the Black Sea despite the Russian occupation of some of its southern regions, is not equipped with large warships.

The country has, however, carried out a series of strikes on the Russian Black Sea fleet in recent months, using missiles or maritime drones. The Ukrainian military also claimed to have struck two more Russian landing ships in Crimea on Sunday.

The detention of journalist Evan Gershkovich extended by 3 months

American Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich, charged with espionage by Russia, had his pre-trial detention extended by three months on Tuesday, until June 30, a court announced from Moscow.

Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal and the US government have all strongly denied the espionage charges, which carry a sentence of up to 20 years in prison. imprisonment. Tuesday's hearing was closed to the media.

The Moscow court, however, published photos and a brief video showing the journalist in a glass box. Friday will mark the first anniversary of the arrest of 32-year-old Evan Gershkovich in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg. He lost several appeals for his detention, which was extended several times.

No date has been set for his trial. Washington is committed to doing "everything possible" to obtain the return of the journalist as well as former marine Paul Whelan, sentenced in 2020 to 16 years in prison in a Russian penal colony for espionage charges that ;he denies it too.

Russian President Vladimir Putin had affirmed that the release of a journalist would be possible in exchange for a Russian prisoner held abroad, without any agreement of this type having been concluded at this time. day.

The FSB announces the death of a Russian pro-Ukraine fighter in an explosion during his arrest

The FSB said on Tuesday that a Russian national belonging to a pro-Ukraine group was killed during his arrest in the Samara region of Russia in the explosion of his bomb that he was carrying with him. According to Russian services, the individual was suspected of preparing an attack, reports BFMTV.

According to the state agency Ria Novosti, the FSB indicated that the man was a member of the "Russian Volunteer Corps" group, which is a group based in Ukraine and which fights Vladimir Putin's troops.

"When the author was apprehended, the explosive device he had seized went off, causing him to inflicting injuries incompatible with life. Members of the security forces and the civilian population were not injured", Russian security services said, without specifying whether the explosion was intentional or accidental .

The “Russian Volunteer Corps" group, made up of fighters, is said to be carrying out armed incursions into Russia in the border areas with Volodymyr Zelensky's country.