How to continue helping Ukraine while the conflict is deadlocked? The question was the focus of the day on Tuesday April 26 for around forty countries gathered in Germany.
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The day was also marked by rising tensions in Moldova, where explosions erupted in the Transnistria region. Franceinfo takes stock of what to remember from that day of the war in Ukraine.
A monthly meeting to help Kyiv militarily
The United States and its allies will now meet monthly to discuss how to strengthen Ukraine’s military capabilities against Russia, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced after meeting representatives from around 40 countries in Germany.
“Today’s meeting will become a monthly contact group on the defense of Ukraine,” he said, adding that he wants to coordinate the action of “nations of good will to intensify our efforts, coordinate our aid and focus on fighting the fight.” battles to be won today and tomorrow”.
Berlin delivers tanks to Ukraine
For its part, Germany will authorize the delivery of around fifty “anti-aircraft tanks” to Ukraine, a reversal of its previously cautious policy of providing military support to Kiev. France is to send guns with a range of 40 kilometers, Great Britain has supplied anti-aircraft missiles and Poland tanks.
Moldova tightens security after explosions in Transnistria
Moldova has called for calm and said it would step up security after blasts in the separatist region of Transnistria, backed by Moscow. “This is an attempt to increase tensions (…) The Moldovan authorities will take care not to drag the republic into a conflict,” said Moldovan President Maïa Sandu.
Kyiv accuses Moscow of wanting to “destabilize” Transnistria while France supports Moldovans.
Antonio Guterres in Moscow for a ceasefire
On his first trip to Moscow since the start of the offensive, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for a ceasefire “as soon as possible”.
He urged Kyiv and Moscow to work with the UN to open humanitarian corridors. And he said he was “concerned by the repeated reports of possible war crimes” and judged they “required an independent investigation.”
Russia said it was “ready to work with the United Nations” to “relieve” civilians in Ukraine, assured the head of Russian diplomacy Sergei Lavrov. “Despite everything, the negotiations are going on (…) I hope that we will come to a positive result,” Vladimir Putin said at his meeting with Antonio Guterres.
Radioactivity “in the normal range” in Chernobyl
The radioactivity in Chernobyl is “in the normal range,” estimated the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), who was there on Tuesday, 36 years after the nuclear power plant exploded.
The plant, 150 kilometers from Kyiv, fell into Russian hands on the first day of the invasion, before power and communications were cut. According to the IAEA, the situation has normalized since the Russians left on March 31.
On Tuesday, the European Union warned of a new nuclear disaster in Ukraine and called on Moscow to refrain from taking any action against that country’s nuclear facilities.
Nine civilians killed and 5.3 million refugees
According to reports from local authorities, at least nine civilians died in Russian bombings in eastern and southern Ukraine on Tuesday.
Also, nearly 5.3 million Ukrainians have fled their country since the invasion by Russian forces began two months ago, and the UN expects three million more by the end of the year.