International press review
In the spotlight: war in Ukraine, a black day that makes headlines around the world
Audio 05:19
Ukrainian National Guard soldiers take position in the center of Kiev, Ukraine, February 25, 2022. REUTERS - GLEB GARANICH
By: Anne Cantener Follow
5 mins
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It is perhaps the front page of the
Times
that best sums up the shock experienced in Europe.
The first page is almost entirely taken up by a photo: the bloodied face of a woman, her forehead bandaged and her eyes straight towards the lens, still standing but stunned, after a bombardment in the city of Kharkiv.
Just below the photo, we can read these words: “
A black day for Europe
”.
American, European and, of course, Ukrainian newspapers follow this war live, minute by minute.
The Ukrainian press gives news from the different fronts.
The Odessa newspaper,
Dumskaya
, tells the story of this young Ukrainian soldier who sacrificed himself by blowing up a bridge to halt the advance of Russian tanks.
The
Ukrayinska Pravda
gives practical information.
For example, she recommends that the inhabitants of the Obolon district in Kiev not to go out, “
to stay away from the streets because an active military action is approaching.
»
Ukraine supported by
Novaya Gazeta
Russia's last independent newspaper today publishes a bilingual edition in Russian and Ukrainian, “
because we do not recognize Ukraine as an enemy and Ukrainian as an enemy language.
And we will never recognize it.
»
The editor-in-chief of the newspaper, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize last year, justifies this decision in an editorial that appears in red and on the front page of the
Novaya Gazeta
website : "
We all met in the office of writing early today.
We are in mourning.
Our country started a war with Ukraine on the orders of President Putin.
And there is no one to stop the war.
So, in addition to grief, we feel shame.
»
Novaya Gazeta
is also indignant at the threats made by the Russian president.
“
In his hands, the Commander-in-Chief, like a bunch of keys to an expensive car, turns the '
nuclear knob
'.
Is the next step a nuclear salvo
?
There is no other way to interpret Vladimir Putin's words about a weapon of retaliation.
»
Novaya Gazieta,
the only Russian newspaper to mention losses in the ranks of the Russian army.
The newspaper indicates that even if “
no official report mentions Russian victims, […] videos of corpses in Russian uniforms and interrogations of captured Russian soldiers have been disseminated on social networks.
»
These revelations and the indignation of
Novaya Gazeta
contrast with the rest of the Russian press.
The Russian newspapers, which align themselves with the position displayed by the Kremlin, like
Kommersant
, always content themselves with the expression "
military operation
" before giving the information of the last few hours in a laconic manner.
The
Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper,
which was the communist youth newspaper under the USSR, completely reverses the perspective by headlining “
For the first time in eight years, the suburbs of Donetsk were not bombarded by Ukrainian artillery.
»
And then, a few headlines from the newspaper
Les Nouvelles
: "
An expert demystifies a false story concerning abandoned Russian equipment
", "
The West ignores the facts of genocide in the Donbass
" or even "
Nothing new in the threats of sanctions against the Russia
”
.
The penalties in question
Sanctions whose effects also raise questions on the side of the Western press.
Without much hope, the
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
headlines “
In Brussels, Putin has already won
”.
The German newspaper wonders why Chancellor Olaf Scholz opposed the decision to exclude Russia from the Swift financial services system last night.
“
Not before Putin also annexes Ukraine
?
If he invades other countries, maybe even a member of NATO
?
If he threatens Berlin with nuclear fire from Kaliningrad, or even fires missiles
?
In the meantime, summarizes the Frankfurt daily:
“The Russian hold-up continues to be financed by Europe.
»
For
The Guardian
, Vladimir Putin “
wants a confrontation with –
and a victory over
–
a West which he holds responsible for the fall of the Soviet Union, the weakness of Russia in the 1990s and the autonomous tendencies of the old Soviet republics.
»
According to the Israeli daily
Haaretz
, Westerners were warned: “
When they started to expand [their] influence in regions close to Russia, [they] maximized [their] security at the expense of Moscow.
Putin has demanded a diplomatic solution ever since the Russian invasion of Crimea [eight years ago].
In his eyes, the Kiev government has no independent right to exist
;
it is only a tool in the hands of the West.
[Vladimir Putin] is now attacking both the symptom and the big problem
: the system of international relations.
»
A war that is part of an overall vision of Vladimir Putin
Also according to
The Guardian
, the Russian president “
has developed, over the decades, a view of the world that is paranoid but consistent.
This is also the analysis of the
New York Times
.
The American daily assures that “
the Russian leader is consumed by vengeful fury and convinced of an implacable Western plot against Moscow.
»
So what to expect?
“
The answer is as simple as it is disturbing
,” according to
The Guardian
: “
There may therefore be no limits to the quest for revenge for perceived humiliation.
The president's worldview paves the way for extremism.
»
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