International press review
In the spotlight: Ukraine under a carpet of bombs, after a week of fighting
Audio 04:53
Firefighters put out a fire at the Kharkiv National University building, which city officials said was damaged by recent shelling, in Kharkiv, Ukraine March 2, 2022. REUTERS - OLEKSANDR LAPHYN
By: Véronique Rigolet Follow
4 mins
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The photos of destruction that spread across the front page of the entire international press painfully reflect the brutality of the Russian invasion.
"
Faced with the fierce resistance of the Ukrainians, after a week of fighting, Putin intensifies his attack
"
,
headlines
El Pais
"
with increasingly powerful weapons
" and now targeting "
civilian infrastructure, pipelines, dams, power stations electrical
”
.
A veritable deluge of fire to bend the resistance, explains the special correspondent of the Swiss daily
Le Temps
.
The strategic city of Kershon has thus "
become the first to fall into Russian hands
"
,
reports the
Daily Telegraph
, while "
Kharkiv, Mariupol and Kiev are the target of incessant artillery fire
"
,
notes the
Washington Post who for his part denounces an “
area attack
” strategy
, indiscriminately with “
random targets and damage
”
.
A way of "
sowing terror in urban areas
"
,
explains the
Post
"
like the Russians had done in Aleppo in Syria, reducing entire neighborhoods to ruins
”
.
A “ bloody and shameful
”
military tactic
,
denounces the American daily.
ICC opens investigation into possible 'war crimes'
" Immediate
" opening
of an investigation for "
war crimes in Ukraine
" decided last night by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court - in view of the violence of the bombings and "
first damning testimonies
", explains the
Guardian
.
The
Daily Telegraph
, for its part, claims to have proof of these Russian war crimes, “
in particular the destruction of a maternity hospital in Mariupol
”.
The
Times
also claims that the Russians "
pulverized schools, hospitals and homes across the country, killing hundreds
."
"
Putin must answer for his war crimes
", insists the editorialist of
The Australian
who affirms that there is no doubt that Russia has "
seriously violated international law
", in particular, our Australian colleague tells us, by using "
cluster bombs against civilian populations
".
But even if Putin were one day to be charged with “
war crimes
”, explains the
Guardian
, there would remain a major obstacle: “
stopping
him” when Russia left the ICC in 2016. For this, explains the British daily,
he should be removed from office and extradited by a new Russian regime, which would be in agreement with the international community
”.
► To read also: War in Ukraine: the ICC prosecutor will open an investigation
Putin is also cracking down on dissent in his own country
“
At least
6,500 people have been arrested in Russia during protests against the invasion in Ukraine
,” reports
The Independent.
"
In Moscow, in Saint Petersburg, but also in a hundred Russian cities
", where thousands of "
horrified Russians took to the streets to say no to war
", also explains the
Washington Post
"
despite the risks of fines and prison terms
”.
While from the depths of his prison, Putin's number one opponent, Alexeï Navalny "
calls for the demonstrations against the war to be amplified
", the Kremlin has decided "
on a new turn of the screw in the media
", "
a censorship of war
", explains the
Guardian
, with the closure of two independent media including the Echo of Moscow radio, and then this new threat of "
15 years' imprisonment
" for those who disseminate "
false information on military operations in Ukraine
", reports the entire Russian press.
The Duma is meeting "
in an emergency to vote on these amendments to the Russian Criminal Code
", tells us the Russian daily
Kommersant.
► To read also: War in Ukraine: in Russia, a stifled opinion
Russian oligarchs rush to liquidate their overseas assets
This is the case of Roman Abramovich, reputed to be close to Putin, who has decided to sell his London football club Chelsea, reports all of the international press.
Abramovich concerned about the prospect of
his "assets in Britain being frozen
" as part of Western sanctions against Russia.
The Russian billionaire is also said to have "
put his London residences on the market this week
", claims the
Times
.
Chelsea's price of "
2.5 billion dollars
", a sum that Abramovich already promises "
to donate in part to a foundation for all the victims of the war in Ukraine
", explains the
New York Times
while the
Washington Post
recalls that "
the Biden administration and its Western allies plan to very quickly extend their financial attack against the Russian oligarchs
" with the key to the confiscation of "
yachts, jets and other luxury apartments of elites close to Putin
"
.
► To read also: Ukraine: Russian Premier League oligarchs forced to exodus
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