International press review
In the spotlight: Mariupol, strategic city in south-eastern Ukraine, stronghold of resistance against Russian forces
Audio 04:46
In Mariupol, a torn Ukrainian flag flies in front of a destroyed building, April 14, 2022. © REUTERS / ALEXANDER ERMOCHENKO
By: Clementine Pawlotsky
4 mins
Advertisement
This headline from the
Financial Times
is probably the one that best sums up the state of mind of the last Ukrainian soldiers in Mariupol: “
Keeping the faith, while the fighting continues
”.
Indeed, “
Russia is on the verge of capturing the city
” recalls another English-language daily, the
Wall Street Journal
, which explains that “
the last Ukrainian troops rejected Moscow's ultimatum on Sunday
”.
No "
surrender
" possible, summarizes the newspaper, while emphasizing the "
numerical inferiority
" of the remaining Ukrainian military troops in Mariupol.
Difficult, in these conditions, to ensure the safety of the civilians.
Survivors, survivors of this war whose
New York Times
is the mouthpiece with this title: "
Thank you for not killing us
".
The American newspaper reports that every day in Ukraine, "
investigators enter a damp cellar, a muddy field or a garden and discover the bodies of villagers shot in the head, showing visible signs of torture
" .
.
“
More and more testimonies,
continues the New York daily,
report civilians being used as human shields
” while “
others die for lack of food, water or because of the heat
”.
A misery inflicted in the areas "
occupied by the Russians at the beginning of the war
", specifies the
New York Times
.
The brutality of Russian forces, an ancient evil according to the
New York Times
The newspaper explains that "
the brutality of Moscow's war against Ukraine takes two distinct forms
." There is, according to the
New York Times
, "
the programmatic violence inflicted by Russian bombs and missiles against civilians and targets military
”.
And then, “
there is the cruelty of soldiers, of individuals
”.
A violence that would find its origins in the horrors of the war in Chechnya, in the years 1999-2000.
However, continues the newspaper, "
in Russia, such acts are rarely the subject of investigations (...) it does not make it possible to know to what extent low-level brutality stems or not from the intention of those responsible, or if the commanders failed in the control of their troops
”.
And perhaps, the daily cautiously concludes, “
part of Russian society actually tolerates violence against civilians
”.
More and more Orthodox are turning their backs on the Moscow Patriarchate
Less than a week from Orthodox Easter, celebrated next Sunday, the gap is widening between the faithful.
The
Washington Post
does not hesitate to speak of “
divided faith
”.
The newspaper paints a vitriolic portrait of the powerful leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, presented as "
one of the most prominent supporters of the war
".
The British
Times
reports, for its part, that he "
organized services broadcast on television to bless the Russian troops and delivered sermons suggesting that the Russian invasion of Ukraine was a just war for the future of Christianity
".
Positions that have angered Orthodox priests in Ukraine.
The latter, tells us the
Washington Post
, “
accused him of preaching heresy and demanded that he be brought before a tribunal
”.
In France, uncertainty hovers around the 2nd round of the presidential election
A vote closely followed by
El País
.
"
The 7.7
million voters of Mélenchon hold the key to the Élysée
", headlines the Spanish daily, while remaining cautious in its analysis: "
nobody,
he writes,
knows for sure what this key will unlock ( ...) On the evening of the first round, Mélenchon reaffirmed three times the importance that, during the meeting next Sunday, "not a voice" goes to Le Pen.
But he also did not ask to support Macron, as other left-wing candidates have done
.
However, the risk of Marine Le Pen coming to power is there,
Le Soir
believes .
In an article entitled "
Presidential 2022
: why Marine Le Pen is really on the far right
", the Belgian daily explains that "
the fatigue of the democratic front
" could benefit the candidate of the National Rally.
“
In France,
he summarizes,
the voter, tired of voting “against” rather than “for”, could be less inclined than in 2017 to block in favor of Emmanuel Macron.
»
Le Soir
sees this as a danger for France.
The newspaper does not hesitate to reprimand Marine Le Pen's project, which it considers "
far from the smooth image that the presidential finalist intends to give
".
And to add: “
if the RN candidate has been demonized, her program still reflects her radicalism.
Its central concept of “national priority” violates the Republican principle of equality
”.
Newsletter
Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
google-play-badge_EN
Newspaper
Ukraine
Russia
Religion
France
Presidential France 2022
Emmanuel Macron
Marine Le Pen