War in Ukraine: the situation is still extremely tense in Mariupol

Europe 1 with AFP 06:57, April 13, 2022

THE ESSENTIAL

In Mariupol, a strategic port on the Sea of ​​Azov besieged for more than 40 days, Russian forces are tightening their grip on Ukrainian soldiers "encircled and pinned down" in the city where "tens of thousands" of people have died and where " 90% of the houses" were destroyed, according to Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhaylo Podolyak.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also denounced on Tuesday "hundreds of cases of rape" observed in areas previously occupied by the Russian army, "including young underage girls and very small children".

• Volodymyr Zelensky offers Moscow an exchange of prisoners: a strong Ukrainian close to Putin against the soldiers in captivity

• After the United Kingdom, it is the United States' turn to worry about the use of "chemical agents" in Mariupol

• 4.6 million refugees have fled Ukraine since February 24

Putin is committing 'genocide', says Biden

Joe Biden confirmed Tuesday accusing his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin of "genocide" in Ukraine, a few hours after using this word for the first time to describe the situation in the country invaded by Moscow.

Until then, the American administration had not pronounced this word, used by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

"It's increasingly clear that Putin is just trying to erase the very idea of ​​being a Ukrainian," Biden told reporters during a trip to Iowa.

Zelensky proposes a prisoner exchange

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky offered Tuesday night in Moscow to "exchange" Ukrainian MP and businessman Viktor Medvedchuk, close to Russian President Vladimir Putin and recently arrested, for Ukrainians in captivity in Russia.

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 Ukraine: in Boutcha, the survivors are traumatized by the Russians

Ukrainian authorities had earlier in the day announced the arrest of this 67-year-old Ukrainian who had been on the run since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Viktor Medvedchuk, 12th fortune in Ukraine in 2021 with 620 million dollars according to Forbes magazine, is known for his links with Russian President Vladimir Putin who is, according to the person concerned, the godfather of one of his daughters.

The Boutcha massacre, "a fake" according to Putin

The massacre of suspected civilians in the town of Boutcha, near kyiv, is "a fake", said Tuesday Vladimir Putin, whose country denies any abuse in Ukraine.

The Russian president assured during a press conference in a cosmodrome in the Far East that the offensive in Ukraine continued "calmly" by minimizing the losses, refusing to set a timetable.

He again justified the offensive by the need to "ensure the security of Russia" against a Ukraine which "has begun to be transformed into an anti-Russian stronghold, to cultivate nationalism, neo-Nazism".

Washington accuses Moscow of considering the use of "chemical agents" in Mariupol

The United States reported on Tuesday, through the voice of the head of diplomacy Antony Blinken, "credible information" on the possibility that Russia will use "chemical agents" in its offensive to take Mariupol.

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 Ukraine: the difficult identification of war victims on the ground

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) on Tuesday expressed concern over allegations of chemical weapons use in Mariupol.

German president persona non grata in Kyiv

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, criticized for his relations maintained in recent years with Russia, said on Tuesday that he had considered visiting Ukraine with other heads of state but had been rejected by from Kyiv.

More than 4.6 million refugees

More than 4.6 million Ukrainian refugees have fled their country since the invasion ordered by Vladimir Putin on February 24, according to UNHCR figures on Tuesday.

According to the Ukrainian Border Guard Service, more than 870,000 Ukrainians have returned home since the start of the war, including women and children.