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THE ESSENTIAL

  • Moscow continues to focus its offensive on the Donbass.

    The Russian army seeks at all costs to seize Severodonetsk, in eastern Ukraine.

    According to the governor of the region, the city “is simply being destroyed”.

  • In Davos, the Ukrainian foreign minister asked his allies for more heavy weapons to match the Russian firepower.

    kyiv especially wishes to receive mobile units capable of sending several rockets simultaneously.

  • Amid concerns over Ukraine's current inability to export grain due to Russian blockades of its ports, Kyiv reported discussions with the United Nations on the possibility of safe passage from the port from Odessa.

  • On the southern front, Moscow is busy consolidating its hold on the territories conquered for three months.

    Russia has thus announced that it will allow residents of the Zaporijjia and Kherson regions to apply for a Russian passport via “a simplified procedure”.

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8:44 am: Macron will talk about NATO with Erdogan

Emmanuel Macron will speak by telephone at 11:30 a.m. with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is threatening to veto the entry of Finland and Sweden into NATO.

Ankara warned on Wednesday that it would not agree to these memberships without having obtained "concrete measures" from them concerning its security concerns.

Turkey opened a crisis within NATO, of which it is a member, by opposing the extension of the organization to these two countries which asked to join the Alliance after the Russian invasion of the Ukraine and received the support of the overwhelming majority of member states.

Finland, in particular, shares 1,300 km of land border with Russia.

8:38 am: kyiv thanks Paris for treating “Ukrainian war wounded”

kyiv thanked France for welcoming "Ukrainian war wounded in its hospitals, and in particular in army hospitals", the French Ministry of the Armed Forces said on Wednesday evening.

The first two Ukrainian soldiers were received at the Percy military hospital, in the Paris region, the ministry said.

During a telephone conversation with his new counterpart Sébastien Lecornu, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov also "recalled the important needs of the Ukrainian armed forces to be able to maintain their effort in the face of Russian offensives, while the conflict could last".

8:25 am: Russians focus on Severodonetsk

The Russian forces are getting closer every day a little closer to Severodonetsk, a city of some 100,000 inhabitants before the war, the capture of which is essential for them to fully control the Donbass.

So much so that "Russian troops have advanced to be so close that they can fire mortars" on Severodonetsk, assured Wednesday Serguiï Gaïdaï, the governor of the region.

According to him, the city “is simply being destroyed”.

“The situation in the city is very difficult.

Yesterday, there was already fighting on the outskirts”, continued the governor, who estimated that “next week will be decisive”.

However, he said Wednesday evening, the city "is not surrounded", contrary to what an official of the pro-Russian separatists said.

About 15,000 people are still there and in the surrounding villages, he said, adding that the overwhelming majority of them did not want to move despite the incessant shelling.

8:20 a.m .: EU still discussing embargo on Russian oil

Will Europe continue to buy Russian fuel?

The question is not yet settled.

However, European Council President Charles Michel said he remained "confident" of an agreement on an EU embargo on Russian oil by the start of the European Council on Monday, despite the Hungarian deadlock.

An essential measure according to kyiv, which on Wednesday in Davos called on the international community to “kill Russian exports”.

Hello everyone !

Welcome to this new live dedicated to the war in Ukraine.

Like every day, the editorial staff of

20 Minutes

is mobilizing to give you the latest information on the conflict.

In eastern Ukraine, fighting is still raging in the Donbass.

Severodonetsk is thus bombarded day and night.

In order not to see this city suffer the same apocalyptic fate as Mariupol, kyiv tirelessly continues to ask its Western allies for arms.

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