War in Ukraine: what to remember on the 308th day of the Russian invasion

Europe 1 with AFP 3:42 p.m., December 28, 2022

"Only a few civilians" still live in the town of Bakhmout, a hotspot of fighting in eastern Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday.

"Last year, 70,000 people lived there. Now only a few civilians have remained," lamented Volodymyr Zelensky on Facebook, without specifying how many civilians are still in this city.

This Wednesday, on the 308th day of the Russian invasion, the French Minister for the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu is going to kyiv to meet his Ukrainian counterpart.

The main information:

- Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu on a trip to kyiv

- "Some civilians" present in Bakhmout, hot spot of the fighting, according to Volodymyr Zelensky

- Russia will ban the sale of Russian oil to foreign countries using price caps

Sébastien Lecornu visiting kyiv

Almost a year after the start of the war in Ukraine, the Minister for the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu arrived in kyiv on Wednesday.

After a tribute to the victims of the war, the minister is due to meet his Ukrainian counterpart, Oleksii Reznikov, and there will be a lot of talk about the continuation of arms deliveries.

The objective is to show that France continues to support Ukraine in the war.

Announcements could be made on new deliveries to follow in the footsteps of the United States with the Patriot system.

Finally, Sébastien Lecornu should visit soldiers on a training camp, while a meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky is not totally excluded.

Heavy fighting in Bakhmout

Russian forces and paramilitaries of the Wagner Group have been trying, so far without success, to conquer Bakhmout since the summer at the cost of heavy casualties on both sides and considerable destruction.

"There is no place (in the city) that is not covered in blood. There is not an hour without the terrible roar of artillery resounding", regretted Mr. Zelensky on Wednesday, accompanying his message with several shots showing the extent of the damage in the city.

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AFP journalists, who have visited Bakhmout on several occasions in recent weeks, have noted these very difficult living conditions, the city also having no access to water or electricity.

Volodymyr Zelensky went there on December 20 on the eve of a remarkable visit to Washington in the United States, where he brought back a Ukrainian flag that soldiers had given him on the front.

Russian oil: sales ban will have no "practical meaning", according to Berlin

Moscow's ban on selling Russian oil from February 1 to foreign countries capping its price will have no "practical significance", the German government assured on Wednesday.

"I do not want to say that it is without meaning, but it has no practical meaning. We have already been preparing since the beginning of the summer to replace" Russian oil, commented during a press briefing a spokesperson for the Ministry of Economy and Climate.

Russia will ban from February 1 the sale of its oil to foreign countries that use the cap on the price of Russian black gold, set in early December at 60 dollars per barrel by the European Union, the G7 and Australia.