• 1:02 p.m .: Putin accuses the West of “hindering the development” of Gazprom

Russian President Vladimir Putin has blasted the "direct attempts" of the West which he says are aimed at "hindering the development" of his national energy flagship, Gazprom, targeted by international sanctions for a year.

"Despite unfair competition - to put it bluntly - and direct attempts from outside to hinder and slow down its development, Gazprom is moving forward and launching new projects," Vladimir Putin said in a videoconference speech on the occasion. 30 years of the gas giant.

These remarks come as the Russian gas sector has suffered the brunt of European and American sanctions put in place in retaliation for the Kremlin's military intervention in Ukraine.

  • 12:25 p.m.: Zelensky to address world leaders at Munich Conference

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is due to address world leaders gathered at the Munich Security Conference. They are expected to reaffirm their unwavering support for Kiev, nearly a year after the Russian invasion.

"A year ago, Zelensky gave a powerful warning speech at this conference," said his head of diplomacy, Dmytro Kouleba.

This year, he will speak via a video link "and set the tone of the discussions," he added in a statement. Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron will be present in the Bavarian capital and must speak at the start of the afternoon.

  • 6:29 a.m .: Wagner criticizes the Russian army and sees Bakhmout resisting until spring

The boss of the Russian paramilitaries of Wagner judged that Bakhmout, epicenter of the fighting in eastern Ukraine, would not fall before “March or April”, attacking the “military bureaucracy” which, according to him, slows down the offensive.

"I think it's March or April. To take Bakhmout, you have to cut off all Ukrainian supply routes," said Yevgeny Prigojine, founder of the Wagner Group, in a video posted on the Internet.

"I think we would have taken Bakhmout if it weren't for this monstrous military bureaucracy and if we weren't being put in the way every day," he continued in another video, spreading in the public arena his differences with the military hierarchy.

  • 4 a.m.: Ukraine on the program of the Munich Security Conference

More than 150 government representatives will meet in Munich on Friday for the conference devoted to international security issues, which is held each year in the Bavarian capital.

The war in Ukraine will be at the top of the agenda, along with Sino-American tensions.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron will be among the headliners on Friday.

The head of Chinese diplomacy, Wang Yi, the American vice-president, Kamala Harris, the head of diplomacy, Antony Blinken, as well as the head of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, who will leave office in the fall, will be also present. 

No Russian official has been invited this year.

Western leaders should renew their commitment to support Kyiv for as long as it takes to repel Russian aggression, which began on February 24, 2022, both financially and militarily.

  • 12:18 a.m.: at the opening of the Berlinale, Zelensky calls on art and cinema to engage

"Cinema (...) can inspire and influence people who can change the world," said Volodymyr Zelensky at the opening of the Berlinale, who decided to shine his spotlight on Ukraine.

"Culture and cinema cannot be outside of politics, when it comes to a policy of aggression, mass crimes, murders, terror (...) a policy of total war like is that of Russia," continued the Ukrainian president, speaking by video.

The leader is at the center of the documentary event of this festival, "Superpower", filmed by Sean Penn in the midst of the Russian invasion almost a year ago, and which is to be presented on Saturday.

"In these times, art cannot be neutral" and if culture "remains silent, it contributes to evil", continued the one who was an actor before being elected president, thanking the German festival which has programmed several films Ukrainians and repainted its Golden Bear in yellow and blue, the colors of Ukraine.

Returning from a stay in Kiev, Sean Penn himself, moved, testified on stage to the state of mind of the Ukrainians which, according to him, has "not changed" since the invasion: "Their will is simply reinforced," added the American actor and director.

"There is an extraordinary solidarity and unity that should inspire us all."

With AFP and Reuters

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