Europe 1 with AFP 06:47, February 23, 2023

On the 364th day of the Russian invasion in Ukraine, France announces that the reception of Ukrainian refugees on its soil has cost nearly 500 million euros.

Earlier, China announced that it had prepared and presented a peace plan to resolve the conflict in Ukraine to Moscow.

For its part, kyiv stressed "not to have been consulted" for the development of this plan. 

THE ESSENTIAL

The reception of Ukrainian refugees in France cost nearly 500 million euros, mainly for accommodation and the allowance paid to some 100,000 displaced people living in the territory, announced Thursday the French Ministry of the Interior, a year after the start of the conflict in Ukraine.

Since the start of the war on February 24, which generated the largest movement of refugees in Europe since the Second World War, France has spent more than 490 million euros to offer an "unprecedented reception scheme", in the words of the Home Office.

In detail, almost 220 million euros were spent "under the allowance for beneficiaries of temporary protection" granted to Ukrainians, about 260 million "under accommodation" and 10.1 million " under day care and transport", detailed Place Beauvau to AFP.

Information to remember: 

  • France has spent nearly 500 million euros to welcome the 100,000 Ukrainians in the territory

  • China presented a peace plan to Moscow

  • kyiv stresses that they were not consulted by Beijing

  • South Africa defends controversial naval exercises with Russia

Beijing presents its "peace plan", the head of the UN denounces the Russian "affront"

China presented its vision for the "political settlement" of the conflict in Ukraine on Wednesday in Moscow, as the UN secretary general denounced the "affront to our collective conscience" caused by the invasion a year ago. of Ukraine, at the opening of the General Assembly.

Kyiv and its allies, for their part, hope to gather the widest possible support for a resolution to be considered the same day by the UN General Assembly calling for a "just and lasting peace", a year after the start of the Russian invasion.

"The first anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine represents a dark milestone, for the Ukrainian people and for the international community. This invasion is an affront to our collective conscience," said Antonio Guterres, repeating his fears of escalation of the conflict.

Russia's response to the West, through the voice of the Russian ambassador Vassili Nebenzia from the rostrum of the General Assembly, was not long in coming: "In their desire to inflict a defeat on Russia of all possible ways, it is not only Ukraine that they can sacrifice, they are ready to plunge the whole world into the abyss of war," he said.

Beijing did not consult kyiv while preparing its peace plan, says Ukrainian official

The Chinese government did not consult Kyiv while preparing its Ukraine peace plan, which was supposed to be released this week, a senior Ukrainian official said on Wednesday.

"China did not consult us," said the official, who requested anonymity to several media outlets, including AFP.

Beijing has promised to publish its "political solution" proposal this week, in time for the first anniversary of the outbreak of the Russian offensive in Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

The head of Ukrainian diplomacy, Dmytro Kouleba, who met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Germany, revealed on Tuesday in Brussels that the latter had "informed him of the key elements of the Chinese peace plan".

"We are waiting to receive this text to study it in detail, because we cannot draw conclusions after only an oral presentation", added Dmytro Kouleba.

South Africa defends controversial naval exercises with Russia

South Africa's military has defended its decision to host controversial naval drills with Russia and China that began on Wednesday, shortly before the first anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and are worrying Westerners.

"There is a difference between the military and the political," said General Siphiwe Sangweni, head of joint operations within the South African armed forces, during a press conference at the port of Richards Bay (east).

The army is "guided by the government" but must also learn new skills from other armies to protect the country and contribute to international peacekeeping missions, he said.

"Other countries will certainly have a different approach than us" to these joint exercises with Russia and China, but "each country is sovereign and has the right to manage things as it considers they should be", said he pointed out.

"Cooperation and coordination with all the other armies is something very important to us," added General Sangweni.

South Africa announced last month the organization of these joint exercises with the Russian and Chinese navies "with the aim of sharing operational skills and knowledge", specifying that Russia was the pilot country.