Ukraine: capture of Kherson by the Russian army, discussions on a ceasefire

A week after the launch of their operation, Russian forces took Kherson, a major city in southern Ukraine, shortly before a second session of talks on Thursday morning on a ceasefire between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators.
It is the largest city taken by Russian forces in a conflict which, in seven days, has caused a million people to flee to neighboring countries, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi.
The mayor of this city of 290,000 inhabitants, Igor Kolykhaïev, announced that he had discussed with "armed guests" in a building of the administration of Kherson, implying, without naming them, Russian troops.
"We had no weapons and were not aggressive. We showed that we are working to secure the city and trying to deal with the consequences of the invasion," he said in a Facebook post.
The head of the regional administration, Gennadi Lakhouta, called on Telegram residents to stay at home, indicating that "the (Russian) occupiers are in all parts of the city and are very dangerous".
The acts committed by Russia on Ukrainian territory will now be all the more scrutinized as the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), the British Karim Khan, announced on Wednesday evening "the immediate opening" of an investigation into crimes of war.

The UN General Assembly on Wednesday adopted, by an overwhelming majority, a resolution which "demands that Russia immediately cease the use of force against Ukraine".
On the ground, the Russian forces continued their progress with in particular the capture of Kherson, a large city in the south of the country.
The resolution, punctuating more than two days of interventions at the UN rostrum, demands that Moscow "immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all its military forces" from Ukraine and "condemns Russia's decision to 'increase the alerting of its nuclear forces'.
Steered by the European Union in coordination with Ukraine, the text, which benefited from around a hundred co-sponsors, also "deplores" "in the strongest terms Russia's aggression against Ukraine" and affirms "its attachment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity" of this country, including "its territorial waters".

Presidential: Macron calls on the French to stand up to the war in Ukraine

Emmanuel Macron addressed the French on Wednesday evening on the war in Ukraine, assuring them that he would do everything to "protect" them from the consequences of the conflict, acknowledging that this crisis had "smashed" the presidential campaign 39 days before the ballot.
During a televised address, the Head of State declared that France "stands" alongside Ukraine, seven days after the start of the Russian invasion that "we have done everything to avoid". He welcomed the fact that France and its allies had "quickly and proportionately taken sanctions against Russia" while affirming that "we are not at war with Russia".
"Russia is not attacked, it is the aggressor", "this war is not a conflict between NATO and Russia" and "even less a fight against Nazism, it is a lie", he added, accusing Russian President Vladimir Putin of being the "only one" to have provoked the war.
President Macron again said he wanted to work to give more independence to France and Europe, particularly in terms of defense and energy. He also warned the French against the consequences of this conflict, referring to the arrival of Ukrainian refugees on the territory or the impact on economic growth and energy prices, saying that he would only have "a compass, protect you".
Yvan Colonna in a coma after his attack by an inmate in Arles prison

IN SHORT
- Dozens of people were arrested on Wednesday evening during rallies against the invasion of Ukraine organized in Moscow and Saint Petersburg at the call of imprisoned Russian opponent Alexei Navalny
- Australian emergency services have ordered some 200,000 people to evacuate their homes due to heavy rains, which were heading towards Sydney on Thursday after killing 13 across the rest of the country.
- Greg Kelly received a six-month suspended prison sentence on Thursday at the end of his trial for financial embezzlement in Tokyo, a first criminal conviction in the Carlos Ghosn case, of which he was an employee at Nissan before his fall.
- Christiane Taubira announced that she was withdrawing from the presidential race, leaving the left, which she claimed to unite, as divided as at the start of her lightning campaign.
- A time welcomed with open arms to come and invest their fortune in the Premier League, the Russian oligarchs are no longer welcome there since the war in Ukraine, with the sale of Chelsea by Roman Abramovich and Alisher Usmanov put on the market away by Everton.