• Russia launched its "military operation" in Ukraine on Thursday, February 24. Every evening, at 19:30 pm, 20 Minutes offers you its recap of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict that leaves dead and wounded and thousands of refugees every day.
  • Who did what? Who said what? And who supports whom and why? You will know everything about the progress of the negotiations and the events of this crisis that is shaking Russia, Ukraine, Europe and the United States.
  • Ukraine's president visited The Hague on Thursday to demand "large-scale" justice against Russia and its crimes committed in Ukraine.

Did you miss the latest events about the war in Ukraine? Don't panic, 20 Minutes takes stock for you every night, at 19:30 pm. Who did what? Who said what? Where do we stand? The answer below:

News of the day

"Justice on a large scale" rather than "hybrid impunity". Volodymyr Zelensky called Thursday from The Hague for the creation of a special international tribunal for the crime of aggression. "There should be responsibility" for this crime of aggression, the "beginning of evil," the Ukrainian president said in a speech to diplomats and other officials, referring to Russia's invasion of his country. "This can only be applied by the court," the Ukrainian president added.

Volodymyr Zelensky also said he was convinced that Vladimir Putin would be "convicted" in The Hague, the city where many international courts, including the International Criminal Court (ICC), sit. "We will see that happen when we win, and we win," he said. In March, the United States declared itself in favor of the creation of a special tribunal to judge Russian "aggression" in Ukraine, with funds and international personnel but "rooted in the Ukrainian judicial system".

The phrase of the day

We will not join NATO during the war."

The Ukrainian head of state, who also went to Helsinki on Wednesday, also said he wanted to push for Ukraine's integration into the European Union and NATO. Ukraine is "realistic", "we will not join NATO during the war", he admitted however after a meeting with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and the head of the Belgian government Alexander De Croo.

But "we want to receive a very clear message that we will be in NATO after the war," he added at a press conference alongside the two heads of state. "We hope that the Netherlands and our other partners will help as soon as possible," Zelensky said, referring to a "coalition of armed vehicles," one of Ukraine's demands on the battlefield.

Today's figure

18. This is the number of drones Kiev claims to have shot down overnight. Russia struck again with Iranian-made drones on Thursday. The Ukrainian army announced in the morning that it had shot down the majority of drones launched by Moscow. "The invaders launched 24 Shahed 136/131 drones. The Ukrainian Air Force, in cooperation with other air defense units, shot down 18 drones," she said on Telegram. Among the targets targeted by Russia, the capital Kiev, for "the third time in four days," according to the head of the city's air defense forces, Sergei Popko.

Today's trend

New twists in the case of the alleged attack of Ukrainian drones on the Kremlin. Russia has blamed the United States, "a lie" according to Washington, which denies any involvement. The United States "has nothing to do with this case," retorted on MSNBC John Kirby, spokesman for the White House National Security Council. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov "is lying, plain and simple," he said. "The efforts of Kiev and Washington to deny responsibility are utterly ridiculous. Decisions about such attacks are not taken in Kiev but in Washington," Peskov said, without substantiating his accusations.

Our dossier on the war in Ukraine

On Wednesday, Moscow claimed to have intercepted two Ukrainian aircraft targeting the Kremlin, denouncing an attempt to assassinate President Vladimir Putin. A day later, a great blur still surrounds this supposed attack, the most spectacular blamed on Kiev since the beginning of the Russian offensive in February 2022. The Russian authorities have not made any evidence public and it is impossible to authenticate the videos broadcast by some Russian media on which a small drone can be seen approaching the Kremlin before exploding in a shower of flames.

Russian state television on Thursday broadcast footage it said showed Vladimir Putin during a working meeting at the Kremlin compound, his first public appearance since the alleged attack was announced.

  • War in Ukraine
  • World
  • Volodymyr Zelensky
  • Vladimir Poutine