Ukraine and Russia agree to a ceasefire that does not end the war

Ukraine and Russia agreed on Thursday a temporary ceasefire as well as the establishment of humanitarian corridors, an emergency measure forced by the situation but that does not mean the end of the war, which, on the other hand, could intensify, according to reports. It follows from the telephone conversation that Russian President Vladimir Putin had with his French colleague, Emmanuel Macron.

humanitarian corridors

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podoliak reported on his Telegram channel that an agreement has been reached with the Russian side for a temporary ceasefire as well as the establishment of humanitarian corridors.

“The parties have reached an understanding on the joint creation of humanitarian corridors with a temporary ceasefire”, Podoliak noted on his Telegram channel.

The second round of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine began today in the town of Belovezhskaya Pushcha, in the Belarusian region of Brest, near the Polish border, the Belarusian agency BELTA reported.

However, Podoliak added that the Ukrainian negotiating delegation “did not get the results he hoped for and will continue the dialogue in a third round of talks.”

The head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinski, said that, “in general, there was an understanding at the negotiating table”, but in certain matters “the Ukrainian side took time for reflections and consultations in Kiev”.

Macron states that “The worst is yet to come”

Russian President Vladimir Putin told his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron that his offensive on Ukraine is going “as planned” and it will intensify unless Kiev accepts its conditions, including demilitarization, sources from the Elysée indicated, noting that the French president extracted from that telephone exchange that “The worst is yet to come”.

Macron, according to the sources, told Putin that he is committing “a serious mistake“, what are you looking for “pretexts” and that his actions were not in accordance with reality and could not justify his violence and the price that his country is going to pay, which will end “isolated, weakened and under sanctions” for a long period of time.

One million refugees, half children

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, said in Bucharest that the number of refugees who have fled from Ukraine has already exceeded one million people and arrivals will continue to increase “if the military actions” do not stop.

Of those million refugees, half are children, according to Unicef, which indicated in a statement that the conflict is having a devastating impact on Ukrainian children, with millions of them affected by violence, especially given the increase in bombing in areas urban.

EU agrees to grant temporary protection to refugees from Ukraine

The countries of the European Union (EU) closed a political agreement on Thursday to grant temporary protection to refugees arriving from Ukraine, who this morning numbered almost a million, through a 2001 directive that will be activated for the first time.

“Historic agreement on the occasion of the meeting of EU interior ministers. The EU will grant temporary protection to those fleeing the war in Ukraine”, the French minister, Gérald Darmanin, who holds the six-month presidency of the Council, wrote on his Twitter account.

In particular, it will provide people who have fled Ukraine, whatever Member State they are in, with a residence permit, access to the labor market and housing, and medical and social assistance.

The nuclear threat as a resource “tactical”

The possibility of using nuclear weapons for “tactical” has emerged clearly for the first time in the war in Ukraine, not as a mere propaganda threat, but as a concrete assumption to de-escalate the conflict.

In this sense, the head of the EU Delegation in Russia, Markus Ederer, affirmed this Thursday that the Russian authorities are discussing the possibility of using nuclear weapons in a way “tactic”, with the aim of de-escalating the conflict caused by the invasion of Ukraine.

“In the corresponding circles, the use of tactical nuclear weapons is debated. It is not the nuclear ‘armageddon’, but to show that if the enemy continues its advances, nuclear weapons are an option”, indicated Ederer during an appearance in the Human Rights Subcommittee of the European Parliament.

US imposes new sanctions on Russian oligarchs

The United States will impose sanctions on more Russian oligarchs and their families on Thursday as part of its campaign to deprive the Kremlin of the resources needed to wage the war in Ukraine.

A source familiar with the official announcement explained that the sanctions will be in line with those imposed on February 28 by the EU, although he assured that their scope will be even greater because they will also affect the relatives of those oligarchs and will prohibit their entry into the United States. Joined.