Ukraine: Paris conditionne la résolution du conflit à l'application des accords de Minsk. International URL courte "L'application complète des accords de Minsk, signés en février, est le seul chemin possible pour dénouer la crise. Les aspects politiques ou ceux qui concernent les questions de sécurité, doivent être appliqués simultanément d'ici à la fin de cette année", a-t-il déclaré lundi. Selon M. Nadal, il s'agit d'une tâche difficile et ambitieuse. Les accords de Minsk prévoient notamment une réforme de la constitution de l'Ukraine. How many Russians are fighting in Ukraine? Western arguments about how to counter President Vladimir Putin's support for east Ukraine separatists are leading to clashes over the question of how deeply involved Russia's military is in the conflict. The latest salvo between Nato allies came in a German government briefing to Spiegel magazine that accuses the alliance's supreme commander (American Gen Philip Breedlove) of disseminating "dangerous propaganda" on the extent of Russian military involvement, trying to undermine a diplomatic solution to the war.
The Kremlin has denied its forces are directly involved in combat, but the latest estimate by US Lt Gen Ben Hodges, commander of the US Army in Europe, says 12,000 Russian troops are operating inside the neighbouring country. As the conflict there has worn, on this intervention has become increasingly hard to hide, growing bigger, with more advanced weapons, and capturing more territory for the nominal "separatist army". This intervention evolved in several phases: Complex picture. Ukraine conflict: Will the ceasefire hold? The BBC's Tom Burridge has spent the past month in eastern Ukraine. Here is his snapshot assessment of the latest situation on the ground.
Is the ceasefire in Ukraine holding? No. There is fighting pretty much every day. It is nothing on the scale of what was happening around the time of the Minsk agreement, which took effect on 15 February. However, on certain days, in certain areas, the fighting has spiked. According to reports, neither side has sustained very high casualties since mid-February. Where is most of the fighting concentrated? The village of Shyrokyne, to the east of the valuable port city of Mariupol, has probably seen the most intense fighting since February. There is also continuing fighting to the north-west of the main rebel-held city of Donetsk, around the area of the villages of Pisky (Ukrainian-held) and Spartak (rebel-held).
There has also been a significant amount of fighting south of Avdiivka, a town held by the Ukrainian army. Is the frontline moving? Ukraine crisis: Rally in Kiev urges war on eastern rebels. About 1,000 Ukrainian pro-government fighters and far-right supporters have marched through the centre of the capital, Kiev. Many burned tyres and wore balaclavas; some carried white supremacist flags. They called on the government to end the Minsk ceasefire accord and declare war on pro-Russian rebels in the east. The demonstrators say the Russian government is bringing troops and equipment into Ukraine, a claim that Russia has always denied. Many in the rally were from volunteer battalions and were dressed in their battle fatigues. They said they had returned from fighting Russian forces and demanded an end to all diplomatic relations with Russia.
The ultra-nationalist Right Sector group called the march. Protesters also demanded the nationalisation of Russian-owned businesses. More than 6,400 people have been killed in fighting in eastern Ukraine that began in April 2014 when rebels seized large parts of the two eastern regions. Ukraine crisis: Rally in Kiev urges war on eastern rebels. Le G7 affiche sa fermeté contre la Russie. LE MONDE | • Mis à jour le | Par Yves-Michel Riols (Elmau (Allemagne), envoyé spécial) et Frédéric Lemaître (Elmau (Allemagne), envoyé spécial) La priorité, tant pour les Américains que les Européens, était d’afficher l’unité du G7 face à la Russie, un an après son exclusion de ce qui était alors le G8 à la suite de l’annexion de la Crimée par Moscou.
Les dirigeants ont fait passer un message de fermeté sur l’Ukraine : l’heure n’est pas à la levée des sanctions contre la Russie, alors que Vladimir Poutine ne démontre aucun empressement à appliquer l’accord de Minsk, conclu en février, sous la pression de François Hollande et Angela Merkel. A l’issue du sommet, lundi 8 juin, François Hollande a jugé « vraisemblable » la prolongation des sanctions de l’Union européenne lors du prochain Conseil européen, les 25 et 26 juin, à Bruxelles. Mais pas question d’aller plus loin pour le moment. M.