DIRECT. War in Ukraine: by taking Bakhmout, Moscow would have “the free way” in the east of the country, insists Volodymyr Zelensky

What there is to know

The paramilitary group Wagner claims to have taken control of “all the eastern part” of Bakhmout. In an audio message broadcast on Wednesday March 8, the leader of the group, Evguéni Prigojine, assures that “everything east of the Bakhmoutka River” was conquered by his men. On his side, Volodymyr Zelensky warns: in the event of the capture of Bakhmout, the Russian army would have “the free way” to take over towns in eastern Ukraine. “We understand that after Bakhmout they could go further. They could go to Kramatorsk, they could go to Sloviansk, the way would be clear for the Russians (…) to other cities in Ukraine”said the President of Ukraine, in an interview at CNN (link in English). Follow our live.

European defense ministers want “enable war economy mode”. Meeting in Stockholm on Wednesday in the presence of the Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, and their Ukrainian counterpart, Oleksiï Reznikov, they must prepare a plan for delivering ammunition to Ukraine, despite stocks under pressure, with a first component urgently to one billion euros. The Ukrainian army, which fires thousands every day to repel Russian soldiers, faces a critical shortage of 155 mm shells for its guns.

Antonio Guterres on his way to kyiv. Arriving in Poland on Tuesday, the UN chief is going to the Ukrainian capital during the day, where he is to meet Volodymyr Zelensky. The two men must in particular evoke the continuation of the agreement on the exports of Ukrainian cereals. This is the third trip to Ukraine since the start of the war for Antonio Guterres.

Macron and Biden exchanged again on Ukraine. Tuesday, on the phone, the French and American presidents “discussed their support for Ukraine as Russia’s brutal invasion entered its second year, including their commitment to continue to provide Ukraine with security assistance and to impose sanctions on Russia for its aggression”, says the White House press release (link in English).

kyiv denies any involvement in the sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea. On September 26, 2022, four huge gas leaks preceded by underwater explosions were detected on gas pipelines connecting Russia to Germany, all in international waters. The data collected by the American intelligence services suggests that the perpetrators of the sabotage of the two gas pipelines were “opponents of Russian President Vladimir Putin”Write the New York TimesWednesday. “Even though I like collecting funny conspiracy theories about the Ukrainian government, I have to say that Ukraine had nothing to do with the Baltic Sea accident”, a tweeté Mykhailo Podolyakadviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky.

• #RETIREES “We knew from the start that this reform would be difficult, but we know how necessary it is”reacts on France Inter the Minister of Labor, Olivier Dussopt, the day after the mobilization which brought together between 1.28 million and 3.5 million people.

• #RETIREES Bonjour @Julon the trucking side, the CGT Transports called for actions yesterday and today as “snail operations” or “some sticking points”. On the refinery side, fuel shipments are still blocked this morning, announces the CGT-Chemistry. According to Eric Sellini, national elected representative of the CGT-Chimie who called for a renewable strike, “TotalEnergies’ large shipping sites are shut down”.

• #RETIREES Hello FI, do you have information on the movements in the refineries and on that of the truckers?

• #CLIMATE It is the first in the world to bury CO2 imported from abroad. Denmark inaugurates a carbon dioxide storage site 1,800 meters below the North Sea. The “Greensand” project should make it possible to store up to 8 million tonnes of CO2 per year around 2030, the equivalent of 1.5% of French emissions.

• 🗣 The Assembly rejects a law on the ineligibility of perpetrators of domestic violence ➡️ “It’s not just the rebels who spoke of opportunism”, underlines Clémentine Autain. “We could have expected a larger initiative.” Adrien Quatennens “is not the subject” https://t.co/5XfbpOhaRr

• “We could have expected a larger initiative”launches Clémentine Autain on franceinfo, after the rejection in the Assembly of the bill on theineligibility of perpetrators of domestic violence. The deputy La France insoumise assures that her vote against the text has no connection with the Adrien Quatennens affair.

• #UKRAINE For the first time since the beginning of the invasion, street lighting was turned on in Kharkiv on 7 March.📷 Pavlo Pakhomenko https://t.co/cvqizlieeN
  

• #UKRAINE For the first time since the beginning of the war, public lighting has been turned on in the city of Kharkiv.

• It’s a little after 9 a.m., here are the main news headlines:

  • #RETIREESThe movement against pension reform continues today in transport and refineries. “The door of government is more than open” to the unions, assured Olivier Véran, while the inter-union asked to be received “emergency” at the Elysee. Follow our live.

  • #RETIREES The Senate gave a boost last night to the examination of the bill, by resorting to article 38 of its regulations. The debates ended after an amendment to rewrite article 7 on the decline in the legal age of departure to 64, tabled by the elected Les Républicains. Discussions will resume this afternoon.

  • #UKRAINE The Wagner group claims to have conquered all “the eastern part” of Bakhmout, the epicenter of fighting in eastern Ukraine for several months. Follow our live.

  • #WEATHER FORECAST Be careful if you are in the Nord or Pas-de-Calais. The two departments are currently on snow and ice orange vigilance.

• #RETIREES While the inter-union asks to be received by Emmanuel Macron, Gabriel Attal judges that“There is a time for everything”. The Minister Delegate for Public Accounts advances on BFMTV that “if today the President of the Republic received the unions, you would find the opposition to say ‘look at it interferes with the time of Parliament’“.

• Eric #DupondMoretti sends 2 arms of honor to the president of the LR group in the Assembly: “A whole and honorable man, he apologized but we must all be exemplary” @olivierveran in #RTLMatin with @amandine_begot https://t.co/yg0el9HHtD

• “This type of incident, we would do without”estimates Gabriel Attal on BFMTV, after the arms of honor of Eric Dupond-Moretti in the National Assembly. “He apologized, he explained himself, we can move on.”, decides the Minister of Public Accounts. For his part, the government spokesperson, Olivier Véran, evokes “a whole and honorable man”, Who “apologized”, “but we must all be exemplary”.

• #8Mars This is a figure that attests to the mental load of women, recognizes Doctolib. 85% of medical appointments made for children are booked by women, reveals a study of the site relayed by France Inter. In an attempt to reduce this inequality, Doctolib offers to share the child’s account on the platform. Each of the two parents will therefore be able to book an appointment for their child, without having to know the codes of their spouse.

• “There was a strength in her, a rage, she couldn’t stand injustice.”

  Longtime friend of Gisele Halimi, journalist Annick Cojean salutes on franceinfo the tribute paid to the great feminist figure who died in 2020. For her, this ceremony chaired by Emmanuel Macron is a prerequisite for a possible pantheonization.

• #8Mars Emmanuel Macron today chairs a national tribute to lawyer and feminist activist Gisèle Halimi, on the occasion of International Women’s Day. Serge Halimi, one of the lawyer’s sons, and several feminist associations have already announced their intention not to participate. Clément Parrot explains why this ceremony is controversial.

  

  (PIERRE-JEAN GROUILLE / AFP)

• Due to a strike against the pension reform presented by the government, the operation of the site franceinfo.fr and antennas of the radio and channel 27 may be disturbed. Please accept our apologies.

• #DOMESTIC VIOLENCE The policeman is summoned to appear before the court of Pontoise (Val-d’Oise) this afternoon, for “failure to provide assistance”, after an investigation by the IGPN. “I had a moment of bewilderment and I let myself go verbally against her”, recognizes the official, according to the minutes of his hearing, to which franceinfo was able to have access. With my colleague Catherine Fournier, I tell you the whole story in this article.

• #DOMESTIC VIOLENCE “Don’t call back, get away with it” : this is what the policeman answers on the phone, on July 31, 2022, when Ophélie dials 17 to report that she is threatened by her ex-spouse. However, the latter beat her the day after this call, when she was leaving her home. He was sentenced in November 2022 to four years in prison, including one year suspended.

• “The idea is to hold out until the reform is withdrawn.”

  #RETIREMENTS #STRIKE The day after the sixth day of strike against the pension reform, the representative of the National Federation of Chemical Industries welcomes a day of strike which he considers unprecedented and calls for the movement to continue.

• #RETIREMENTS #STRIKE Fuel shipments are still blocked at the exit of the refineries of the TotalEnergies group in France, according to Eric Sellini, national elected representative of the CGT-Chemistry. “The strike was renewed in the establishments of TotalEnergies in La Mède, Donges, the Raffinerie de Normandie, Feyzin and Flandres, with rates of strikers between 70% and 100%”he says.