Phosphorus bombs, meetings in Brussels: the situation on the 29th day of the Ukrainian conflict – BFMTV

Ukraine has tried to alert Westerners to the use of white phosphorus bombs in recent hours, as several major summits were held in Brussels. Westerners want to increase pressure on Russia with no less than three summits organized in Brussels this Thursday: that of the G7, NATO and a European summit. As the bombardments continue in Ukraine, concern is growing locally and internationally about the possible use of chemical weapons by Moscow. • Deadly bombardments in Lugansk and KharkivRussian strikes on major cities in Ukraine continue to a high pace this week. This Thursday morning, 4 people died near Lugansk and 6 were injured in a Russian airstrike, according to the governor of the region Serguiï Gaïdaï. Further north, in Kharkiv, the second largest city in the country with 1.5 million inhabitants before the war, a bombardment left six dead and 15 injured among the civilian population. The governor of the region denounced on Telegram a new “crime of the Russian occupiers”. • Half of Ukrainian children displacedSince the start of the Russian offensive, more than half of Ukrainian children have had to leave their homes to flee the fighting insecurity, according to figures provided by Unicef ​​on Thursday. The United Nations agency has thus explained that 4.3 million of them have been displaced, out of the approximately 7.5 million children present in the country before the conflict. Some 1.8 million children have thus crossed the border to take refuge in neighboring countries and 2.5 million are displaced inside Ukraine. “The war has caused one of the fastest large-scale displacements of children since the Second World War,” said UNICEF chief executive Catherine Russell. Ukraine’s president has accused Russia of using “phosphorus bombs” in Ukraine during a video message posted on his Telegram account, shortly before the start of the NATO summit in Brussels. This accusation had already been made by the Ukrainian ambassador to France on BFMTV on Wednesday, as well as by the mayor of Irpin. Invited on our antenna, the spokesperson for the Russian embassy in France, Alexander Makogonov, formally denied. “It is completely false, the Russian army cannot use this kind of weapon prohibited by the UN. It is not our method”, he declared.• Macron wants to continue the sanctions without becoming co-belligerentWesterners on a ridge line. In Brussels for the three international summits, Emmanuel Macron spoke about the sanctions imposed on Moscow, and thus estimated during a press conference that the Russian economy was “in default of payment”. In addition to this pressure imposed on Moscow, the president assured that the West would continue to support Ukraine and supply it with weapons, while keeping a certain distance. For example, he ruled out delivering “planes or tanks” to avoid creating “co-belligerence”. Regarding Russia’s actions in Ukraine, accused of committing war crimes, the French president refused to draw a “line red” not to be crossed, such as the use of chemical weapons. He explained that he preferred “strategic ambiguity and discretion”. • Biden promises a response if Moscow uses chemical weapons Present in Brussels to participate in international discussions, Joe Biden has been offensive against Russia. He thus explained that he was in favor of the exclusion of Russia from the G20. If that is not possible, he also said he wanted Ukraine to participate in the group’s discussions. On the chemical weapons file, while the United States repeats that the threat is “credible”, Joe Biden promised a NATO’s “response” if ever Russia were to take this step.Anthony Audureau with AFP