War in Ukraine: what to remember from the day of Friday August 19 – franceinfo

Emmanuel Macron and Vladimir Putin spoke by telephone, while the Pentagon pledged new military aid of $775 million to kyiv, and Russian strikes claimed new victims in Kharkiv and Donetsk province. Franceinfo returns to the highlights of Friday August 19 on the front of the war in Ukraine. Emmanuel Macron and Vladimir Putin call for an inspection of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant “as soon as possible” As Moscow and kyiv accuse each other of having struck the Ukrainian nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia, the Russian president estimated on Friday 19 August, that “the systematic bombardment” of this site, occupied by the Russian army, “creates the danger of a large-scale catastrophe which could lead to the radioactive contamination of vast territories”. During a telephone exchange with Emmanuel Macron, the two heads of state called for the organization “as soon as possible” of a visit to the plant by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), reports the Kremlin. The Elysée, for its part, assured that Vladimir Putin accepted that the IAEA mission pass “through Ukraine under government control”, and not through Russia or the Ukrainian territories it occupies. Sending IAEA experts will also require a “ceasefire”, “at least for the duration of the mission”, noted the Elysée. Washington announces new military aid of 775 million dollars for kyiv This new aid will notably include additional missiles for the American Himars precision artillery systems, according to a senior official of the American Department of Defense. These missile launchers allow kyiv to bomb targets several tens of kilometers inside Ukrainian territory controlled by Russia. It will also include mobile gun systems and additional shells, as well as drones. For the first time, it will also include armored anti-mine vehicles for the transport of troops, “a good example of the needs of the Ukrainians to advance their troops and retake territory”, specified the American spokesperson. Another novelty, air-to-ground Harm anti-radar missiles that the Ukrainians have managed to adapt to their Russian-made Mig bombers: this is the first time that the United States has revealed that it has delivered these supersonic missiles, designed to find and destroy systems enemy air defense. The American official finally insisted on the “total lack of progress of the Russians on the battlefield” in recent weeks. “We have not seen any recapture of territory” by Ukrainian forces, she acknowledged, “but we are seeing a clear weakening of Russian positions in several places”. Emmanuel Macron calls on the French to agree to “pay the price of freedom” During a speech in Bormes-les-Mimosas (Var), Emmanuel Macron denounced Vladimir Putin’s “brutal attack” against Ukraine and hailed the “heroic resistance” of the Ukrainian people against the “terrible assaults of the Russian army and its auxiliaries”. In “this war which is thundering at our doors”, the Head of State affirms that “it will take strength of soul to look the coming time in the face, to resist uncertainty, sometimes ease and adversity and, united, agree to pay the price for our freedom and our values”. The Nord Stream gas pipeline will be closed for “maintenance” from August 31 to September 2 “On August 31, 2022, the only Trent 60 gas compression unit will be shut down for three days for maintenance” which will be attended by Siemens technicians, said Gazprom in a statement. Gas deliveries to Europe will therefore be suspended over the period, according to the Russian gas giant, which explains that “it is necessary to carry out maintenance every 1,000 hours”. At the end of this period and “in the absence of technical malfunctions”, deliveries will resume with a flow of 33 million cubic meters of gas per day, the company said. The announcement caused a further rise in the price of European gas: the price of the Dutch TTF futures contract rose to 257.40 euros at the end of the session, an absolute record. A stoppage of deliveries during a 10-day maintenance in July had already aroused the concern of European countries, which accuse Moscow of using gas as a “weapon of war”. Bombings in the Donetsk and Kharkiv regions kill at least six people In eastern Ukraine, fighting continues in the Donbass, Moscow’s priority strategic objective. Five deaths have been recorded in the past 24 hours in Donetsk province alone, according to Ukrainian authorities. In the northeast of the country, shelling hit Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second city, and left at least one dead, according to local authorities. At least 12 other people had died in the same way in the region in the past two days, they said.