Showdown in Severodonetsk, Germany returns to coal

Did you miss the latest events on the tensions in Ukraine? Do not panic, 20 Minutes takes stock for you every evening at 7:30 p.m. Who did what ? Who said what? Where are we ? The answer below:

news of the day

It is “bitter” but “indispensable”, recognizes Robert Habeck, the environmental minister of the Economy and the Climate. While the German government had promised to abandon coal as an energy source by 2030, it is backtracking because of the conflict in Ukraine. The recent fall in the supply of Russian gas, on which Germany is particularly dependent, obliges it to do so. “We need to use less gas to produce electricity. Instead, coal-fired power plants will have to be used more,” explained the minister.

Concretely, the government will allow the use of so-called “reserve” power stations, which are currently only used as a last resort. But this greater use of coal is supposed to be “temporary”.

sentence of the day

We have to be prepared for this to last for years”

This is the fear of the Secretary General of NATO, in an interview with the German daily Bild. Jens Stoltenberg adds: “We must not falter in supporting Ukraine, even if the costs are high, not only in terms of military support but also because of the energy and food prices which go up”.

The number of the day

Up to 50% reduction for rations given to refugees in Africa by the UN World Food Program (WFP). The WFP is forced to give less in particular in Ethiopia, Kenya, South Sudan and Uganda, because “the available resources cannot keep up with the growing demand for food in the world”. The fault in particular with the war in Ukraine and with the flight of the price of cereals.

The trend of the day

The struggle continues to rage in Severodonetsk in the east. On the military field as on that of the communication. While Moscow ensures that “the offensive [sur la ville] is taking place successfully”, the Ukrainian army claims to have pushed back the Russian troops in the sector. ” [Les Russes] control the majority of the city, but they do not control it entirely,” insisted the local governor, Serguiï Gaïdaï. Moscow also claims to have “liberated” the locality of Metolkine, when kyiv claims to have defended the Tochkivka region… Without these assertions having been able to be confirmed.