LIVE – War in Ukraine: Zelensky urges West to provide air defense systems

Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced Saturday that Germany is fully investigating the leak of tapes of military officials discussing classified information related to the war in Ukraine.

“This is a very serious matter, and that is why it is now the subject of a very careful, very thorough and very quick investigation,” Mr. Sholes declared.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday reiterated a call for his Western allies to provide Kiev with more air defense systems after Russian strikes killed five people, Ukraine said.

Attacks on the Black Sea port city of Odessa on Friday and Saturday night killed three people, including a child, and destroyed a nine-story building, officials said. Ukrainians.

At the same time, blasts killed a 76-year-old man in the Kharkiv region near the Russian border and another in the Kherson region, regional officials said.

“Russia continues to attack civilians,” President Zelensky lamented on social media.

“We need more air defense from our allies. We need to strengthen Ukraine's air defense to better protect our people from Russian terrorism. More air defense systems and more missiles for air defense systems save lives,” he said.

The German Defense Ministry said on Saturday it was investigating the possibility of eavesdropping on secret conversations between top officers of its air force about the war in Ukraine.

“We are investigating whether communications with the Air Force were intercepted and the Military Counter Intelligence (BAMAD) has taken all necessary steps,” a ministry spokesman told AFP. Place said.

The case emerged after Russian social media accounts close to the Kremlin broadcast what strongly resembled a recording of a conversation between German officials, according to German media.

The latter specifically talk about the hypothesis of the use by the Ukrainian forces of long-range Taurus missiles, German production, their possible impact, especially if they are aimed at targets such as the Crimean bridge connecting the Kerch Peninsula. Crimea, in the west, and Russian territory.

Despite the apparent differences between President Emmanuel Macron and Chancellor Olaf Scholz over Ukraine, the French diplomatic chief believes there is no division between France and Germany.

“There is no Franco-German conflict, we agree on 80% of subjects”, assures Stephane Sejournay in a daily interview the world Published on Saturday.

At a time when a key envelope worth more than $60 billion is blocked in the United States, the most visible bones of contention are now concerned about the form of aid to Ukraine in the face of a Russian steamroller.

During a support conference for Kyiv organized by Paris on Monday, the French head of state appeared to indirectly attack countries such as Germany.

“I spoke with my German representative, Annalena Baerbach, and we will meet each other next Tuesday in Paris. There is a desire to talk to each other,” continues Stéphane Sejourne. “There is no drama there because we have the same objective of supporting Ukraine,” he underlined.

Russian drone strikes killed at least two people in Ukraine's Kharkiv (northeast) and Odesa (south) regions overnight from Friday to Saturday, Kiev officials said.

A Russian drone crashed into an apartment building in the port city of Odessa, killing a teenager and injuring several others, including a three-year-old child, officials said.

“A three-year-old child is suffering from bruises on his leg and is under medical supervision,” announced the region's governor, Oleg Kiber, who also reported that six adults were injured.

The fire started when a drone struck a house in the village of Veliki Burluk, located about 100 kilometers from Kharkiv. The body of a 76-year-old man was recovered from the rubble, police said.