Ukraine

Élysée says Macron brokers possible Biden-Putin summit on Ukraine

International — Link

The French presidential office said late Sunday that Emmanuel Macron held two phone calls with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin during which the latter agreed  'in principle'  to a summit with US President Joe Biden over tensions in Ukraine.

Kremlin denies French claims of deal brokered in Macron-Putin talks

International — Link

A Kremlin spokesman has described as 'simply impossible' that any deal was agreed between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron during their talks in Moscow on Monday over the Ukraine crisis, tempering upbeat comments by Macron as he visited Kyiv on Tuesday before travelling on to Berlin.   

Putin says Macron talks on Ukraine 'possible basis for further steps'

International — Link

After a five-hour meeting in the Kremlin between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, held in an attempt to defuse the crisis over fears of an imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine, Putin said Macron's proposals were a possible 'basis for further steps' adding that Russia 'will do everything to find compromises that suit everyone'. 

Macron says his talks with Putin 'likely to prevent war' in Ukraine

International — Link

The French president has put his credibility on the line ahead of a visit to Moscow this Monday. 

Macron to visit Moscow, Kyiv in bid to defuse Ukraine crisis

International — Link

French head of state will meet Russian president Vladimir Putin on Monday and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday, the Elysée Palace said. 

France hosts Russian and Ukrainian negotiators in bid to defuse crisis

International — Link

High-level meeting brought together representatives of the four countries under the so-called Normandy Format, which has been used repeatedly since Russia's 2014 annexation of the Ukrainian province of Crimea.

A lesson for our times: Tatiana Plyushch, the woman who faced down the KGB

International

Were it not for his wife Tatiana, Ukrainian mathematician and Soviet dissident Leonid Plyushch would almost certainly never have survived the special psychiatric hospital were he was locked up in 1973. Thanks to her endless, uncompromising campaigning, aided by strong international support, this Ukrainian intellectual eventually forced the Soviet regime to give way, and Leonid Plyushch and his family were freed into exile in January 1976. Leonid died in 2015 but Tatiana Plyushch still lives in their adopted village in the south of France, where Mediapart's François Bonnet went to meet her.

Ukraine airliner black boxes arrive in France

International — Link

A source at France's Bureau for Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA) said the boxes from the passenger plane Iran forces mistakenly shot down in January would be at the agency from Monday.

'Dead' Ukranian fugitive found to be château owner in France

International — Link

A man who fled corruption and money laundering charges in his native Ukraine by faking a death certificate has been arrested near Dijon in east-central France where he was found to be living a luxury lifestyle with a château, works of art and vintage cars worth an estimated 4.6 million euros.

The facts of the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17

International — Investigation

An international investigation has concluded that the destruction of a Malaysia Airlines flight linking Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur over eastern Ukraine in July 2014, which killed all 298 passengers and crew aboard, was caused by a missile from a Russian army anti-aircraft brigade, confirming a report published by Mediapart just six months after the horrific events. The attack occurred over territory held by pro-Russian Ukrainian separatists at the height of the secessionist conflict with the Ukraine government.  The Joint International Team investigation, involving officials from the Netherlands, Australia, Belgium, Malaysia and Ukraine, have found that the missile which destroyed the plane “came from the 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade based in Kursk in Russia”, just as the investigation by Mediapart media partner CORRECT!V had pieced together in this detailed report first published in January 2015.

Exclusive: Macron speaks out on Trump, Putin, Palestine, Syria, and the Greek debt

International — Interview

Emmanuel Macron, who was elected as France’s new president on Sunday, gave his last interview before his landslide victory to Mediapart, in which he detailed the measures and policies he would adopt over his five-year term of office. During the two-hour interview on Friday evening, he detailed his approach to a number of foreign policy issues - which were little mentioned during his campaign - including French military intervention abroad, his views on Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Greek debt crisis, and US reluctance to implement the Paris COP 21 measures to combat climate change.

Ukraine arrests Frenchman 'planning terorist attacks in France'

International — Link

Ukranian authorities said the unnamed 25-year-old had a large arsenal of weapons and explosives to be used against Muslim and Jewish targets.

Hollande sees end to Russia sanctions

International — Link

The French president said recent 'progress' in the ceasefire in the Ukraine left few obstacles to lifting EU and US sanctions against Moscow.

France 'settles warship compensation claim' with Russia

France — Link

Senior Kremlin official says 'everything has been decided' over how much France will pay Russia for non-delivery of two Mistral warships.

Russia seeks nearly 1.2bln euros from France for undelivered warships

International — Link

The Russian compensation claim for the French-built helicopter carriers, blocked over Ukraine crisis, is well below France's offer of 785m euros.