February 10, 2023

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 10.02.2023, 13:55

EU. The president of the European Council
Charles Michel has stated the European Union’s firm commitment to stand by
Ukraine as long as necessary. Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky, who
attended a special meeting of the council, called on EU heads of state and
government to provide additional support for his country, including fighter
jets. A group of EU leaders, including Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis, met
president Zelensky on the sidelines of the Special European Council. According
to a statement from the Romanian president’s office, Iohannis emphasised the
need to further provide support for Ukraine in all areas and to maintain
pressure on Russia.

Ukraine.
The Russian forces launched air raids on the essential infrastructure in
several areas in Ukraine, while at least 17 missiles against hit Zaporizhzhia in
the early hours of Friday. Air raid sirens sounded across the country and local
officials urged people to take shelter, warning of new strikes. The attack on Zaporizhzhia was
the biggest since Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year, local officials
said. The essential infrastructure also came under attack in Kharkiv, in
northern Ukraine, and in the Dnipropetrovsk region, in the centre. The spokesperson
for the Air Forces told the Ukrainian TV that this country’s aid defence
systems shot down five of the seven drones and five of the six Kaliber missiles
launched into Ukraine. On Thursday night, French president Emmanuel Macron said
the Ukrainian army needs weapons that are more useful and faster, such as the
Caesar guns and the MAMBA surface-to-air defence systems, which France has
already supplied. He also said the fighter jets requested by Ukraine from its
western partners could not be sent in the coming weeks.

Quake.
Hopes fade of finding survivors in the wake of the violent quake that killed
over 21,000 people in Turkey and Syria in one of the biggest disasters to
affect this region in the last century. The death toll is already higher than
of the previous earthquake that hit Izmit, in north-western Turkey, in 1999,
with experts saying it will grow as more bodies are found. A first-aid convoy
entered yesterday from Turkey into rebel-controlled territory in Syria. The six
trucks carry emergency aid such as blankets, mattresses, tents, and shelter material as well as
basic relief items set to cover the needs of at least 5,000 people,
according to the International Organisation for Migration. The White Helmets, a
volunteer organisation operating in parts of opposition-controlled areas in
Syria, called for more specialised help to rescue people from under the
rubble.

Radio.
Radio Romania’s production The Sixties by Ema Stere and adapted and directed by Mihnea Chelaru is one of the three to be
shortlisted for the BBC Radio Drama Awards in the Best European Drama category.
The winners will be announced on Sunday in London. The Sixties explores the drama
of the first generation of young people separated from the free world at a time
when the communist regime was tightening its
grip on power in Romania. The other two shortlisted productions for Best
European Drama are Czech Radio’s Burning by Sudabeh Mohafez and Polskie Radio’s Let Me Tell You by Marta
Rebzda. (CM)