19.03.2023
On March 18, Putin visited the Russian-occupied Crimea Peninsula and Mariupol, the port capital of Udon. The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and the adviser to the presidential palace strongly condemned this. On the same day, both Russia and Ukraine agreed to extend the Ukrainian grain export agreement again.
(Deutsche Welle Chinese Network) Russian President Vladimir Putin made a surprise visit on Sunday (March 18) to Mariupol, a port city in Udon, which is currently occupied by Russian troops. , Putin’s first visit to Russia’s occupied areas in Ukraine.
In this regard, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense and the presidential adviser Mykhaylo Podolyak (Mykhaylo Podolyak) both severely criticized it on Twitter on the 19th local time.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense said on Twitter: “Putin visited the Ukrainian city of Mariupol under the cover of night, which is in line with his identity as a thief. First of all, it is safer to do so (referring to the dark night visit). Moreover, the night not only It would allow him to show what he had to show, but also to hide from outside prying eyes the city that had been utterly destroyed by his armies, and its few surviving inhabitants.”
Podolyako, Ukraine’s presidential adviser, slammed: “Criminals always return to the scene of their crimes… The murderer of thousands of families in Mariupol came to admire the city’s wreckage and graves.”
When the Russo-Ukraine war broke out last year, there was a siege of Mariupol that lasted for several weeks. In particular, the Azov Iron and Steel Plant in the city once became the last position of the Ukrainian defense forces.
According to the Russian official media TASS, Putin arrived in Mariupol by helicopter on the 18th, then changed to a car, inspected various locations in the city and talked with residents. Local officials also submitted an urban renewal report to him.
Putin’s visit to Sevastopol accompanied by Mayor Razvozayev
Earlier in the day, Putin made a surprise visit to the Crimean peninsula to commemorate the ninth anniversary of Russia’s “recovery”. Television footage from Russian state media showed Putin in the city of Sevastopol accompanied by Mayor Razvozayev. The latter said on the social platform Telegram: “On this historic day, the President is always with the city of Sevastopol and the people of Sevastopol.”
Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula in an illegal referendum in March 2014. Neither Ukraine nor the vast majority of countries recognized the legitimacy of the referendum. At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland at the beginning of this year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also stated that he must retake Crimea, although Russia has always refused to negotiate on the Crimea issue.
The Port of Odessa is an important port for Ukrainian grain exports
Russia, Ukraine agree to extend grain export deal
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on the same day that both Russia and Ukraine agreed to extend the Ukrainian grain export agreement. Merchant ships will continue to be able to load grain from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports. However, the two sides apparently still disagree on details: Ukraine’s infrastructure ministry said the agreement had been extended by 120 days, but Russia’s foreign ministry said Russia had agreed to a 60-day extension.
The agreement reached in June 2022 mediated by Turkey and the United Nations aims to ensure the safety of grain export channels in Ukraine, an important grain-producing country. The agreement has already been extended once in November 2022 for a period of 120 days.
At present, the battle lines between Russia and Ukraine are not on the coast of the Black Sea, but around the village of Bakhmut in Donetsk. Just on March 18, the Russian army airstrikes Kramatorsk, a city near Bakhmut, killing 2 people and injuring 10 others.
(AFP, etc.)
Political situation |
12.02.2023
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