{"id":5879,"date":"2023-04-18T14:18:12","date_gmt":"2023-04-18T14:18:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londonpost.news\/?p=5879"},"modified":"2023-04-18T16:56:34","modified_gmt":"2023-04-18T16:56:34","slug":"putin-visits-two-regions-of-ukraine-russia-attacks-bakhmut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/americas\/united-states\/putin-visits-two-regions-of-ukraine-russia-attacks-bakhmut\/2023\/04\/18\/admin1\/","title":{"rendered":"Putin visits two regions of Ukraine, Russia attacks Bakhmut"},"content":{"rendered":"

MOSCOW (Reuters) <\/span>Russian<\/span> President<\/span> Vladimir<\/span> Putin<\/span> has<\/span> met<\/span> with<\/span> commanders<\/span> in<\/span> two<\/span> regions<\/span> of<\/span> Ukraine<\/span> said<\/span> to<\/span> have<\/span> been<\/span> annexed<\/span> by<\/span> Moscow.<\/span> Meanwhile,<\/span> Russian<\/span> forces<\/span> stepped<\/span> up<\/span> artillery<\/span> and<\/span> air<\/span> strikes<\/span> on<\/span> the<\/span> devastated<\/span> Ukrainian<\/span> city<\/span> of<\/span> Bakhmut<\/span>\u00a0.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Meanwhile,<\/span> Ukrainian<\/span> President<\/span> Volodymyr<\/span> Zelensky<\/span> visited<\/span> troops<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> eastern<\/span> town<\/span> of<\/span> Avdiuka,<\/span> about<\/span> 70<\/span> kilometers<\/span> (43<\/span> miles)<\/span> southwest<\/span> of<\/span> Bakhmut,<\/span> and<\/span> was<\/span> briefed<\/span> on<\/span> the<\/span> situation<\/span> on<\/span> the<\/span> battlefield,<\/span> his<\/span> office<\/span> said.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> Kremlin<\/span> said<\/span> Putin<\/span> attended<\/span> a<\/span> military<\/span> command<\/span> meeting<\/span> in<\/span> southern<\/span> Ukraine’s<\/span> Kherson<\/span> region<\/span> on<\/span> Monday<\/span> and<\/span> visited<\/span> the<\/span> National<\/span> Guard<\/span> headquarters<\/span> in<\/span> eastern<\/span> Luhansk.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Putin<\/span> heard<\/span> briefed<\/span> reports<\/span> from<\/span> the<\/span> commanders<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> Airborne<\/span> Forces<\/span> and<\/span> the<\/span> Dnieper<\/span> Army<\/span> Group,<\/span> as<\/span> well<\/span> as<\/span> other<\/span> senior<\/span> officers,<\/span> about<\/span> the<\/span> situation<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> southern<\/span> Kherson<\/span> and<\/span> Zaporizhia<\/span> regions.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>According<\/span> to<\/span> the<\/span> Kremlin,<\/span> neither<\/span> Defense<\/span> Minister<\/span> Sergei<\/span> Shoigu<\/span> nor<\/span> Chief<\/span> of<\/span> Staff<\/span> Valery<\/span> Gerasimov<\/span> accompanied<\/span> Putin<\/span> on<\/span> the<\/span> trip<\/span> for<\/span> security<\/span> reasons.<\/span> A<\/span> senior<\/span> adviser<\/span> to<\/span> Ukrainian<\/span> President<\/span> Mikhail<\/span> Podlyak<\/span> has<\/span> ridiculed<\/span> Putin’s<\/span> visit<\/span> as<\/span> a<\/span> “special<\/span> tour”<\/span> for<\/span> the<\/span> author<\/span> of<\/span> genocide<\/span> in<\/span> occupied<\/span> and<\/span> devastated<\/span> territories,<\/span> enjoying<\/span> the<\/span> crimes<\/span> of<\/span> his<\/span> minions<\/span> for<\/span> the<\/span> last<\/span> time<\/span> .<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Kiev<\/span> and<\/span> the<\/span> West<\/span> have<\/span> accused<\/span> Russian<\/span> forces<\/span> of<\/span> committing<\/span> war<\/span> crimes<\/span> in<\/span> occupied<\/span> Ukrainian<\/span> territory,<\/span> a<\/span> charge<\/span> Moscow<\/span> denies.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Kherson,<\/span> Zaporizhia,<\/span> Luhansk<\/span> and<\/span> Donetsk<\/span> are<\/span> the<\/span> four<\/span> he<\/span> declared<\/span> to<\/span> have<\/span> been<\/span> annexed<\/span> to<\/span> Ukraine<\/span> by<\/span> Putin<\/span> last<\/span> September<\/span> following<\/span> allegations<\/span> of<\/span> a<\/span> sham<\/span> referendum.<\/span> Russian<\/span> troops<\/span> only<\/span> partially<\/span> control<\/span> his<\/span> four<\/span> regions.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Russian<\/span> troops<\/span> withdrew<\/span> from<\/span> the<\/span> region’s<\/span> capital,<\/span> Kherson,<\/span> last<\/span> November<\/span> and<\/span> are<\/span> strengthening<\/span> their<\/span> positions<\/span> on<\/span> the<\/span> opposite<\/span> bank<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> Dnipro<\/span> River<\/span> in<\/span> anticipation<\/span> of<\/span> a<\/span> Ukrainian<\/span> counterattack<\/span> this<\/span> spring.<\/span> While<\/span> numerous<\/span> Western<\/span> leaders<\/span> have<\/span> traveled<\/span> to<\/span> Kiev<\/span> for<\/span> talks<\/span> with<\/span> President<\/span> Zelensky<\/span> since<\/span> Russian<\/span> forces<\/span> invaded<\/span> 14<\/span> months<\/span> ago,<\/span> Putin<\/span> has<\/span> rarely<\/span> visited<\/span> parts<\/span> of<\/span> Russia-controlled<\/span> Ukraine.\u00a0<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Last<\/span> month,<\/span> he<\/span> visited<\/span> Crimea,<\/span> which<\/span> was<\/span> annexed<\/span> by<\/span> Russia<\/span> in<\/span> 2014,<\/span> and<\/span> the<\/span> southeastern<\/span> city<\/span> of<\/span> Mariupol<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> Donetsk<\/span> region.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> Russian<\/span> winter<\/span> offensive<\/span> made<\/span> little<\/span> headway,<\/span> and<\/span> its<\/span> armies<\/span> were<\/span> bogged<\/span> down<\/span> in<\/span> a<\/span> series<\/span> of<\/span> battles<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> east<\/span> and<\/span> south,<\/span> but<\/span> progress<\/span> was<\/span> slow<\/span> and<\/span> costly<\/span> on<\/span> both<\/span> sides.<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> G7<\/span> foreign<\/span> ministers’<\/span> meeting<\/span> in<\/span> Japan<\/span> on<\/span> Tuesday<\/span> condemned<\/span> Russia’s<\/span> plans<\/span> to<\/span> deploy<\/span> so-called<\/span> short-range<\/span> tactical<\/span> nuclear<\/span> weapons<\/span> in<\/span> Belarus,<\/span> an<\/span> ally<\/span> of<\/span> Moscow<\/span> that<\/span> borders<\/span> Ukraine.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>In<\/span> a<\/span> communiqu\u00e9<\/span> released<\/span> at<\/span> the<\/span> end<\/span> of<\/span> his<\/span> three-day<\/span> conference<\/span> in<\/span> Japan,<\/span> the<\/span> G7<\/span> Foreign<\/span> Ministers<\/span> said:<\/span>
\n<\/span>“Russia’s<\/span> irresponsible<\/span> nuclear<\/span> rhetoric<\/span> and<\/span> Russia’s<\/span> threat<\/span> to<\/span> deploy<\/span> nuclear<\/span> weapons<\/span> in<\/span> Belarus<\/span> are<\/span> unacceptable.”<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>“Russia’s<\/span> use<\/span> of<\/span> chemical,<\/span> biological<\/span> and<\/span> nuclear<\/span> weapons<\/span> would<\/span> have<\/span> serious<\/span> consequences,”<\/span> they<\/span> said.<\/span> The<\/span> G7<\/span> includes<\/span> the<\/span> US,<\/span> Japan,<\/span> Germany,<\/span> UK,<\/span> France,<\/span> Italy<\/span> and<\/span> Canada,<\/span> all<\/span> of<\/span> which<\/span> have<\/span> imposed<\/span> economic<\/span> sanctions<\/span> over<\/span> Russia’s<\/span> invasion<\/span> of<\/span> Ukraine.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> war<\/span> in<\/span> Ukraine<\/span> has<\/span> killed<\/span> tens<\/span> of<\/span> thousands<\/span> of<\/span> people,<\/span> leveled<\/span> cities,<\/span> displaced<\/span> millions<\/span> from<\/span> their<\/span> homes<\/span> and<\/span> disrupted<\/span> the<\/span> global<\/span> security<\/span> order.<\/span> One<\/span> reason<\/span> for<\/span> this<\/span> is<\/span> that<\/span> Russia<\/span> has<\/span> strengthened<\/span> its<\/span> relations<\/span> with<\/span> non-Western<\/span> countries,<\/span> including<\/span> China.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Russian<\/span> Defense<\/span> Minister<\/span> Shoigu<\/span> told<\/span> Chinese<\/span> Defense<\/span> Minister<\/span> Li<\/span> Shangfu<\/span> during<\/span> a<\/span> meeting<\/span> in<\/span> Moscow<\/span> on<\/span> Tuesday<\/span> that<\/span> military<\/span> cooperation<\/span> between<\/span> the<\/span> two<\/span> countries<\/span> is<\/span> a<\/span> “stabilizing”<\/span> force<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> world<\/span> and<\/span> will<\/span> help<\/span> reduce<\/span> the<\/span> likelihood<\/span> of<\/span> conflict.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Li<\/span> said<\/span> his<\/span> visit<\/span> aims<\/span> to<\/span> show<\/span> the<\/span> world<\/span> that<\/span> China<\/span> is<\/span> steadfastly<\/span> intent<\/span> on<\/span> stepping<\/span> up<\/span> strategic<\/span> cooperation<\/span> with<\/span> Russia,<\/span> TASS<\/span> News<\/span> Agency<\/span> reported.<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MOSCOW (Reuters) Russian President Vladimir Putin has met with commanders in two regions of Ukraine said to have been annexed by Moscow. Meanwhile, Russian forces stepped up artillery and air strikes on the devastated Ukrainian city of Bakhmut\u00a0. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited troops in the eastern town of Avdiuka, about 70 kilometers (43 […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5880,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":""},"categories":[2409,26,276,2480,2482],"tags":[1323,1324,1374,1376,1377,154,1378,177,1760,933,1764,1224,1765,1226,2538,1227,2590,1228,2591,1288,2592,1311,1312,1314],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/U63RQJKGFVL2RJDWS4ZTTB5B3Mputin.jpg","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5879"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5879"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5879\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5892,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5879\/revisions\/5892"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5880"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5879"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5879"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5879"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}