A movement under high tension. Russian President Vladimir Putin traveled to the Kherson region in southern Ukraine to meet with the military. A visit criticized by the Ukrainian presidency, which accuses the Russian president of visiting the scene of his “crimes”.
At the same time, the Russian Foreign Minister was in Brazil and told President Lula that he wanted to end the conflict as soon as possible. The G7 has promised to sanction any country helping the Russian war effort. Update on the war.
Putin visiting Kherson
Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the Kherson and Lugansk regions, respectively in the annexed south and east of Ukraine. The goal: to meet the soldiers who are deployed there as part of the Russian operation launched more than a year ago, the Kremlin announced on Tuesday. The statement does not specify when this trip took place, but it indicates that the Russian president congratulated the soldiers on the occasion of the Orthodox Easter holiday, which was celebrated on Sunday. The leader offered them “copies of the icons”.
This is Vladimir Putin’s first trip to the Kherson region since the start of the Russian offensive in Ukraine in February 2022. “It is important for me to hear your opinion on the situation, to listen to you, to exchange information,” the Russian president said, according to a video released by the Kremlin.
The Ukrainian reaction was not long in coming. This trip “is a special tour of the author of mass murders in the occupied and ravaged territories to take pleasure in the crimes” committed by the Russian forces, declared on Twitter Mykhaïlo Podoliak, an adviser to the Ukrainian presidency.
G7 vows to make countries helping Russia pay ‘high price’
G7 foreign ministers promised on Tuesday that countries providing assistance to Russia for its war in Ukraine would pay “a heavy price”, in a statement issued after a meeting in Japan. The senior diplomats also want to strengthen the application of the sanctions already taken against Russia and considered “unacceptable” the announcement by Moscow of its intention to send nuclear weapons to Belarus.
US Journalist Evan Gershkovich Detained
A Russian court on Tuesday rejected the request for the release of American journalist Evan Gershkovich, confirming his remand on espionage charges which he rejects.
After a closed hearing, the judge decided to “leave unchanged” the detention order, according to an AFP journalist admitted to the room to read the decision. Evan Gershkovich, reporter for the American daily Wall Street Journal, was arrested at the end of March during a report in Yekaterinburg, in the Urals. “He is combative, he plays sports, he understands that people support him,” said one of his lawyers, Maria Kortchaguina, after the hearing.
The Brazilian state, a sounding board for Russian propaganda?
Lula in Lavrov’s hand? The White House strongly criticized Brazil on Monday after President Lula accused the United States this weekend of prolonging the conflict in Ukraine, after a trip to the Emirates and China. “In this specific case, Brazil is echoing Russian and Chinese propaganda without taking the facts into account,” said John Kirby, spokesman for the National Security Council, a body directly attached to the American president.
Answer: “I don’t know how or why the spokesman for the White House National Security Council came to this conclusion. But I don’t agree in any way,” Mauro Vieira told reporters in Brasília , where President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva met Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Monday. Not convincing: Ukraine invited the Brazilian president to kyiv on Tuesday to come and see the reality of Russian aggression.
Russia says it repelled Ukrainian infiltration attempt
Russia said on Monday it repelled a Ukrainian attempt to “illegally” infiltrate its territory via the Bryansk border region, ten days after reporting a similar incident. “The intruder exploded on a mined protection line, which was created by the Russian armed forces to prevent infiltration into Russian territory and ensure the safety of residents of border settlements,” the region’s governor said on Telegram. , Alexander Bogomaz.
Chinese defense minister ‘determined’ to strengthen cooperation with Russian military
Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu, visiting Moscow, on Tuesday showed his “determination” to strengthen cooperation with the Russian army, according to comments reported by Russian news agencies. The visit comes as Westerners, allied to kyiv, fear that Beijing will deliver arms to Russia to fuel its war effort in Ukraine.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu for his part called for developing these relations “by offering each other strong support, including with regard to national security issues”. Since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine, Beijing has declared itself officially neutral, without ever condemning the Russian invasion. Xi has never spoken to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
