Several drone attacks in the Kiev region and in Sevastopol, Russian strikes in Zaporijjia which left one dead and 25 injured, President Volodymyr Zelensky going to Bakhmout to decorate soldiers, Chinese President Xi Jinping leaving Moscow...
Le Figaro
takes stock of the war in Ukraine this Wednesday, March 22, 2023.
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President Zelensky in Bakhmut
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the frontline in the Bakhmout area on Wednesday, the epicenter of the fighting in eastern Ukraine, his press service said.
“
Donetsk region.
Frontline positions of the Ukrainian military in the direction of Bakhmout.
Honored to be there today and to decorate our heroes
, ”said Volodymyr Zelensky in a message on Telegram, posting a video of this trip.
The trip comes as pro-Russian separatists fighting alongside the Russian military say the city is "
almost surrounded
".
Read also War in Ukraine: the defense of Bakhmout is “key” for “the stability of the front”, according to kyiv
In these images, we see him in a hangar without protective equipment but accompanied by heavily armed bodyguards handing out decorations to the soldiers, who are also armed and in combat gear.
“
I am honored to decorate the best of our heroes, to shake your hand and give thanks for the defense of our state and sovereignty
,” Volodymyr Zelensky told the military.
One dead and 25 injured in Zaporizhia
At least one person was killed and 25 injured on Wednesday in a Russian strike on an apartment building in Zaporizhia, southern Ukraine, the town's mayor said.
Read alsoWar in Ukraine: the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant has become a “Russian military base”, according to a Ukrainian official
“
Unfortunately, one injured person, who was in serious condition, died.
According to updated information, 25 people are currently hospitalized
,” Anatoly Kourtiev said on Telegram.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Moscow of "
bombarding the city with bestial savagery
".
Xi Jinping leaves Moscow
Chinese President Xi Jinping left Moscow on Wednesday morning after a two-day trip to Russia focused on strengthening ties with his counterpart Vladimir Putin, Russian agencies reported.
Xi Jinping's plane left Moscow's Vnukovo airport after being greeted by an honor guard who played Russian and Chinese national anthems, RIA Novosti news agency reported.
Read alsoXi Jinping spares no support for Putin
During this visit, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping on Tuesday praised the entry into a “
new era
” of their “
special
” relationship with the West, the Russian president cautiously supporting the Chinese plan to settle the conflict in Ukraine.
Moscow calls delivery of depleted uranium shells a '
serious
' aggravation
The delivery by London to Ukraine of ammunition containing depleted uranium, recently mentioned by a British official, would represent a "
serious aggravation
" of the conflict, the head of Russian diplomacy warned on Wednesday.
Read alsoEU to supply 1 million shells to Ukraine
“
It is a step towards an additional aggravation, a serious aggravation
” of the conflict, declared Sergei Lavrov during a press conference in Sochi, in the south of Russia, referring in particular to the consequences on the health of the population and risk of soil contamination.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that "
Russia will be forced to respond
" if such a delivery takes place, without providing details.
Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday that the use of such shells would have serious health consequences, citing the example of the wars in Yugoslavia in the 1990s where such ammunition was used.
Drone
attack on Sevastopol
_
Russia announced on Wednesday that it had "
repelled
" a drone attack on the port of Sevastopol on Wednesday.
"
All three
aircraft were
shot down
," Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said, noting that two of them were destroyed by two military women.
“
I would like these young women to be decorated and paid
a
bounty for
destroying
enemy (drones) ,
”
he added.
Read alsoWar in Ukraine: why did Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu disappear from screens for two weeks?
Shortly before
, the local governor Mikhail Razvojayev, installed by Russia, had announced that "
the Black
Sea
Fleet had
repelled
a surface drone attack against Sevastopol "
.
The assault caused no casualties and "
the
situation is under control
", he assured on Telegram, adding that the explosions had broken the windows of neighboring buildings.
Four
dead
in
drone
attack near
Kiev
Four people were killed in a Russian drone attack in the kyiv region.
The attack occurred overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday and hit a vocational high school in the kyiv region, according to Ukrainian authorities.
“
More than twenty deadly Iranian drones
” launched against Ukraine, “
as well as missiles, numerous bombardments.
All of this is just the last night of
Russian
terror ,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky denounced on Twitter, condemning “
criminal strikes
”.