President Zelensky visits soldiers on the front lines
According to Reuters, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office said the Ukrainian leader visited soldiers in the city of Avdiivka in the Donetsk region on April 18 to thank them and listen to commanders’ reports on the battlefield situation. Avdiivka was one of Russia’s main targets in this winter’s offensive.
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Video released by President Zelensky’s office shows him speaking to soldiers in combat gear and presenting them with awards in what looks like a large industrial warehouse with sandbags piled on top of it. at least one of the walls is high.
“I am honored to be here today to thank you for your dedication to defending Ukraine and our families. I wish you victory – this is what I wish for everyone. Ukrainians and is very important to all of us,” Zelensky said.
President Zelensky also visited a hospital, met with wounded soldiers and presented rewards.
The video also shows heavily damaged high-rise residential buildings in Avdiivka. According to officials, there are still about 1,800 civilians here.
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In recent weeks, President Zelensky has repeatedly visited the Ukrainian armed forces.
Andriy Yermak, the president’s chief of staff, accompanied Zelensky in Avdiivka. Mr Yermak said the Ukrainian military was preventing Russia from besieging the city, adding that fierce battles were being fought elsewhere in the region and that “successful defense” was key in those places. This.
“Our army broke through the plan to break through the (Ukraine) defenses and move east,” Yermak said on the Telegram messaging app.
President Putin arrives in Donbass
TASS news agency quoted a notice from the Kremlin on April 18 confirming that Russian President Vladimir Putin on April 17 visited the bases of Russian military forces in Kherson and Luhansk, two regions in Ukraine that Russia has announced to annex. This is Putin’s first visit to Kherson and Luhansk. Earlier, Putin arrived in the city of Mariupol (Donetsk region) on March 19.
President Putin makes a surprise visit to Russian generals and soldiers in Kherson, Luhansk
In Kherson, Putin heard reports on the situation in this region and Zaporizhzhia. After that, President Putin moved by helicopter to the base of the Russian National Guard in Luhansk.
According to AFP, adviser Mykhailo Podolyak to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky criticized Putin’s trip.
See also: President Putin arrives in Kherson, Luhansk
The Russian Foreign Ministry summons the ambassadors of the US, UK and Canada
AFP reported that the Russian Foreign Ministry on April 18 summoned the ambassadors of the US, UK and Canada. According to the statement, they were summoned for “gross interference in Russia’s internal affairs and activities inconsistent with their diplomatic status”.
Russia did not specify the reason for summoning the diplomats. However, Moscow criticized the diplomats’ condemnation on April 17 to a 25-year prison sentence for opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza (41 years old).
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Opposition politician Kara-Murza was convicted of treason and other charges after criticizing Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine. The ambassadors of the United States, Britain and Canada appeared together in front of television cameras on the steps of the Moscow court on April 17 to condemn the sentence and demand the release of Mr. Kara-Murza.
See also: Russia million ambassadors of the US, UK, Canada
