Voice of America
19 Mar 2023, 23:06 GMT+10
Russian President Vladimir Putin has visited the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Mariupol, according to a report Sunday from the Russian state news agency Tass.
Putin traveled to Crimea on Saturday on the ninth anniversary of Russia's annexation of the Black Sea peninsula from Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has demanded Russia's withdrawal from Crimea and all areas it has occupied since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which entered its second year in February.
Saturday's trip also came the day after the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for Putin's arrest, charging him with being personally responsible for the abduction of children from Ukraine in Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The Russian leader visited an art center and a children's center in Crimea.
Meanwhile, Britain's Defense Ministry said Sunday in its daily intelligence update on Russia's invasion that the "quiet declaration of an alternative capital" for the Zaporizhzhia Oblast "is likely tacit acknowledgement within the Russian system that its forces are highly unlikely to seize previously planned major objectives in the near future."
Russian officials published a decree on March 3 declaring Melitopol as the Zaporizhzhia oblast capital. It was designed as a temporary measure, the ministry said, until the city of Zaporizhzhia is controlled by Russia.
However, Russia has never occupied the city of Zaporizhzhia, which is about 35 kilometers from the current front line.
Putin claimed in September to have annexed four oblasts, including Zaporizhzhia, as part of the Russian Federation.
Get a daily dose of Beijing Bulletin news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Beijing Bulletin.
More InformationWASHINGTON D.C.: The US Commerce Department has proposed new laws aimed at preventing China and other countries deemed of concern ...
New York - Some parts of Twitter's source code - the fundamental computer code on which the social network runs ...
OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman has said the company ?felt awful? about the leakThe artificial intelligence chatbot service ChatGPT suffered an ...
Los Angeles [US], March 25 (ANI): Mark Zuckerberg announced two new updates for WhatsApp groups recently. With the new updates, ...
Paris [France], March 25 (ANI): In the latest move to tackle the surge in privacy and cybersecurity-related risks, the government ...
Washington - U.S. lawmakers grilled the CEO of TikTok over data security and harmful content Thursday, responding skeptically during a ...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: Deposits at small U.S. banks throughout the country dropped the most since 2007 after the ...
DETROIT, Michigan: In a briefing for investors and analysts this week, Ford Motor Co. reported that while its electric vehicle ...
BENTON, Arkansas: Reuters reported that due to a reduction or elimination in evening and weekend shifts, Walmart will lay off ...
MOSCOW, Russia: As western automakers have left Russia since the start of the Ukraine war, the Chinese have rushed in ...
LONDON, England: Reuters has reported that struggling Virgin Orbit, owned by billionaire Richard Branson, is nearing a $200-million investment deal ...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: To comply with the requirements of the "Made in America" laws, a $7.5 billion federal ...