Putin visited Mariupol, occupied by Russian forces, says the Tass agency

Cover image: Vladimir Putin, in Sevastopol, Russian-occupied Crimea, March 18, 2023. From there, the Russian president traveled to Mariupol, according to the Tass news agency. HANDOUT / AFP

As a challenge to the international arrest warrant which was issued Friday, March 17 against him by the International Criminal Court, Vladimir Putin went to Mariupol, Russian media, including the Tass agency, reported on Sunday. He is said to have traveled by helicopter from Crimea, where he made a surprise visit for the 9th anniversary of the occupation of this Ukrainian territory by Russia. The port of Mariupol, located on the Sea of ​​Azov in southeastern Ukraine, has been occupied by Russian forces since last May.Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the UN announced on Saturday the extension of the Ukrainian grain agreement. According to kyiv, this is a 120-day extension, but Moscow says it has accepted only 60 days.Two civilians were killed and ten others injured by Russian strikes with “cluster munitions”, Saturday afternoon in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine, said Pavlo Kyrylenko, governor of the Donetsk region. “More than a hundred countries ban the use of cluster munitions, but Russia continues to use these weapons which release many smaller bombs and indiscriminately injure civilians,” Mr. Kyrylenko denounced.French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna reaffirmed Sunday in an interview with the Journal du Dimanche that “there is no taboo” about a possible delivery of fighter jets to Ukraine. The head of French diplomacy was interviewed the day after the announcement of the deliveries of thirteen MiG-29 fighters by Slovakia and four others by PolandThe issuance by the International Criminal Court (ICC) of an arrest warrant against Vladimir Putin for war crimes in Ukraine is an “extremely important” decision, also estimated the French Minister of Foreign Affairs. “Now no link in the chain can think that he will escape justice and this should lead many to reflect”, she continues, “so it is a decision which can change the course of events”.Demonstrations in Moscow in front of the embassies of “unfriendly” countries Pro-Kremlin activists protested Saturday outside the embassies of 20 countries considered by Russia to be “unfriendly”, on the occasion of the ninth anniversary of the annexation of Crimea.The Kremlin wants to expand conscription, according to the British Ministry of Defence. According to the daily update from the British Ministry of Defense, Russia is likely to expand conscription to increase its military strength. A text of law would aim to modify the age of conscription, possible today between 18 and 27 years, to make it applicable between 21 and 30 years.Sixteen Russian drones attacked eastern Ukraine overnight from Friday to Saturdaysaid in the early morning the staff of the Ukrainian air force on Telegram, adding that eleven of these devices had been shot down “in the Central, Western and Eastern regions” .Russian rockets hit a residential area in Zaporizhia with no casualties, selon Anatolii Kurtiev, membre du conseil municipal.

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