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 Orlando Echo 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 Orlando Echo.
More InformationIn Warsaw last February, President Joe Biden condemned the lawless Russian invasion of Ukraine: "The idea that over 100,000 forces ...
TOKYO, Japan: Fears over intensifying Chinese military activity directed towards Taiwan could escalate into war have prompted Japan, the United ...
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras: After Honduran President Xiomara Castro severed ties with Taiwan in favor of China to gain more investment and ...
NEW YORK, New York - A Manhattan grand jury has indicted Former U.S. President Donald Trump for his role in ...
MEMPHIS, Tennessee: Tennessee authorities are slowly releasing information about a weekend car crash on a freeway that killed six young ...
JAKARTA, Indonesia: Officials from Indonesia's Aceh province said that more than 180 Rohingya Muslims landed this week by boat, in ...
BURBANK, California: Walt Disney has begun its planned lay off of 7,000 staff, which was announced earlier this year.A letter ...
NEW YORK, New York - A Manhattan grand jury has indicted Former U.S. President Donald Trump for his role in ...
UVLADE, Texas: Texas police stopped a Florida-bound freight train this week and discovered two migrants had died in a freight ...
ROLLING FORK, Mississippi: A powerful tornado has struck Mississippi, killing at least 25 people, injuring dozens, flattening entire blocks and ...
Miami [US], April 1 (ANI): Petra Kvitova clinched a berth in the Miami Open tennis final for the first time ...
Jorge Soler slugged a homer and made a run-saving diving catch in right field, leading the host Miami Marlins to ...