War in Ukraine: what to remember from Monday, March 20

Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin in Moscow, March 20, 2023. (EYEPRESS NEWS/SHUTTERSTOCK/SIPA / SIPA)

The day was marked by the start of Xi Jinping’s official visit to Moscow read more
Reconciliation between Moscow and Beijing. Chinese President Xi Jinping began a three-day official visit to Russia on Monday March 20 alongside Vladimir Putin. The Russian president welcomed, at the end of this meeting, the “balanced” position of his Chinese counterpart on the war in Ukraine. He also said he considered “with respect” the peace plan proposed by China, in which Beijing calls in particular on Moscow and kyiv to invest in peace talks. For his part, Xi Jinping hailed the “close relations” between Beijing and Moscow, according to the official Russian translation of his remarks.

Washington calls on “the world not to be fooled”

In reaction to this visit, the head of American diplomacy, Antony Blinken, called on “the world not to be fooled by any tactical decision by Russia, supported by China or any other country, to freeze the conflict according to its own terms”.

On the European side, as if to signify its support for Ukraine in the face of Beijing’s support for Moscow, the EU has released two billion euros to buy and deliver artillery ammunition to the Ukrainian army. In the process, Washington announced a new tranche of aid, of 350 million dollars, and assured kyiv of its support “as long as necessary”.

Wagner claims to control “about 70%” of Bakhmout

“At present, Wagner’s units control about 70% of Bakhmout and continue the offensive for its complete liberation”, assured the leader of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner, Evgeny Prigojine, in a letter addressed to the Russian Minister of Defence, Sergei Shoigu. However, these statements were unverifiable from an independent source.

Yevgeny Prigozhin also said he expected a counter-offensive by Ukrainian forces for the end of March or the beginning of April, intended according to him to “cut off Wagner’s units from the main forces of the Russian army. “. He thus asked Sergei Shoigu to “take measures” to prevent this situation from occurring.

EU wants to help countries destabilized by influx of Ukrainian grain

The European Commission has announced that it wants to tap into a crisis reserve to support farmers in Poland, Romania and Bulgaria, destabilized by the influx of Ukrainian agricultural imports. This support of 56.3 million euros, financed by the reserve of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), aims to compensate “the economic losses due to the increase in imports of cereals and oilseeds” coming from Ukraine ” and limit the impact of market imbalances,” said the EU executive.