War in Ukraine: Putin in China for a state visit, Russian forces pushed back… update on the situation

Les dégâts de la Russie sur Kharkiv le 14 mai 2024. MAXPPP – Viacheslav Madiievskyi/Avalon

Tous les jours, Midi Libre fait le point sur la situation en Ukraine. Ce jeudi 16 mai 2024, découvrez les dernières actualités autour de ce conflit.

Putin in China for a state visit

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in China on Thursday for a state visit during which he will hold talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, talks which the Kremlin hopes will allow ;rsquo;deepen the strategic partnership sealed between Moscow and Beijing. In February 2022, shortly before Russia launched in Ukraine what it presented as a "special military operation" but which kyiv and the West denounce as an invasion, Moscow and Beijing have sealed a partnership"without limit". By choosing to make his first trip abroad to China since his inauguration for a new six-year term, Vladimir Putin is sending a message about his priorities and the strength of his personal relationship with Xi Jinping.

In an interview with the Chinese news agency Xinhua, Vladimir Putin praised the help provided by Xi Jinping in establishing a "strategic partnership" with Russia based on national interests and deep trust. "It’is the exceptional level of strategic partnership (that exists) between our countries that made me decide to choose China for my first state visit since my inauguration as President of the Russian Federation", said Vladimir Putin. "We will try to establish closer cooperation in the sectors of industry and high technology, space and peaceful nuclear energy, artificial intelligence, renewable energy sources and other innovation sectors", said the head of the Kremlin.

The two leaders and officials will also hold informal discussions on Thursday evening. Russian presidential foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said the talks would focus on Ukraine, Asia, energy and trade. Russia's new Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, his predecessor Sergei Shoigu, now head of the National Security Council, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Yuri Ushakov and Russia's most powerful business leaders will also take participate in these interviews. Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping will also participate in a gala organized to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the recognition of the People's Republic of China by the Soviet Union. The Russian president will also visit the northeastern Chinese city of Harbin.

Ukraine attempts to push back Russian forces in northern Kharkiv

Russian troops are fighting Ukrainian forces in the northern districts of Vovchansk in the Kharkiv region, but have failed to penetrate deeper into the Russian border town, the Ukrainian army said on Thursday. A Russian success in this locality, located 5 km from the Russian border, would be the most important since the launch on Friday of a new offensive against the Kharkiv region. Faced with this intensification of fighting, Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky postponed all his planned trips abroad and visited the city of Kharkiv on Thursday. He said on the Telegram app that he had spoken with the army and described the situation as extremely difficult, although generally controlled. ;.

"The enemy’s plans to penetrate deeper into the city of Vovchansk and gain a foothold there have been foiled"< /em>, affirmed for its part the Ukrainian general staff in a press release. The defensive actions forced Russian troops to reduce the pace of their push into the northern Kharkiv region, the General Staff added. The Ukrainian army is trying to prevent Russian forces from gaining a foothold in the north of the region, the spokesperson for the strategic command in the east of the country explained during a televised intervention , Nazar Voloshin. "Our units detect different enemy units, the location of artillery and inflict damage on the enemy to prevent them from attacking. accumulate forces and equipment in the northern part of the city of Vovchansk", he said.