Extension of the grain deal and Putin's first trip to the Donbas. The situation around Ukraine

TASS Video March 19, 14:15 Article Military operation in Ukraine

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Saturday the extension of the grain deal for a new term. As specified in the Russian Foreign Ministry, the Russian side agreed to its extension for only 60 days.

The military operation in Ukraine. Chronicle of events March 19, 2023

© Russian Ministry of Defense

Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting at the command post of the special military operation in Rostov-on-Don.

Grouping "Zapad" reported a disruption in the transfer of reserves of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kupyansk direction.

The official representative of the Russian Defense Ministry, Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov, announced the defeat of 92 artillery units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in firing positions.

The main events of March 19 - are in the online broadcast of TASS.

Vladimir Putin said that Russia is still open to a politico-diplomatic solution to the situation in Ukraine.15:47

Ennio Bordato, president of the charity fund "Help us save the children," said that the people of Rovereto were protesting against arming Ukraine. 14:16

12:25 - The representative office of the DPR at the Joint Center for Control and Coordination of Issues Related to War Crimes of Ukraine reported the number of victims as a result of attacks by the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Donetsk. increased to three11:35

The mayor of Donetsk said that a civilian was wounded as a result of the UAF strike on the city.

"As a result of the shelling of the Petrovsky district on Fedorovsky street, a man born in 1979 was wounded," he said.11:31

John Kirby, strategic communications coordinator at the White House National Security Council, said that the United States considered unacceptable possible calls for a truce in Ukraine following the upcoming meeting between Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping. 11:15

The mayor of Donetsk announced  that a shell hit the Galaktika shopping center when it was hit by the APU.10:41

President of the International Institute for Global Analysis Vision & Global Trends Tiberio Graziani believes that the leading role in the settlement in Ukraine passes to China.10:29

According to Il Fatto Quotidiano, about 20 Ukrainian soldiers are being trained  in Italy to use the Samp-T air defense system.09:40

Two residents of Donetsk suffered  from the explosion of an anti-personnel mine "Petal".09:22

The Armed Forces of Ukraine launched two artillery strikes on Donetsk in 10 minutes. This was reported by the representative office of the DPR in the Joint Center for Control and Coordination of Issues Related to War Crimes of Ukraine.

The shelling was recorded at 14:50 and 15:00 Moscow time, Kyiv and Petrovsky districts of the city were under fire. The Ukrainian military fired a total of six 155mm artillery rounds.09:14

Press Secretary of the head of state Dmitry Peskov said that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov discussed the situation in the NVO zone for a long time.09:14

France stated that for her there are no fundamental taboos in helping Kiev.08:38

The losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine amounted to more than 50 servicemen per day in the South-Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia directions.08:37

Russian air defense systems shot down 10 HIMARS and Vilkha MLRS shells per day and destroyed 7 Ukrainian drones.08:37

The RF Armed Forces destroyed over 20 soldiers and two howitzers "Gvozdika" of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kherson direction.08:34

The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation announced the destruction of two hangars with weapons and equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kherson region.08:33

Losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kupyansk direction during the day amounted to 50 soldiers.08:32

The Russian Armed Forces destroyed more than 80 military units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Donetsk direction in a day, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.08:32

The Russian Defense Ministry reported the destruction of over 90 Ukrainian soldiers in the Krasnoliman direction. at 07:48

The Investigative Committee of Russia carefully records all the crimes of Kyiv, these materials can later form the basis of the tribunal, said  the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov.06:21

In the Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk, and Kharkiv regions, an air alert was announced.

On Sunday morning, the Kremlin press service announced the first trip of Russian President Vladimir Putin to the Donbas. He examined the progress of restoration work in Mariupol, talked with local residents, and also visited one of them at home.

The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, again indicated that Moscow is open to serious proposals from the West and Kyiv for a political and diplomatic settlement, but the language of ultimatums is unacceptable to her.

TASS has collected the main events around Ukraine over the past two days.

The course of the special operation

The Russian Armed Forces during a special operation in Ukraine over the past two days hit  89 and 92 artillery units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in firing positions. This follows from the statements of the official representative of the Russian Defense Ministry, Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov, made on Saturday and Sunday.

In two days, the RF Armed Forces destroyed up to 200 Ukrainian soldiers in the Donetsk direction, more than 190 in the Krasnoliman direction, about 110 in the Kupyansk direction, about 100 in the Yuzhno-Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia directions, and over 45 Ukrainian soldiers in the Kherson direction.

In addition, as the Russian Defense Ministry reported over the weekend, Russian air defense systems intercepted 24 HIMARS, Smerch, Uragan, and Vilkha MLRS rockets, and destroyed 16 UAVs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Fighter aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces over the past 24 hours shot down a Ukrainian Mi-8 helicopter near the city of Kupyansk.

Extension of the grain deal

On Saturday, President Erdogan announced the extension of the grain deal, which expired on March 19. However, he did not specify for how long the agreement was extended. The official representative of the UN Secretary-General, Stephane Dujarric, did not name the exact dates either. But the Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine Oleksandr Kubrakov and Turkish TV channel Habertürk reported that the Black Sea initiative has been extended by 120 days.

Later, Zakharova again repeated the already mentioned Russian position that the Russian Federation agreed to extend the deal for 60 days. In addition, according to her, the Ukrainian side, through the Belarusian colleagues, was notified of the extension of the grain deal for this period.

As  Vasily Nebenzya, Russia's Permanent Representative to the World Organization pointed out at a meeting of the UN Security Council on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine, the memorandum between the Russian Federation and the UN, which implies the obligations of the world organization to lift restrictions on the export of Russian fertilizers and agricultural products to world markets, is not being implemented at any iota, and the poorest countries in the grain deal received only about 3% of food supplies.

And the West, according to Nebenzi, must withdraw from sanctions the entire chain of operations accompanying Russia's agricultural exports within 60 days.

In turn, the UN, as follows from Dujarric's statement, called on all parties to redouble their efforts to implement the agreement on ensuring Russian exports.

Putin's visit to Crimea and Donbass

Putin made working trips to Crimea and Donbas over the weekend. On Saturday, on the day of the celebration of the ninth anniversary of the reunification of Crimea with Russia, he visited  Sevastopol, where he inspected part of the large-scale project of the historical and archaeological park Tauric Chersonesus.

And on Saturday evening and on Sunday night, the head of state was in Mariupol in the DPR. He flew there by helicopter, and then by car, together with Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Marat Khusnullin, drove around the city and assessed the progress of restoration work. This is the first visit by the president to a new region of the Russian Federation.

In addition, Putin held a meeting at the command post of the special military operation in Rostov-on-Don and heard reports from Chief of the General Staff of the RF Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov and several military leaders. According to  TASS, presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov, this trip was not prepared in advance, its purpose was to check the operation of the checkpoint in the usual mode.

Readiness of the Russian Federation for negotiations

Zakharova in connection with the statement of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmitry Kuleba, who, in a conversation with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang, stressed the "importance of Volodymyr Zelensky's "peace formula" for stopping aggression and restoring a just peace in Ukraine", indicated that Moscow is open to serious proposals from the West and Kyiv on a political and diplomatic settlement, but the language of ultimatums is unacceptable for Russia.

At the same time, an integral part of the settlement of the crisis should be the abolition of all sanctions and lawsuits against Russia, it is also necessary to achieve the cessation of the supply of weapons and mercenaries to Ukraine, the end of hostilities, the return of Ukraine to a neutral non-aligned status, international recognition of new territorial realities and more.

The Foreign Ministry spokeswoman added that calls for peace should be addressed to Kyiv and the West, which is dragging Ukraine into the conflict, and the goal of Zelensky's "peace formula" is to achieve Russia's capitulation with the help of the West.

At the same time, the coordinator for strategic communications at the White House National Security Council, John Kirby, said that the United States considered unacceptable possible calls for a truce in Ukraine following the upcoming meeting between Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Moscow.

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