Europe

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has visited the occupied port city of Mariupol, his first trip to the Ukrainian territory that Moscow illegally annexed in September.

19 Mar 2023; AA: Russian President Vladimir Putin made a surprise visit on Sunday to the city of Mariupol in Ukraine's Donetsk region, which has been under Russian control since last May.

"The head of state inspected several objects of the city, and also talked with local residents," said a statement by the Kremlin.

19 Mar 2023; AA: Evgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner mercenary group, claimed on Saturday that up to 1,200 new recruits join its ranks every day.

"The result that we are having now, we did not expect it. We have days when we recruit up to 1,200 people a day. An average number fluctuates from 500 to 800," he said on Telegram.

Prigozhin said he expects that by mid-May the number of fighters will increase by 30,000.

19 Mar 2023; AA: Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Saturday said annulment of sanctions and lawsuits in international courts against Russia is one of the conditions for settlement in Ukraine.

In a statement on the ministry's website, Zakharova said to achieve "sustainable peace," it is necessary to stop supplying arms and sending mercenaries to Ukraine.

18 Mar 2023; MEMO: The Danish Refugee Appeals Board, on Friday, deemed it safe for Syrian refugees to return to Latakia province in the western part of the country, raising concerns at the UN Refugee Agency, Reuters reports.

When the Danish Immigration Service decides to take away a refugee's residency permit, the case automatically goes to the Appeals Board, the highest authority in asylum cases in Denmark, for consideration.

17 Mar 2023; MEMO: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz yesterday called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reconsider the government's plan to overhaul the country's legal system, Anadolu news reported.

MOSCOW, March 17. /TASS/: Russian forces are steadily advancing in Artyomovsk (known as Bakhmut in Ukraine) having thwarted the attempted withdrawal of several Ukrainian army units, acting head of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) Denis Pushilin said on Friday.

"We saw that several Ukrainian army units tried to get out of there, but they were thwarted by our forces," he said in an interview with Russia’s Channel One. "The situation is steadily developing toward the liberation of this settlement."

MOSCOW, March 17. /TASS/: More than 40 delegations from African countries will take part in the parliamentary conference "Russia-Africa in the Multipolar World," the Kremlin's press service said on Friday.

"More than 40 delegations from the countries of the African continent will take part in the conference, a major run-up event to the second Russia-Africa summit," it said.

MOSCOW, March 17. /TASS/: A meeting of the Supreme State Council of the Union State of Russia and Belarus is planned to be held in the near future, Russian presidential press secretary Yury Ushakov said on Friday.

"The issue of holding a meeting of the Supreme State Council of the Union State is being looked at," he said, adding that such a meeting is planned to be held in Moscow in the near future.

MOSCOW, March 17. /TASS/: Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev noted that using nonprofit organizations in hybrid wars is the favorite method of certain states that are hostile to Russia.

The politician called "not to be shy" and to decisively thwart the operation of such structures.