Russia will not get military aid from China as it hoped, according to Ukraine\u2019s defense intelligence. Wagner offensive on Bakhmut is running out of steam. President Zelenskyi visits Kherson region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
China will guard its own interests and will not give military aid to Russia, a representative of the Main Intelligence Department of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Andriy Yusov said on television. \u201cChina will focus on helping itself and will defend its national interests, whether it comes to economy or security. We have no indication that China [is ready to provide] direct military aid to the Russian Federation, to Putin\u2019s regime,\u201d Yusov said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cUkraine has its own national interests, and we would like to see some countries pursue a more decisive policy to condemn the Russian aggression, uphold international law and remain consistent with the requirements of the UN Charter. And yet I think that Putin\u2019s regime will not get the aid that they expected,\u201d a representative of Ukraine\u2019s military intelligence added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earlier this week, Chinese leader Xi Jinping made a visit to Russia. China\u2019s Xi and Russia\u2019s Putin signed a statement on deepening the strategic partnership between the two countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Relations between Russia and China \u201cdo not constitute a bloc, do not have a confrontational nature and are not directed against third countries,\u201d the joint statement said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey are losing considerable forces and are running out of steam,\u201d Commander of Ukraine\u2019s ground forces Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi said of the Wagner troops around Bakhmut. \u201cVery soon we will take advantage of this opportunity, as we did in the past near Kyiv, Kharkiv, Balakliya and Kupyansk,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of mercenary group Wagner is shifting focus after Ukraine setbacks, a Bloomberg piece said Thursday. Prigozhin is preparing to scale back his private army\u2019s operations in Ukraine after Russian military chiefs succeeded in cutting key supplies of men and munitions, people familiar with the matter said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now, Prigozhin is planning to shift focus back to Africa. There\u2019s no sign at present that Prigozhin will redeploy troops to Africa, but the people familiar with the situation said operations there are likely to get more of his attention in the future as the situation in Ukraine has become more difficult for his forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dan Rice, a U.S. officer and advisor to the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi said in an interview with The New Voice of Ukraine that Bakhmut is where the Russian army went to die. He added that about 25,000 Russian troops are being killed every month (as of March) and 75,000 more are being wounded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi made a visit to Kherson region on Thursday, March 23. He visited one of the energy facilities and handed awards to the troops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe village of Posad Pokrovske, where many houses and social infrastructure facilities were damaged as a result of Russia’s full-scale aggression,\u201d Zelenskyi said in a Telegram post on Thursday. \u201cElectricity and water supply are being restored, a medical outpatient clinic is being rebuilt, and people are returning.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n