Global Courant 2023-05-21 07:47:29
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy early Sunday on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima, Japan, where the two men embraced and exchanged words of support and appreciation.
It was one of a series of whirlwind encounters for the Ukrainian leader as he tries to garner international support for his country ahead of a planned counter-offensive to drive Russian troops out of his country.
Trudeau told Zelenskyy that Canada is behind Ukraine.
“We talk every few weeks. It’s so nice to see you in person,” Trudeau said. “It’s so nice to be able to talk so directly.”
‘I would like to thank you’
Zelenskyy, for his part, was gracious and grateful.
“It’s good to see you,” Zelensky said to Trudeau after a handshake and a hug. “I want to thank you, your government and also the Canadian people for their support.”
The G7 host, Japan, has said the inclusion of Zelenskyy came after the Ukrainian president’s “strong desire” to sit down with the nations that will influence his country’s defense against Russia and eventual reconstruction.
Trudeau and Zelenskyy exchanged pleasantries and a hug. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)
“Japan. G7. Important meetings with partners and friends of Ukraine. Security and enhanced cooperation for our victory. Peace will come closer today,” Zelenskyy tweeted after arriving on Saturday aboard a French government plane.
While Zelenskyy was meeting with world leaders, the Russian defense ministry and the head of Russia’s Wagner mercenary forces claimed that Bakhmut — the Ukrainian city that was the scene of the war’s costly and arguably the most deadly battle — was in Russian hands fallen. forces.
Wagner’s head, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said in a Telegram message that the city came under full Russian control around noon.
Ukraine’s military command denied the claim.
Rus claims a diversion, Zelenskyy adviser says
A few hours later and with the name of the city from the Soviet era, the Russian Ministry of Defense said: “The assault teams of the private military company Wagner with the support of artillery and aviation of the southern battlegroup have completed the liberation of the city. ” Artyomovsk.”
Mykhailo Podolyak, a Zelenskyy advisor, also denied Wagner’s claim, saying, “It’s not the first time Prigozhin has said, ‘We’ve seized and dominate everything.'”
He suggested that the Wagner chief’s statement was intended to divert attention from Zelenskyy’s recent highly visible trips abroad, including the G7 summit.
The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War, which monitors fighting in Ukraine daily, quoted Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar as saying that Ukrainian troops continue to take up positions near the MiG-17 memorial in the city.
The organization added that if Prigozhin’s claim is true, the seizure is only “symbolic” as Ukrainian forces continue to pressure and push back Russian forces on Bakhmut’s northern and southern flanks.
“The last few city blocks of eastern Bachmut that Prigozhin claimed Wagner Group troops captured are not tactically or operationally significant,” the institute said in its nightly update.
