NEWS.am digest: Pashinyan meets Putin in Moscow, ‘battle for Donbas’ begins in Ukraine

Armenian News - NEWS.am presents the daily digest of top news as of 19.04.22:

• The governmental delegation headed by PM Nikol Pashinyan arrived in Russia on a two-day official visit.

At the beginning of his meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Russian President Vladimir Putin said they will discuss security issues in

He added that the Armenian PM’s current visit to Moscow is dedicated to the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Russia and Armenia.

During the PM’s visit to Russia, Armenia and Russia also signed an agreement on cooperation in the field of information security.

On behalf of Russia and Armenia, the agreement was signed by the secretaries of the security councils of the two countries Nikolay Patrushev and Armen Grigoryan.

On Wednesday, Nikol Pashinyan will also meet with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and other high-ranking officials.

The Armenian Prime Minister is also scheduled to visit Nizhny Novgorod.

• Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Head of the European Council Charles Michel discussed the process of implementing the agreements reached during the April 6 meeting in Brussels between the President of the European Council.

During the talks, the situation in the region and the agenda of Armenia-EU relations were also discussed.

Pashinyan and Michel also discussed the implementation of the agreement on allocating $2.6 billion to Armenia as part of the economic and investment plan.

Charles Michel reaffirmed the EU's commitment to the full implementation of the investment program for Armenia.

• Ukraine’s president says Russia has launched its offensive to capture eastern Donbas, with local officials reporting ‘constant fighting’ there.

Explosions were reported all along the front lines and one local official described the situation as “hell” amid “constant fighting”.

The “Battle for Donbas” began on Monday, according to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, with a “very large part of the entire Russian army now focused on this offensive”.

In recent weeks, the Kremlin declared the capture of the Donbas its main goal of the war after its attempt to storm Kyiv failed. After withdrawing from the capital, Russia began regrouping and reinforcing its ground troops in the east for an all-out offensive.

Russian forces have taken control of the city of Kreminna in Ukraine’s eastern Luhansk region, its governor says.

Serhiy Haidai told a news briefing that Ukrainian troops had withdrawn from the city.

• At least 367 Ukrainian children have been wounded in Ukraine since the beginning of Russia’s invasion, Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office says.

The office said in its latest daily update that the number of children killed was unchanged from Monday, with the death toll standing at 205.

Russian forces have also damaged 1,141 educational buildings, 99 of which were completely destroyed, it added.