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Latest developments: The Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Russian Foreign Minister discussed the issue of exporting agricultural products from Black Sea ports. Ukrainian officials said that Ukraine and Russia are negotiating on the release of all captured persons.
Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, April 25th. Comprehensive Xinhua News Agency foreign correspondent reports: UN Secretary-General Guterres met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who is chairing a Security Council meeting at the UN Headquarters in New York, on April 24. The two sides discussed the agreement on the export of agricultural products from Black Sea ports question. Ukrainian Ministry of Defense Director General Budanov said on the 24th that Ukraine and Russia are negotiating on the release of all captured personnel.
——The Office of the Spokesperson of the Secretary-General of the United Nations issued a report on the meeting between Guterres and Lavrov, saying that Guterres noticed Russia’s concerns about the implementation of the memorandum on the export of Russian agricultural products and fertilizers, and briefed Lavrov on the United Nations efforts and reiterated that the United Nations remains committed to overcoming outstanding issues. Guterres also informed Lavrov of the efforts of the UN Secretariat to resolve the problems of the United States as the host country of the United Nations, especially the issue of visas for Russian officials to the United States.
——According to the TASS news agency, Russian President’s Press Secretary Peskov said on the 25th that although it has been so long, the terms of the Black Sea food agreement have not been fully implemented, and the conditions that Russia wants have not been implemented. In favor of extending the agreement, the Russian side will continue to observe the development of the situation.
——Budanov said in an interview with Ukrainian media that Ukraine and Russia are negotiating on the release of all captured persons, and the two sides are “close to reaching an agreement in principle.” Budanov said that since the conflict broke out, Russia has released 2,200 Ukrainian personnel.
——The Ukrainian Ministry of Finance announced on its official website on the 25th that it received 1.5 billion euros in macro-financial assistance from the European Union on the same day. According to the plan, the EU will provide a total of 18 billion euros in financial assistance to Ukraine this year.
—According to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute quoted by the Ukrainian National News Agency on the 24th, due to conflict factors, Ukraine’s military expenditure will reach 44 billion U.S. dollars in 2022, a year-on-year increase of 640%.
——Russia Today News Agency quoted Russian Security Council Vice Chairman Medvedev as saying on the 25th that facts have proved that the so-called Western world is unfair to Russia in many ways and is not ready to establish an equal partnership with Russia. Russia has repeatedly asked the West to listen to Russia’s security concerns, but the West has turned a deaf ear, trying to consume and weaken Russia, and surround Russia with more and more military bases.
——Russian News Agency reported on the 24th that a Ukrainian-made drone crashed in the city of Noginsk in the northeast of Moscow State on the same day, about 50 kilometers away from Moscow’s Red Square. The drone is a reconnaissance and strike drone, weighing about 100 kilograms, and equipped with an engine made in the United States. Another Russian media report said that the drone carried 17 kilograms of explosives. Russian media did not report whether there were casualties. (Participating reporters: Shang Xuqian, Li Dongxu, Li Ming, Liu Kai)