Russia-Ukraine situation progress: South Korean President made a surprise visit to Ukraine, Putin and South African President on the phone
Beijing, July 16th – South Korean President Yoon Suk-yue made an unexpected visit to Ukraine on the 15th and pledged to implement a $150 million aid plan for the country this year. In another development, Russian President Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on the same day, according to TASS news agency.
President Yoon Suk-yue’s surprise visit took place in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, where he held talks with Ukrainian President Zelensky to discuss bilateral cooperation plans. He expressed his sense of responsibility during this visit and highlighted South Korea’s commitment to support Ukraine in rebuilding its daily life through the “Ukraine Peace Joint Initiative”.
President Yoon also stated that South Korea would provide immediate humanitarian aid to Ukraine and execute a $150 million aid plan throughout this year. To assist the Ukrainian government in stabilizing the economic market, South Korea plans to collaborate with the World Bank to reinstate financial support. Furthermore, the two nations agreed to establish the “Yoon Seok-yue-Zelensky Scholarship”, aiming to provide Ukrainian students studying in Korea with a peaceful environment.
In another development, TASS news agency reported that Russian President Putin had a telephone conversation with South African President Ramaphosa on the 15th. During their discussion on the agreement regarding the export of agricultural products at the Black Sea port, Putin emphasized that the promise to remove obstacles to Russia’s food and fertilizer exports, as stated in the memorandum between Russia and the United Nations, has yet to be fulfilled. He also mentioned that the agreement’s primary objective of supplying food to countries in need, especially African countries, has not been achieved.
According to the “Russia Today” website, Dmitry Peskov, the Russian President’s Press Secretary, announced that African leaders seeking to promote a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine will have the opportunity to meet with President Putin at an upcoming summit in St. Petersburg.
According to TASS news agency, Russian Ministry of Defense spokesperson Konashenkov revealed on the 15th that in the past day, the Ukrainian army had lost over 600 soldiers in battles within the special military operations zone. The Russian army successfully destroyed ammunition depots of three Ukrainian brigades, while their air defense forces shot down a total of six Ukrainian drones.
The mayor of the Black Sea port of Sevastopol, Razvozayev, posted on social media that the Russian army repelled a large-scale Ukrainian drone attack on the city in the early hours of the 16th. Fortunately, the city was not damaged, and all relevant departments remained on standby.
In a report by the Ukrainian News Agency on the 15th, it was mentioned that as of now, 18,000 Ukrainian soldiers have received basic training in the UK. The training program, led by the United Kingdom, commenced on June 26, 2022.
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