The conflict in Ukraine has now entered its third month of deaths and devastation. Not even the Orthodox Easter was sufficient reason for a truce. Vladimir Putin celebrated the anniversary by being seen at mass with Patriarch Kirill while Mariupol continued to be bombed: yesterday in the battered city the humanitarian corridor to evacuate civilians also failed.
The Ukrainian presidency has proposed that the negotiations be held near the Azovstal, in Mariupol, a factory besieged by Russian forces. In Donetsk, two other children were killed. And after the missile raid, alarms are also growing in Odessa, which now fears an attack with chemical weapons. Kiev speaks of “the threat of Russian missile attacks from the Black Sea”.
Meanwhile, a telephone conversation between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reopens the possibility of mediation in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. Erdogan reiterated Turkey’s willingness to support the negotiation process. US Secretary of State and Chief of Defense Anthony Blinken and Lloyd Austin are expected in Kiev. Instead, there is controversy over Guterres’ trip who will be in Ankara today, Tuesday in Moscow and Thursday in Kiev: it is “illogical” for Zelensky that the UN secretary should go to Russia first. And also from Kiev comes the request for a total embargo on Russian gas since the “sanctions are insufficient”.
The report – Russia-Ukraine war: crushing the enemy with hunger, Putin returns to Syrian strategy
The case – Putin, the autocrat goes to mass, but it looks like a hoax
The analysis – Russia-Ukraine war, the inability to save face blocks all hope of negotiations
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00.41 – Kiev fails Guterres trip, no good idea to go to Moscow
Kiev seems to be torpedoing the peace initiative of the UN secretary general, Antonio Guterres, who will fly to Russia on Tuesday before landing two days later in Ukraine in Kiev. “It’s not a good idea to go to Moscow. We do not understand his intention to travel to Moscow and talk to President Putin, ”he explained to her Nbc Igor Zhovka, Volodymyr Zelensky’s deputy chief of staff, warned that Guterres “is not allowed” to speak on behalf of the Ukrainian government in its peace efforts and that he should instead focus on humanitarian assistance.
00.01 – Zelensky: “Congratulations to Macron, convinced that we will go towards common victories”
«Congratulations to Emmanuel Macron, a true friend of Ukraine, on his re-election. I wish him new successes for the good of the people of him. I appreciate his support and I am convinced that we will move forward together towards new common victories. Towards a strong and united Europe ». This was stated in a tweet by the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, commenting on the outcome of the elections in France and the re-election of Macron.
Here’s what happened on Sunday 24 April