United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres visited Russian President Vladimir Putin amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war which has entered day 63. The agenda for the meeting was “proposals for humanitarian assistance and evacuation of civilians from conflict zones” in relation to the situation in Mariupol, where the Azov Battalion of the Ukrainian Armed Forces is holding out in the tunnels of the Azovstal Steel Plant with a reported 1,000 civilians.
In Moscow, Secretary-General @antonioguterres met with Russian president Vladimir Putin and reiterated the UN’s position on Ukraine. They discussed proposals for humanitarian assistance & evacuation of civilians from conflict zones. Full readout: https://t.co/GqlxzmGYCT pic.twitter.com/trlqMwZsNX
— UN Spokesperson (@UN_Spokesperson) April 26, 2022
Russia claims that normalcy has resumed in the southeastern port city of Mariupol, and that repeated offers to the Ukrainian armed forces to surrender, and attempts at creating humanitarian corridors for civilian evacuation are being rebuffed, accusing Kyiv of using ‘human shields’.
“The President agreed, in principle, to the involvement of the United Nations and the International Committee for the Red Cross in the evacuation of civilians from the Azovstal plant in Mariupol”, as per the official readout.
The discussion will be followed up by talks with the UN’s OCHA and the Russian Defence Ministry. Mr. Guterres is due to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy tomorrow on Thursday, April 28th.
US Renews Calls For Arms Supply To Ukraine
The United States is amping up its efforts to secure arms for Ukraine, calling on its allied countries to provide weapons. Russia has reacted to this by saying that this aounts to “pouring oil on the flames” and a “proxy war” against it on part of NATO. Its top diplomat, foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, included the terms “World Wa III” and “nuclear war” in a recent TV interview discussing the situation. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy slammed Russian troop activity in Chernobyl, and said that “they don’t even try to care about nuclear safety”.
US Secretary of Defence Loyd Austin convened a meeting of officials from 40 countries at a US air base in Ramstein and said that “this gathering represents a galvanized world”, ready to “keep moving heaven and earth so that we can meet [Ukraine’s security requirements]”.
On Tuesday, German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht announced that Berlin would supply Gepard anti-aircraft tanks to Ukraine, a shift in position from Chancellor Olaf Scholz urging ‘caution’ while dealing with nuclear-armed Russia.
Poland and Bulgaria stated yesterday that Russia has cut off part of the natural gas supplies to their countries because of failure to pay for it in roubles, a move that was announced the counter the effect of sanctions on Russia.
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