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dpa
Moscow/Warsaw
The leaders of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia were on their way to Kiev on Tuesday, despite renewed attacks on the Ukrainian capital, as Russia’s invasion brought more chaos and suffering across the country.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala and Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa were en route by train to the city, with officials in Warsaw confirming that they had crossed the border into Ukraine and had passed the western city of Lviv.
The European delegation, which also includes Morawiecki’s deputy, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, plans to hold talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Prime Minister Denys Shmygal.
The visit comes just hours after several residential areas were struck by Russian forces in the early hours of Tuesday. Russian troops are also trying to encircle the Ukrainian capital from several sides.
The overnight shelling, which reportedly hit four buildings across Kiev and killed two people, prompted Mayor Vitali Klitschko to announce a curfew on the city from 8 pm (1800 GMT) Tuesday to 5 am on Thursday.
Kiev accuses Russian troops of deliberately shelling residential areas and civilians. Moscow rejects this, claiming that it is attacking not only military facilities but also Ukraine’s intelligence and information infrastructure.
The decision for the Polish, Czech and Slovenian heads of government to visit Kiev was taken at the summit of EU leaders in Versailles, France, on Friday, after which top-secret planning of the trip began, Polish government spokesman Piotr Müller said.
Experts thoroughly analysed the security situation and had come to the conclusion that “this visit simply has to take place,” Müller added.
The visit is intended as a strong symbol of support from Kiev’s EU allies, amid Ukraine’s long-standing but politically fraught call to be admitted to the bloc as a member.
“The aim of the visit is to express the European Union’s unequivocal support for Ukraine and its freedom and independence,” the Czech Republic’s Fiala wrote on Twitter.
While Müller in Warsaw said the three-way delegation “de facto represents the European Union,” an EU official said there was “no mandate of the European Council” for the leaders’ visit.
European Council President Charles Michel “pointed to the security risk of such travel” when he was informed of the trip late Monday, the official said.
As the leaders made their way to Kiev, fighting continued in the capital and in other contested places across Ukraine on day 20 of the Russian invasion.
On Tuesday, the UN reported that the violence has led 3 million people to flee the country so far.
Many more people remain trapped within Ukraine, with concerns growing particularly for the 400,000 residents of Mariupol, a strategically important port city on of th Sea of Azov which has been surrounded by Russian troops.
The Ukrainian military said forces had repelled a Russian advance on the besieged city, which has been the target of intense aerial bombardment for days.
About 150 attackers were killed and two tanks and several armoured vehicles destroyed, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said on Tuesday.
Ukrainian artillery fire and airstrikes also destroyed other military equipment and fired on approaching columns of Russians, it said.
The battlefield claims could not be independently confirmed.
Local authorities have put the civilian death toll in Mariupol at over 2,000. Utilities and infrastructure have been heavily damaged and food is running short in the city.
But after previous evacuation attempts largely failed, about 2,000 civilian vehicles were able to get out of Mariupol by Tuesday afternoon.
The vehicles followed the route to the western city of Berdyansk and then on to the central city of Zaporizhia, city authorities said.
Another 2,000 cars were said to waiting in line to get out. It was initially unclear how many people would be able to leave.
Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Ukrainian authorities are hoping to establish nine humanitarian escape corridors across the country in total.
Besides Mariupol, other focal points were north-east of the capital Kiev and in the north-eastern Ukrainian regions of Sumy and Kharkiv.
Elswhere, the Russian military said it had taken control of the entire Kherson region in southern Ukraine, an area on the Black Sea that is home to some 1 million people.
The claim has not been confirmed by the Ukrainian side.
Russia had already taken control of the regional capital Kherson.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had previously warned that Russia was seeking to form a “People’s Republic of Kherson” - akin to the “people’s republics” of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine, which were recognized by Moscow as independent shortly before the war began.
While there was no sign of a de-escalation on the ground, efforts to negotiate a peace deal appeared to be making some headway.
Another round of talks for Tuesday was already under way, the head of the Ukrainian delegation David Arachamiya told the Ukrayinska Pravda newspaper on Tuesday. There was no immediate confirmation from the Russian side.
Ukraine is demanding an end to the war and a withdrawal of Russian troops from its territory. Moscow is demanding that Kiev recognise the annexed Black Sea peninsula of Crimea as Russian territory and the eastern Ukrainian separatist areas as independent states.
Moscow/Warsaw
The leaders of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia were on their way to Kiev on Tuesday, despite renewed attacks on the Ukrainian capital, as Russia’s invasion brought more chaos and suffering across the country.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala and Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa were en route by train to the city, with officials in Warsaw confirming that they had crossed the border into Ukraine and had passed the western city of Lviv.
The European delegation, which also includes Morawiecki’s deputy, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, plans to hold talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Prime Minister Denys Shmygal.
The visit comes just hours after several residential areas were struck by Russian forces in the early hours of Tuesday. Russian troops are also trying to encircle the Ukrainian capital from several sides.
The overnight shelling, which reportedly hit four buildings across Kiev and killed two people, prompted Mayor Vitali Klitschko to announce a curfew on the city from 8 pm (1800 GMT) Tuesday to 5 am on Thursday.
Kiev accuses Russian troops of deliberately shelling residential areas and civilians. Moscow rejects this, claiming that it is attacking not only military facilities but also Ukraine’s intelligence and information infrastructure.
The decision for the Polish, Czech and Slovenian heads of government to visit Kiev was taken at the summit of EU leaders in Versailles, France, on Friday, after which top-secret planning of the trip began, Polish government spokesman Piotr Müller said.
Experts thoroughly analysed the security situation and had come to the conclusion that “this visit simply has to take place,” Müller added.
The visit is intended as a strong symbol of support from Kiev’s EU allies, amid Ukraine’s long-standing but politically fraught call to be admitted to the bloc as a member.
“The aim of the visit is to express the European Union’s unequivocal support for Ukraine and its freedom and independence,” the Czech Republic’s Fiala wrote on Twitter.
While Müller in Warsaw said the three-way delegation “de facto represents the European Union,” an EU official said there was “no mandate of the European Council” for the leaders’ visit.
European Council President Charles Michel “pointed to the security risk of such travel” when he was informed of the trip late Monday, the official said.
As the leaders made their way to Kiev, fighting continued in the capital and in other contested places across Ukraine on day 20 of the Russian invasion.
On Tuesday, the UN reported that the violence has led 3 million people to flee the country so far.
Many more people remain trapped within Ukraine, with concerns growing particularly for the 400,000 residents of Mariupol, a strategically important port city on of th Sea of Azov which has been surrounded by Russian troops.
The Ukrainian military said forces had repelled a Russian advance on the besieged city, which has been the target of intense aerial bombardment for days.
About 150 attackers were killed and two tanks and several armoured vehicles destroyed, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said on Tuesday.
Ukrainian artillery fire and airstrikes also destroyed other military equipment and fired on approaching columns of Russians, it said.
The battlefield claims could not be independently confirmed.
Local authorities have put the civilian death toll in Mariupol at over 2,000. Utilities and infrastructure have been heavily damaged and food is running short in the city.
But after previous evacuation attempts largely failed, about 2,000 civilian vehicles were able to get out of Mariupol by Tuesday afternoon.
The vehicles followed the route to the western city of Berdyansk and then on to the central city of Zaporizhia, city authorities said.
Another 2,000 cars were said to waiting in line to get out. It was initially unclear how many people would be able to leave.
Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Ukrainian authorities are hoping to establish nine humanitarian escape corridors across the country in total.
Besides Mariupol, other focal points were north-east of the capital Kiev and in the north-eastern Ukrainian regions of Sumy and Kharkiv.
Elswhere, the Russian military said it had taken control of the entire Kherson region in southern Ukraine, an area on the Black Sea that is home to some 1 million people.
The claim has not been confirmed by the Ukrainian side.
Russia had already taken control of the regional capital Kherson.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had previously warned that Russia was seeking to form a “People’s Republic of Kherson” - akin to the “people’s republics” of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine, which were recognized by Moscow as independent shortly before the war began.
While there was no sign of a de-escalation on the ground, efforts to negotiate a peace deal appeared to be making some headway.
Another round of talks for Tuesday was already under way, the head of the Ukrainian delegation David Arachamiya told the Ukrayinska Pravda newspaper on Tuesday. There was no immediate confirmation from the Russian side.
Ukraine is demanding an end to the war and a withdrawal of Russian troops from its territory. Moscow is demanding that Kiev recognise the annexed Black Sea peninsula of Crimea as Russian territory and the eastern Ukrainian separatist areas as independent states.
