Two loud explosions hit Kyiv as well as the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterrestakes stock of the meetings with the Russian President Wladimir Putin and with the Ukrainian Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “The attack on the capital shook me,” he says as a cloud of black smoke can be seen in the distance. Guterres speaks to the press alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and his words are anything but comforting: the UN Security Council failed to prevent and end the war. The United Nations failed in the Ukraine conflict. “We can hold all meetings, but that will not end the war – he explains –. Putin agrees in principle on the need to “evacuation of civilians to Kyiv-controlled areas, particularly with regard to civilians trapped at the Azovstal Steel Plant in Mariupol, even if “the war will end if Moscow wins.”
THE EVACUATION
The watchword is the rescue of the resistance fighters at the plant in the city of martyrs. Talks between UN officials and the Russian Defense Ministry are under way to clarify the details, and Guterres clarifies that contacts are being made with the government in Kyiv “to find a solution”. Zelenskyy calls on «the UN to take steps to prevent the deportation of Ukrainians to Russia. We hope – he says – that with the mediation of Guterres, the possibility of evacuating civilians and soldiers from Mariupol will become more concrete ».
The unexpected bombings of the capital while the UN representative is in the city are denounced with a tweet by Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. «Russia – he writes – has just hit Kyiv with cruise missiles when the Secretary General of the United Nations and Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov visit our capital. With this cruel act of barbarism, he once again demonstrates his attitude towards Ukraine, Europe and the world”. The victims of the bombing are several: the tsar’s troops hit a residential building, but most of all they chose an area very close to the British embassy. Very harsh Zelensky: «Five rockets. This speaks volumes about Russia’s true stance on global institutions, the Russian leadership’s efforts to humiliate the United Nations, and everything else the organization stands for. And that is why we need an appropriate and powerful response ».
The war, therefore, continues to be waged on multiple fronts. But when Kremlin troops keep sending signals against the capital, the real offensive lies in eastern and southern Ukraine. Russia accelerates. “The enemy – confirms the Ukrainian military command – increases the number of attacks and strikes in all directions”. Loud explosions were also heard in Odessa. And for Kyiv officials, the focus of the main attack was near the cities of Slobozhanske and Donetsk, along a strategic highway connecting Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, with the Russian-held city of Izyum. Kharkiv regional governor says Ukrainian troops are holding their position despite intensifying Moscow attacks.
So in these hours, according to the reconstruction of a senior US defense official, an unspecified number of Russian forces are moving even northwest from Mariupol – where the military field hospital inside the steel mill has been stricken with dead and wounded. although fighting continues in the Ukrainian port city. And Moscow’s soldiers also seem to have the upper hand on the Donbass front. Progress is said to be “slow and uneven”, partly due to Ukrainian resistance, partly due to ongoing logistical problems. But according to US defense sources, Putin’s troops are advancing. It will be a long war – they explain – It will last a long time. Local Ukrainian authorities denounce that the Russian occupiers aim to institutionalize their presence in the conquered territories. In Kherson (South), it was announced that the region would switch to using the ruble, Russia’s currency, from May 1, with a four-month transition period during which the Ukrainian hryvnia would also be allowed. In Mariupol, on the other hand, they claim that the city’s self-proclaimed pro-Russian mayor has said it will become part of the Rostov region of Russia. And the exchange of atrocity allegations between Moscow and Washington continues: The US denounces having received “credible information” about “executions of people with their hands tied, torture and sexual violence against women and girls” in Donetsk. And as always in this war, Moscow speaks of the discovery of a “Ukrainian torture center” in Mariupol.
Prior to his meeting with President Zelenskyy, Guterres visited various centers in the Kyiv region where Ukrainians denounced atrocities committed by the occupying forces after the Russians left. “When I see these war-damaged buildings, I imagine my family, my granddaughter panicking and fleeing. This destruction is unacceptable in the 21st century,” he explains as he pauses on Borodianka’s main street in front of five partially collapsed and burned 10-story buildings.
THE BUNDESTAG
Meanwhile, the Bundestag – by majority and dissenting votes – has approved the delivery of heavy weapons to Kyiv, while British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace has assured Britain will soon deliver not only long-range Brimstone missiles to be used as land-based weapons, but also specific ” Anti-Ship” batteries. Wallace dismissed Russia’s allegations of NATO involvement in the conflict, arguing that London was supplying arms “like 40 other countries under bilateral agreements”. But the Kremlin spokesman insists that arms shipments to Ukraine are “a threat to European security,” and China denounces that NATO is “an instrument of individual countries to strive for hegemony,” not just in the North Atlantic, but also in the Asia-Pacific region, to which it has reached out in recent years “to show its power and foment conflict”.
However, Germany does not want to become a party to the war by supplying arms, but does not want to leave Ukraine defenseless against Russian aggression, which is why the Bundestag has given the federal government the order “to continue to supply suitable equipment to Ukraine” and, if possible, to accelerate it, including the deployment of heavy weapons and complex systems, the expansion of “triangulation agreements” without endangering German defense capabilities in the NATO alliance, the expansion of participation in the defense of the eastern flank, especially the Baltic countries, including with other soldiers and vehicles. The aim is to maintain the order of peace and security in Europe, in which all states are guaranteed the inviolability of borders.
Italy also gave the green light yesterday for the second arms delivery to Ukraine. The decree, signed by Defense Minister Guerini jointly with Di Maio (foreign) and Franco (economy), was published in the Official Journal. The list was secret, but Guerini told Copasir about it in a hearing that lasted about two hours. It is, the minister explained, war material of the same nature as that sent with the first decree: Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, Milan anti-tank missiles, 120mm mortars, heavy and light machine guns, bulletproof vests, helmets, rations k , bullets and ammunition in large quantities. Two months of war put a strain on the equipment of the attacked country: replacements were needed. A possible jump in the quality of the material to be transmitted – for example, heavy vehicles such as the M109 self-propelled artillery, the M113 tracked vehicles and the lighter Lince armored vehicles – will be evaluated later and eventually become the subject of another interministerial decree.
THE DEFENCE
A reconnaissance is underway by the defense staff, but there are also political assessments in the hands of Prime Minister Mario Draghi after the outcry from M5s leader Giuseppe Conte. And from the United States, American President Joe Biden reiterated: “As long as the attacks and atrocities continue, we will continue to help Ukraine defend itself against Russian aggression by sending other weapons and new aid.”
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