US Secretary of State and Defense Secretary Antony Blinken and Lloyd Austin will arrive in Kyiv today, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said yesterday. However, the US government has not yet confirmed what it would be in connection with Orthodox Easter the first official visit by US government officials to Ukraine since February 24the day the Russian invasion began two months ago.
THE DIPLOMATIC FRONT – UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who is traveling to Ankara tomorrow and is an important mediator in the ongoing conflict, is also expected in the Ukrainian capital on Thursday and in Moscow on Tuesday. “It’s unfair and illogical,” Guterres’ decision to go to Russia first, criticized Zelenskyy. “The war is in Ukraine, there are no corpses on the streets of Moscow. It would be logical to first “come to Kyiv to see the people here and the consequences of the occupation,” noted the Ukrainian president.
ODESSA AND FEARS OF CHEMICAL ATTACK – Last night Zelenskyi also reported that the death toll in Russian rocket attacks on the Ukrainian city of Odessa on Easter evening has risen to eight dead and around 20 wounded.. And now a chemical attack is threatening. Moscow claims that Kyiv is planning a provocative operation using ammonia in the Yuzhny port to frame Russian forces and accuse them of attacking civilians. A statement that Kyiv interprets instead as a threat disguised as a warning: So it would be Moscow that, according to the Kyiv Independent, wants to launch a chemical weapons attack on the port of Odessa. Regarding nuclear safety, the International Atomic Energy Agency (Aiea) has announced this Ukraine has provided a comprehensive list of the equipment the country says it needs for the safe operation of its facilities and that the IAEA has the necessary resources and “technical experience to effectively coordinate and implement deliveries”. Kyiv also announced that work shifts at the Chernobyl power plant will continue regularly, the last of which took place on April 19.
ANSA agency
This was announced in a statement by the Director General of the IAEA, Rafael Mariano Grossi (ANSA).
EASTER OF WAR – Last night Russian President Vladimir Putin took part in the Easter Vigil at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow. The television pictures showed the Kremlin chief during the ceremony, which was celebrated by the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Kirill. US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill sent Easter greetings to the Orthodox Christian community with a clear reference to Ukraine. “We pray for all those suffering the brutality of war and persecution. We mourn with all those who have lost loved ones or fear for their safety,” the statement said.
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