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It’s the day of Ursula von der Leyen in Kyiv and the new EU sanctions package expected to be passed today, which will also affect Russian President Vladimir Putin’s two daughters who were included in the list of persons: Katerina Tikhonova, 35, and Mariya Vorontsova , 36, are the daughters of Putin and his exwife Ludmila Putina.
«To deepen the plans to accelerate the timing of detachment of European countries Germany at the forefront from dependence on gas or other Russian energy sources. Rather, that is the goal of the summit meeting scheduled for today in London between British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Downing Street underscores this, underscoring the UK’s position for a full embargo on imports of hydrocarbons from Moscow (on which the island is much less dependent than the nations of continental Europe) in the shortest possible time, and a further tightening of sanctions in response to the invasion to Ukraine and sending more offensive weapons to Kyiv. All topics that Scholz has been more cautious about so far.
The President of the European Commission is due to meet President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Ukrainian capital today, who meanwhile warned that the situation in Borodyanka near Kyiv is “much worse” than in Bucha. In addition, the Ukrainian prosecutor’s office learns that 26 bodies were removed from two apartment buildings bombed by the Russians. “It is difficult to predict how many deaths there will be,” said Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova.
Zelenskyj appealed to the embassies: «Go back to Kyiv, continue your work. It is a signal to Russia that Kyiv is ours». Lithuania’s Ambassador to Ukraine Valdemaras Sarapinas returned to Kyiv yesterday after working from Lviv (west) for over a month. Latvia has announced that its embassy in Kyiv has resumed its activities and that the ambassador will soon return there after consultations in Riga.
Von der Leyen in Ukraine during the day
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will be in Kyiv today to express her “unwavering support” for Ukraine in the fight against Russian invasion. For security reasons, only a few details for the time being: We only know that Von der Leyen and Borrell (EU foreign policy representative) and with them the Slovakian Prime Minister Eduard Heger left the Polish town of Przemysl, 13 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, by train. «The Ukrainian people deserve our solidarity. That’s why I’m going to Kyiv,” said von der Leyen at a press conference in Stockholm. A meeting with President Zelenskyj is planned. For its part, the UN General Assembly approved Russia’s suspension from the Human Rights Council. The resolution proposed by the US and Britain Italy is among the cosponsors expresses “serious concern at the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, particularly at reports of violations and abuses of international humanitarian law by Moscow,” beginning with Bucha.