• Zelenskyy met the Pope, Meloni and Mattarella in Rome.
• President of Ukraine on TV: “Putin kills, I don’t talk to him”.
• 4 planes crashed in the Bryansk region of Russia: duel in the air.
• Ukrainian troops continue to advance in Bakhmut.
2:13 am – Zelenskyy challenges Putin: I’m not afraid of being killed, it’s Putin who’s afraid
(Paola Di Caro) In the evening Volodymyr Zelensky takes stock of his exhausting day in a special Porta a Porta, conducted live by Bruno Vespa from the terrace of the Vittoriano. He has been missing from Rome since the beginning of 2020, “it was a different life”. You will see St. Peter and the history of a city that in all its portrayals welcomed him with open arms and also with the elite of journalism who interviewed him along with the landlord, the directors and the columnists.
01:52 – “Giorgia”, “Volodymyr”: the friendship formed between Meloni and Zelenskyi (which delayed the ceremony)
(Monica Guerzoni) “My friend Volodymyr”, the “dear Giorgia”.
The meeting between the President, who had traveled from Kiev, and the Italian Prime Minister in the Palazzo Chigi went better than expected, so that the Ukrainian delegation left the Piazza Colonna for the Vatican City punctually, a few minutes late.
– Zelenskyy is welcomed by Meloni in the Palazzo Chigi (Afp)
01:12 – Kiev army advances in Bakhmut smoke
(Marta Serafini, our correspondent) “It’s been like this since this morning, it’s hell.” Look at the sky, Mrs. Ludmilla. She is waiting for volunteers to help her collect her pension. “I wonder if I can make it this week.” However, the roar in the sky of Kostyantynivka does not rest. On the hill west of the city, towards Chasiv Yar, the rocket launchers are in position. Columns of vehicles and men move non-stop through the streets of what today looks like a vast open-air barracks.
A few kilometers away is Bachmut. A shot. “Those were graduates.” More hits. “Smerch.” The sirens don’t even sound anymore.
01:04 – Zelenskyi has arrived in Berlin
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has arrived in Berlin. He announced it in a tweet. After the stop in Italy, the focus of the visit to Germany would be “weapons, air defence, reconstruction, the European Union and NATO,” he explained.
00:08 – Zelensky: “Thanks to the Pope, hope for our children”
‘I met Pope Francis. I hope that this conversation will have historic consequences for Ukraine. Especially with regard to the return of Ukrainian children to their homes.” Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on Twitter after the meeting in the Vatican.
00:03 – Russian raids on Ternopil, the city of the Ukrainian Eurovision group during the final in Liverpool
Russian troops have launched a missile attack on Ternopil in western Ukraine, hitting the city’s industrial zone. This is the town of Tvorchi, the Ukrainian group performing at the Eurovision Song Contest, and the attack came just as the Ukrainian group was on stage in Liverpool. According to Mayor Serhii Nadal, “a non-residential building caught fire” in the city and rescue workers are on site.