Rocket attack during Michel’s visit to Odessa

A visit by EU Council President Charles Michel to the Ukrainian port city of Odessa was temporarily interrupted today because of a rocket attack. At a meeting with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Schmyhal, the participants had to seek shelter because rockets fell in the Odessa region, according to EU sources.

I came to celebrate #EuropeDay in #Odessathe city where Pushkin said that “you can feel Europe.”

And where today the Ukrainian people shield their monuments from bullets and rockets and their freedom from Russian aggression.

You are not alone.
The EU stands with you. pic.twitter.com/kneuEOvepb

— Charles Michel (@eucopresident) May 9, 2022

Michel posted photos of his visit on Twitter, showing him with Schmyhal and other officials. “I came to celebrate Europe Day in Odessa,” Michel wrote.

According to EU sources, Michel visited the port of Odessa, where grain shipments are stuck due to the Russian blockade of the Black Sea. Alongside Shmyhal, he met the head of the Ukrainian Navy. The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj has meanwhile been added via video.

One of the topics of the talks was the planned solidarity fund for the reconstruction of Ukraine.