Last week Russia declared the port city of Mariupol conquered and began a siege of the steelworks. Ukrainian troops and civilians are holed up in the industrial complex. The UN chief reported to Zelenskyy that during his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday he had received a commitment in principle that the UN would be involved in building such an escape corridor together with the Red Cross. There are now intensive consultations on how the proposal can be implemented in reality. We are currently doing “everything possible to make this happen”.
“We expect a humane attitude towards these people from the Russian Federation,” Zelenskyy said after the conversation with Guterres. “We expect that this part of the Secretary General’s mission will be successful and we will support him in every way.” he said, according to the Ukrainian news agency Unian.
On Thursday evening, however, Russia rejected the demand for negotiations about a corridor for all those trapped in the steelworks. “The President (Vladimir Putin) has said it very clearly: the civilians can go in any direction, the military must come out and lay down their arms,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the state news agency TASS. They are guaranteed life and medical care. But nothing more. Moscow does not want to grant them a free withdrawal. There is no topic for negotiations, said Peskow.
Rocket attacks on Kyiv
During Guterres’ visit there was rocket fire in Kyiv for the first time in about two weeks. Mayor Vitali Klitschko spoke in the online service Telegram of two Russian attacks in the city center. “In the evening the enemy fired on Kyiv. Two attacks in the Shevschenkowsky district,” Klitschko explained. According to preliminary information, there were six injured. AFP reporters also registered detonations.
Guterres seeks evacuation from Mariupol
“Rockets hit central Kyiv during Antonio Guterres’ official visit,” Zelenskyi’s adviser Mykhailo Podoliak wrote on Twitter. “Yesterday he was still sitting at a long table in the Kremlin and today there were explosions above his head. Postcard from Moscow?” he added, looking at the UN Secretary-General. He criticized Russia’s seat on the UN Security Council.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on Twitter of a “hateful act of barbarism”. Accordingly, Kyiv was fired at with cruise missiles. “Russia has once again shown its attitude towards Ukraine, Europe and the world,” Kuleba wrote.
Guterres also in Bucha
Guterres had also previously visited the Kiev suburb of Bucha, where massacres of civilians had caused international outrage. Guterres stressed his support for an investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC). It’s important to “carefully investigate” the horror and hold those responsible accountable, Guterres said. He appealed to Russia to cooperate with the court. He also visited the cities of Borodjanka and Irpin, which were also badly hit. Many dead civilians were found in all three cities after the Russian troops withdrew.
UN Secretary-General Guterres in Ukraine
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Thursday. Meanwhile, Russia has again stepped up its attacks in eastern and southern Ukraine.
“War is an absurdity in the 21st century,” Guterres said in Borodyanka. “I picture my family in one of these houses that are now destroyed,” Guterres said. “I see my granddaughters running around in a panic.” There is “no way that war is acceptable in the 21st century”.
On Tuesday in Moscow
The UN chief met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Tuesday. He also held talks with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. According to the UN, at the meeting Putin agreed in principle to involving the UN and the Red Cross in rescuing civilians from the Azov steel plant. A spokesman said after the meeting that follow-up talks were planned between the Russian Defense Ministry and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Guterres proposed the formation of a trilateral group to solve humanitarian problems in Ukraine, consisting of representatives from the UN, Kiev and Moscow. This contact group can ensure the safety of escape corridors, said the Portuguese. At the press conference with the UN Secretary-General, Lavrov stressed that Russia was in principle in favor of a negotiated solution. However, it is currently “too early” to talk about mediators in the process.