There were two explosions Kyiv Like the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio GuterresThe meetings held with the Russian President are being counted Russian President Vladimir Putin And with Ukrainian Volodymyr Zelensky. “The attack on the capital shocked me,” he says while a cloud of black smoke can be seen from afar. Guterres speaks to the press with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and his words are not at all reassuring: the UN Security Council “failed to prevent and end” the war. The United Nations failed in the Ukrainian conflict. “We can hold all the meetings, but this is not what will end the war – he explains -. Putin agrees in principle that it is necessary to “evacuate civilians to the territory under the control of Kyiv, especially with regard to civilians trapped in the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, even if” the war will end Moscow’s victory.

eviction

Saving the resistance of the factory in the city of the martyr is our motto. Discussions are underway between UN officials and the Russian Defense Ministry specifically to finalize the details, and Guterres explains that there are contacts with the government in Kyiv to “find a solution.” Zelensky calls on the United Nations to take steps to prevent the deportation of Ukrainians to Russia. We hope – he says – that the possibility of evacuating civilians and soldiers from Mariupol, with the mediation of Guterres, will be more realistic.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba condemned the unexpected bombings in the capital while the United Nations representative was in the city. “Russia – he writes – hit Kyiv with cruise missiles while the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Bulgarian Prime Minister Kirill Petkov are visiting our capital. And with this barbaric act, he once again showed his attitude towards Ukraine, Europe and the world.” The toll of the bombing was two casualties: the Tsar’s forces hit an apartment building, but first of all they chose an area very close to the British Embassy. Zelensky is very solid: “Five missiles. This speaks volumes about the situation. Russia’s real attitude toward global institutions, the efforts of the Russian leadership to humiliate the United Nations and everything else the organization represents. Thus we need an appropriate and strong response.”
Therefore, the war is still raging on several fronts. But if the Kremlin forces send constant signals against the capital, the real attack will be in eastern and southern Ukraine. Russia accelerates. “The enemy – assures the Ukrainian military leadership – is increasing the number of attacks and strikes in every direction.” Loud explosions were also heard in Odessa. For Kyiv officials, the main focus of the offensive was near the cities of Slobozansky and Donetsk, along a strategic highway linking Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest, with the Russian-occupied city of Izyum. The governor of the Kharkiv region says that despite the intensification of Moscow’s attacks, Ukrainian forces are maintaining their positions.

In these hours, then, according to the reconstruction of a senior US defense official, an unspecified number of Russian troops is moving from Mariupol – where the military field hospital inside the steel plant has been killed and wounded – even towards the northwest, although fighting continues in the Ukrainian port city. And Moscow’s soldiers seem to have the upper hand on the Donbass front, too. Progress is “slow and erratic”, in part due to the Ukrainian resistance, and in part due to persistent logistical problems. But according to US defense sources, Putin’s forces are advancing. They made it clear that it would be a long war, and it would go on for a long time. The local Ukrainian authorities denounce that the Russian occupiers aim to institutionalize their presence in the occupied territories. It was announced in Kherson (south) that the region would switch to the use of the ruble, the Russian currency, from May 1, with a four-month transition period during which the Ukrainian hryvnia would also be accepted. In Mariupol, on the other hand, they claim that the city’s self-proclaimed pro-Russian mayor said it would become part of the Rostov region of Russia. And accusations of atrocities continue between Moscow and Washington: the United States denounces receiving “credible information” about “executions of people with their hands tied, torture and sexual violence against women and girls” in Donetsk. And, as always in this war, Moscow responds by talking about the discovery of a “Ukrainian torture center” in Mariupol.

Before meeting with President Zelensky, Guterres visited various centers in the Kyiv region where, after the withdrawal of the Russians, the Ukrainians denounced the atrocities committed by the occupying forces. “When I see these buildings destroyed by war, I imagine my family, my granddaughter in a panic and running away. Such destruction is unacceptable in the 21st century,” he declared, pausing on Borodianka Main Street, in front of five partially collapsed and burnt 10-storey buildings.

THE BUNDESTAG

Meanwhile, the Bundestag agreed – by majority and opposition votes – to deliver heavy weapons to Kyiv, while British Defense Minister Ben Wallace confirmed that the UK would soon supply not only Brimstone long-range missiles, which are used as ground weapons. On the beach, but also specific “anti-ship” batteries. Wallace dismissed Russian accusations of NATO involvement in the conflict, arguing that London supplies arms “like 40 other countries under bilateral agreements.” But the Kremlin spokesman insists that sending weapons to Ukraine poses a “threat to the security of Europe”, and China denounces that NATO is a “tool for individual states to seek hegemony” not only in the North Atlantic, but also in the Asia-Pacific region. It has turned to it in recent years to “show its strength and provoke conflicts”.
Germany, however, does not intend to become a party to the war by handing over arms, but it cannot leave Ukraine defenseless to Russian aggression, which is why the Bundestag instructed the government to “continue the delivery of appropriate equipment to Ukraine” and, where possible, to speed it up. Among them are the dispatch of heavy weapons and complex systems, the expansion of the triangulation agreements, “without compromising German defense capabilities in NATO, and the expansion of participation in the defense of the eastern flank, especially the Baltic states, even with other soldiers and vehicles. The goal is to maintain the order of peace and security in Europe Where all states ensure that borders are not clear.

Also in Italy, yesterday, the green light was given for the second tranche of weapons to Ukraine. The decree – signed by the Minister of Defense, Greni, with Di Maio (Foreign) and Franco (Economy) – was published in the Official Gazette. The list was classified, but Guerini reported it to Kobacer in a session that lasted about two hours. The minister explained that they are war materials of the same nature as those sent by the first decree: Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, Milan anti-tank missiles, 120 mm mortars, heavy and light machine guns, flak jackets, helmets and food rations. Bullets and ammunition in large quantities. Two months of the war put a strain on the equipment of the state under attack: it is therefore necessary to replace it. The potential jump in the quality of the materials to be transported – for example, heavy vehicles such as the M109 self-propelled artillery, M113 tracked vehicles and Lince light armored vehicles – will be evaluated later and will eventually be the subject of a further ministerial decree.

Defense

There is a poll underway by the Defense Staff, but there are also political assessments in the hands of Prime Minister Mario Draghi after the protest of M5s leader Giuseppe Conte. From the United States, US President Joe Biden reiterated: “As long as the attacks and atrocities continue, we will continue to help Ukraine defend itself from Russian aggression, by sending other weapons and new aid.”