Mario Draghi, Olaf Scholz and Emmanuel Macron are in Kiev for their first visit to Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion on 24 February.
The three European leaders, after visiting Irpin, are at the presidential palace in Kiev for the meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky. “ We have come to send a message of European unity to all Ukrainian citizens . A message of support because the next few weeks will be very difficult ", said Macron as he got off the train that took him from Poland to Kiev.
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A journey that comes at a very delicate stage, as the Russians continue to gain ground by intensifying operations in the Donbass, with the Ukrainians increasingly exhausted and expecting more decisive support in terms of armaments.
In Irpin, the three leaders were able to see the horrors of war with their own eyes: " You have the world on your side ," Draghi told local authorities upon seeing the buildings bombed. Here, he added, "the Russians have destroyed kindergartens and kindergartens, everything will be rebuilt".
"All this must be seen and known, unfortunately there have been massacres perpetrated in several cities, they are war crimes," Macron said, praising "the heroism of the Ukrainians" and stressing the need to provide them with " more effective defense weapons. to defend against Russian aggression ". "We need Ukraine to resist and win the war". Chancellor Scholz pledged to help Ukraine " for as long as necessary ".
"The conditions that the Ukrainians are setting today - explained Draghi after the meeting with Zelensky - is territorial integrity . This - he added - is the premise for starting the peace negotiations on the Ukrainian side. At the moment there are no margins . , but there is an attitude that has changed a lot in recent weeks ", also" of the other countries that must help them find peace . There is a global diplomatic initiative that was not there a month ago ", he concluded. .
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Moscow, for its part, dubbed the West's arms supplies to Kiev as " useless ", while the usual Medvedev insults the three leaders visiting Ukraine: " European fans of frogs, liver sausages and spaghetti love to visit Kiev with zero utility "tweets the former Russian president and Putin's right-hand man.
The EU leaders, he continues, will promise Ukraine "EU membership and old howitzers, they will lick their chops with horilka (a Ukrainian vodka, ed) and go home by train, like 100 years ago. good. But it will not bring Ukraine closer to peace. Time is running out. "
Macron: "We talk to Moscow but it is Kiev that decides on peace"
"We are not at war with the Russian people as a collective, we have continued to speak with the Russian leader, but we have always informed Zelensky. The modalities of peace will only be decided by Ukraine and their representatives. France and Germany will never negotiate with Russia behind Ukraine ". French President Emmanuel Macron said this in Kiev. In speaking with Moscow "we bring our needs as European forces (and France as a member of the UN Council), but never to negotiate for him".
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Draghi: "The EU has the courage that Zelensky had"
"We are here to bring unconditional support to the Ukrainian people. A people who have made an army to repel the aggression of Russia and live in freedom. And Europe must have the same courage that Zelensky had." Prime Minister Mario Draghi said this at the press conference in Kiev with the Ukrainian president and other European leaders. "The EU has shown and demonstrates today an extraordinary unity to support Ukraine in every way. Governments, parliaments and citizens have done so. I want to recall the great solidarity shown by Italians and all Europeans to welcome those who ran away from bombings ".
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3.40 pm - Draghi: "Yes from Italy to investigations into Russian war crimes"
"We have seen the atrocities committed by Russia in this war in Irpin which we condemn without hesitation. We give our full support to the investigation into war crimes" committed by the Russians. Thus Prime Minister Mario Draghi at the press conference in Kiev with Ukrainian President Zelensky and EU leaders Macron and Scholz.
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Sirens again in Kiev before the press conference of EU leaders
Alarm sirens are ringing again in Kiev, while the start of the press conference of the leaders of Italy, France, Germany and Romania with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the garden of the presidential palace is expected in a few minutes.
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Austria: "Gazprom has cut off gas supplies"
The Austrian energy company OMV has announced a reduction in supplies by Gazprom, without indicating the amount of the cut. In a statement, the company assured that the gas supply for its customers "currently remains guaranteed".
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Scholz: "Zelensky will participate in the next G7"
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accepted Germany's invitation to participate in the next G7. This was announced by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. The Ukrainian president, for his part, thanked the three European leaders for "solidarity"
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The pro-Russian: "We will not stop at the Donbass"
"The supplies of new weapons from the West to Ukraine are forcing the troops" of the pro-Russian separatists of Donbass "not to stop at the borders of the Republic of Donetsk". This was stated by the leader of the self-proclaimed entity, Denis Pushilin, quoted by Ria Novosti.
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Kiev: "With new US weapons we will recapture Crimea and Donbass"
The new US weapons will help Ukraine to recapture the territories occupied by Russia, including Crimea and Donbass: Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov told CNN. "We will liberate all of our territories, all of them, including Crimea," he said, "Crimea is a strategic target for Ukraine because it is Ukrainian territory. But we will move step by step." Reznikov explained that the first step will be the stabilization of the situation, the second step will be to push the Russians out. In the third phase, the partners will discuss "how to liberate the territories, including Crimea," he said.
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"In the Donbass up to 500 Ukrainian soldiers killed every day"
At this stage of the conflict, between 200 and 500 Ukrainian soldiers are killed daily in Donbass and hundreds of others are injured. This was stated by David Arakhamia, a Kiev negotiator and a leading exponent of the party of President Volodymyr Zelensky, People's Servant, quoted by Ukrainska Pravda.
Arakhamia, on a mission to Washington, also provided an assessment of the mobilization of troops, speaking of one million people engaged in military operations. In case of need, he added, the army could be strengthened with another two million people.
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Scholz: "Brutal war, something must be done"
"The destruction wrought by this war is appalling. And it is even worse when you see how frighteningly meaningless all this violence is. No guilt civilians are being hit. Houses are being destroyed. There is a whole city being destroyed where no there was military infrastructure. This says a lot about the brutality of the Russian war, driven only by destruction and conquest. human lives ". Olaf Schoz says this in a statement released by the chancellery, during his visit to Irpin. "All we see is a warning that something needs to be done," he added.
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The three leaders meet Zelensky
Prime Minister Mario Draghi arrived with the other European leaders, Emmanuel Macron, Olaf Scholz and the Romanian Klaus Yohannis, at the presidential palace in Kiev for the meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
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12.40 pm - Medvedev's insults: "Eat frogs, sausages and spaghetti"
"European fans of frogs, liver sausages and noodles" love visiting Kiev "with zero use". New Twitter attack by Dmitry Medvedev, former Russian president who insults EU leaders Draghi, Macron and Scholz on a visit to Kiev with culinary metaphors. Medvedev says EU leaders will promise Ukraine "EU membership and old howitzers, they'll lick their chops with horilka" (a Ukrainian vodka, ed) and go home by train, "like 100 years ago" . "Everything is fine. But it will not bring Ukraine closer to peace. Time is running out," he concludes.
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Kremlin: "Arms supplies to Kiev useless"
The Kremlin defines Western arms supplies as "useless" while the three European leaders Draghi, Macron and Scholz are in Kiev to discuss with Ukrainian President Zelensky also the need for new weapons to support Ukraine against the Russian invasion.
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In Mariupol "22 thousand civilians in mass graves"
"Today, according to our estimates, about 20-22 thousand people were buried in mass graves in Mariupol. It is not known how many others are under the rubble," said the councilor of the mayor of the city Petro Andryushchenko in a press point.
"Let's be honest, we will never know how many were left under the rubble and taken away without burial, we will never find them," he said.
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Macron: "Ukraine must win the war"
"We need Ukraine to be able to resist and win" the war. French President Emmanuel Macron said this during his visit to Irpin with Draghi and Scholz.
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Draghi: "Irpin a place of destruction but also of hope"
"Here it is a place of destruction but also of hope. Much of what they have told me is about the future and reconstruction. It is a people who have been brought together since the war, who can do things that perhaps they could not have done before the war." Thus Prime Minister Mario Draghi to journalists on the sidelines of the visit to Irpin with Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scholz.
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Macron: "Kiev needs more effective defense weapons"
"Ukraine needs more effective defense weapons" to defend itself against the Russian invasion. Thus the French president Emmanuele Macron after his visit to Irpin, one of the villages north of Kiev most affected by the Russians, hailing the "heroism" of the Ukrainians. In Irpin, the French president added, "war crimes" have been committed.
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The three leaders received by the mayor of Irpin
Draghi was received by the mayor of Irpin Oleh Bondar and the head of the Kiev regional military administration Oleksiy Kuleba. Soon after, he was joined by Scholz and Macron and together they toured a block of buildings blackened by bombs and flames.
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Draghi to Irpin: "You have the world on your side"
Italian prime minister Mario Draghi in Irpin stopped in front of bombed-out buildings: "You have the world on your side," he told local authorities.
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The anti-aircraft alarm in Kiev ceased
The anti-aircraft alarm sounded this morning in Kiev ceased after about 30 minutes while the three EU leaders Emmanuel Macron, Mario Draghi and Olaf Scholz are visiting.
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Stoltenberg: "Unprecedented aid to Ukraine"
"The allies are ready to continue providing Ukraine with substantial and unprecedented aid." This was stated by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
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Anti-aircraft sirens during the visit of the leaders
The anti-aircraft warning sirens have just sounded in Kiev while the three European leaders Draghi, Macron and Scholz, are currently visiting a hotel in the center during a break in the visit. Sirens have been almost daily in Kiev since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
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Macron: "We will also go to Irpin"
"With Draghi and Scholz we will meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky and we will also go to Irpin, where murders took place." French President Emmanuel Macron said this in a comment to BFMTV after arriving by train in Kiev.
Macron is also accompanied by the French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna. "This trip is very important for Ukraine, Europe and global stability," he said.
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Scholz: "We will help Ukraine for as long as necessary"
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has pledged to help Ukraine "for as long as necessary": he said this in an interview with the daily Bild. During this visit to Kiev - he said - "we do not want only to show our solidarity, but also to ensure that the aid we organize: financial, humanitarian, but also as regards weapons, continues". "We will continue as long as necessary for Ukraine's struggle for independence."
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Macron: "Support in Kiev, it will be difficult weeks"
"We have come to send a message of European unity to all Ukrainian citizens. A message of support because the next few weeks will be very difficult". Thus the French president, Emmanuel Macron, getting off the train that took him from Poland to Kiev, "in a place of war where massacres were committed", together with Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
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Moscow: "Unlikely Biden-Putin summit in the near future"
"It is unlikely that a leadership summit is currently possible. And it is unlikely that it will be possible in the near future." So Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, as Ria Novosti reports. "Although, in all honesty, it must be admitted that international affairs are a subject where sometimes a pragmatic approach prevails. And then the trends change quite quickly," he added.
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Draghi, Scholz and Macron in Kiev
Mario Draghi, Olaf Scholz and Emmanuel Macron arrived in Kiev for their first visit to Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion on 24 February. The Italian premier, the German chancellor and the French president will meet together with the Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky.
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The Russian assault on Severodonetsk continues
"The Russian army continues its assault on Severodonetsk this morning as well. Our troops are defending themselves. Moscow troops are burning the villages of the communities of Hirska and Popasnyanska. Yesterday we repelled another assault on Toshkivka, where the destruction increases. day by day, as well as in Viktorivka, Novoivanivka, Vovchoyarivka, Nyrkovo and other settlements. In Hirske alone 12 houses were hit during the day ". This was stated in an update by the head of the Lugansk Regional Military Administration Sergiy Gaidai, reports Ukrinform.
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Chernihiv, 478 civilians killed
Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, 478 civilians have been killed and 692 wounded in the northern Chernihiv region: 334 men, 122 women and 22 children. The data was provided by the Chernihiv Regional Prosecutor's Office, Ukrinform reports.
Most of the civilians died from artillery shelling and air strikes on residential settlements. Some were shot while in the car. In the region, 1,263 criminal proceedings have been launched for war crimes.
