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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson paid a surprise visit to kyiv on Saturday where he promised new weapons to Ukraine. The threat of a new imminent Russian offensive pushes the population to flee the east of the country the day following a deadly strike.
“Today I met my friend President Zelensky in Kyiv to show our unwavering support for the people of Ukraine,” Boris Johnson tweeted following the meeting. He pledged to supply Ukraine with armored vehicles and anti-ship missiles.
He paid tribute to the Ukrainian army for “the greatest feat of arms of the 21st century” which made it possible to defeat “Putin’s monstrous designs”, according to a statement from Downing Street.
Example to follow
“This visit is a manifestation of Britain’s resolute, strong and continued support for Ukraine,” Zelensky said in a statement. “We appreciate it and will always remember it.” The Ukrainian president called on “other Western democratic states” to follow the example of the United Kingdom.
kyiv is calling for the “immediate” supply of arms to deal with a new Russian offensive in the East. In addition to the armies announced on Saturday, the United Kingdom had already promised to send additional anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles. And Slovakia “donated” Soviet-designed S-300 air defense systems to kyiv.
According to Czech media, Prague on its side sent trains loaded with T72 tanks and Soviet-made armored vehicles to Ukraine on Monday, which would be a first delivery of heavy armaments claimed by kyiv.
Germany, on the other hand, has almost exhausted its possibilities of supplying Ukraine with equipment drawn from the reserves of the Bundeswehr. But it is working on deliveries made directly by the arms industry, Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said on Saturday.
“The enemy keeps knocking”
At the same time in the east of the country, where a Russian missile killed more than 50 on Friday among hundreds of civilians gathered outside Kramatorsk station in the hope of boarding a train and fleeing west, was preparing for the worst.
Moscow “continues to prepare to intensify its offensive operations in eastern Ukraine and take full control of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions”, in the Donbass, warned the staff of the Ukrainian army on Saturday on Facebook.
In addition to continuing fighting to take control of the key towns of Mariupol (south) and Izium, further north, “the enemy continues to strike civilian targets with missiles throughout Ukraine”, he said. he writes.
Preparations
In Lyssytchansk, in the Lugansk region, Mayor Olexandre Zaïka called on residents to leave as soon as possible. “The situation in the city is very tense, I ask you to evacuate. It is becoming very difficult, enemy shells are falling everywhere,” he wrote on Telegram. But “no one is going to abandon the Lugansk region”, he added, “our guys are doing well”.
In the rural area of Barvinkove, Ukrainian soldiers and members of the Territorial Defense were busy fortifying their positions and digging new trenches. Roadsides have been mined and anti-tank obstacles are installed at all crossroads. “We will stay here until the final victory,” said a local commander.
After withdrawing its troops from the kyiv region and northern Ukraine, Russia has made the total conquest of Donbass its priority. President Vladimir Putin wants to achieve this goal before the May 9 military parade marking the end of World War II, observers note.
Ready to negotiate
“We are ready to fight and at the same time seek diplomatic ways to stop this war,” Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier today during a press conference with Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, who also came to kyiv.
At the same time, Ukraine announced that it had carried out a “third exchange” of prisoners with Russia since the beginning of the Russian invasion on February 24, allowing the release of 12 Ukrainian soldiers and 14 civilians. The number of Russians who were able to return home in exchange was not specified.
On Friday, it was the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, who made the trip, including to Boutcha, a small town near the capital that has become a symbol of the atrocities of the Russian invasion. “If this is not a war crime, what is a war crime?” she said.
10 billion for Ukraine
On Saturday, the European leader announced that an international collection had raised 10.1 billion euros to support Ukraine. “It’s fantastic,” she said. “Once the bombs stop falling, we will help the Ukrainian people to rebuild their country. We will continue to defend Ukraine,” she said.
In Kramatorsk, where the latest assessment of the strike reported Friday evening of 52 dead including five children, the evacuations of civilians continued on Saturday by road. Mini-buses and vans came to pick up dozens of survivors of the bombing who spent the night in a Protestant church in the city center, not far from the station, AFP journalists noted.
US President Joe Biden has denounced a “horrible atrocity” committed by Moscow and French diplomacy a “crime once morest humanity”. Moscow has denied being responsible for the strike, going so far as to denounce a Ukrainian “provocation”.
