“Greater support is on the way, the allies have heard your call.” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg addressed Volodymyr Zelensky with reassuring words during a surprise visit to Kiev. The head of the Alliance guaranteed that Western countries will provide more military aid, and more quickly, as the Ukrainian president requests. And, while Russian forces continue to advance in the east of the country, he declared himself convinced that “it is not too late for Ukraine to win”.
To ensure your safety, however, Kiev is now also aiming for a bilateral agreement with the United States, who recently released a new military assistance package worth $61 billion after months of wrangling in Congress. “We are already working on a specific text, our goal is to make this agreement the strongest of all,” Zelensky announced. The reference is to other similar agreements signed in recent months by Ukraine with various European countries including Italy last February. However, the pact with Rome, as clarified by Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, “is not legally binding” and does not provide “automatic guarantees of political or military support for Kiev”. With Washington, however, “the agreement should be truly exemplary and reflect the strength of American leadership”, assured Zelensky. The president insisted that Ukraine is “discussing the concrete bases of security and cooperation” with the USA and “to set specific levels of support for this year and for the next 10 years”. This should include “military, financial, political support and joint production of weapons.”
Ukraine: 98-year-old woman walks 10 kilometers to leave Russian-occupied Donbass
The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken from Saudi Arabia reiterated that «the end of the war depends mainly on Vladimir Putin and from what he decides, I hope Putin will get the message and show his willingness to negotiate sincere in accordance with the fundamental principles that underlie the international community and the UN Charter: sovereignty, territorial integrity, independence. If they are duly confirmed, a resolution should be adopted.”
For the moment the Russian advance, still limited, is concentrated in the Donbass area, in eastern Ukraine. Kiev’s forces said they had repelled “55 attack attempts” in the last few hours in the Donetsk region, where in recent days the Russians seized three villages in the Avdiivka area, a town that fell into the hands of Moscow’s troops in February. AND The Russian Defense Ministry said that another settlement, that of Semenivka, was captured yesterday.
Raids were also reported in Odessa, with Russian missile fragments falling on Kivalov Castlewhich caused a fire at least five dead and 29 injured, including the owner, Serhiy Kivalov, a former pro-Russian Ukrainian MP. The building is also known as “Harry Potter’s castle”, due to its resemblance to that of the famous film. On the evening of Monday, April 29, the Ukrainian State Emergency Service reported that firefighters put out the fire on the roof of the building.
Stoltenberg also spoke with Zelensky about Kiev’s possible entry into the Atlantic Pact. «I am working hard to ensure that Ukraine becomes a member of NATO, we need all allies to agree», said the secretary. To then admit that even in this case some difficulties remain. «I do not expect that we will reach such an agreement by the July summit” in Washington, he has declared. But for Zelensky the future of his country lies in NATO, because, he stated, “it is impossible to imagine the security of Europe and the Euro-Atlantic community without the effective participation of Ukraine”.
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07:52
Ukraine, Kiev: “1,250 Russian victims on the last day of the war”
Russia has lost 468,720 soldiers in Ukraine since the war began on February 24, 2022, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported. This number includes 1,250 casualties suffered by Russian forces over the past day. According to the report, Russia also lost 7,307 tanks, 14,046 armored combat vehicles, 16,109 fuel vehicles and tanks, 12,011 artillery systems, 1,053 multiple launch rocket systems, 779 air defense systems, 348 aircraft, 325 helicopters , 9,531 drones, 26 boats and a submarine.
07:41
Since 2022, around 30 Ukrainian men have died to avoid fighting
About 30 Ukrainian men died trying to illegally cross Ukraine’s borders and avoid fighting the war against Russia that began in 2022, the spokesperson of the Ukrainian border service told the Ukrinform news agency. “Some lost their lives while trying to cross a river or go over mountains,” said Andriy Demchenko. “Overall, since the start of the large-scale invasion, around 30 people have died attempting to cross the border illegally.” With some exceptions, Ukrainian men between the ages of 18 and 60 cannot leave the country because they may be mobilized to fight, under Ukrainian martial law.
07:38
The President of the European Council Michel: “Reforms and common defense against Putin are needed”
“Reforms are needed. There is an ongoing discussion. French President Macron said it clearly a few days ago. He is right. We must also know that now we need to focus on competitiveness, on the single capital market. This allows us to innovate and create jobs. And then there is the other pillar” or “defense”. Thus the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, in an interview with ‘La Repubblica’. “Russia is attacking our freedom and democracy. It has posed the problem of Defense and security to us. We have understood that we are too dependent on Russian energy, Chinese products and American defense. Investments are needed in this sector. In the past I have spoken about the role of the EIB. I believe that that is the way”
07:36
G7, Tajani: “Italy’s first objective is peace”
Italy’s first objective as president of the G7 “is peace, a just peace in Ukraine with the withdrawal of the Russians from the occupied territories. And then an agreement in Gaza to start the political process that will lead to ‘two states for two peoples’ that they recognize each other and can live in peace. These are goals we are working hard towards.”
07:33
Ukraine, Blinken: “If Moscow is willing to negotiate, we will be there”
“Europe has become dependent on Russian energy resources in extraordinary ways in just two years. This, in my opinion, represents a huge strategic failure for Russia. I hope it will be recognized. Once Russia has demonstrated that it sincerely willing to negotiate, we will definitely be there and I believe the Ukrainians will be there too.” The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, reiterated this in a conversation with the president of the World Economic Forum, Borge Brende, in Saudi Arabia. “The end of the war depends primarily on Vladimir Putin and what he decides, I hope that Putin will understand the message and show his willingness for sincere negotiations in accordance with the fundamental principles that underpin the international community and the UN Charter: sovereignty, territorial integrity, independence. If they are duly confirmed, a resolution should be adopted,” Blinken said.
07:32
Ukraine: WSJ, drone production increases. 500 per month by June
The Ukrainian industry is increasing the production of long-range drones, which should help Kiev’s armed forces circumvent restrictions on the use of weapons obtained from Western countries for attacks on the territory of the Russian Federation. This was reported by RBC-Ukraine, citing the Wall Street Journal, according to which by the middle of this year the country will produce around 500 drones per month.
