On April 20, an international delegation including the ambassadors of Denmark, Estonia, France, and Sweden, representatives of the UNDP, and Infrastructure Vice Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov, along with the MP Olena Shuliak visited Kharkiv, reported the press services of Kharkiv City Council and the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration.
The delegates went to the destroyed by Russians Northern Saltivka [the largest residential area in Ukraine, located in the east of Kharkiv], critical infrastructure facilities, and an underground school in the Industrialnyi district of the city.
The recent escalation of Russian strikes against Kharkiv aims to turn the city into a “grey zone,” uninhabitable for civilians, The Economist wrote on April 7, citing undisclosed Ukrainian military sources.
Additional tweets from today are below…
ONE DEAD AND SIXTEEN INJURED IN TODAY’S BOMBING IN KHARKIV RESIDENTIAL AREA.
AT LEAST 15 EXPLOSIONS OVERNIGHT IN KHARKIV, BLACKOUTS REPORTED … UKRAINE AIR FORCE DOWNS 92 OF 151 AERIAL TARGETS … ZAPORIZHZHIA’S NUCLEAR PLANT ON THE BRINK OF BLACKOUT.
PHOTOS FROM YESTERDAY’S MISSILE ATTACK ON KHARKIV: Death toll is now at five, with five others missing, the search continues but things sound grim.
“I want the Russians not only to see the aid coming this spring, but we have come up with a model to make it more sustainable for the Ukrainian people,” the senator said.
“You are going through hell. I want to help you. We have problems at home, too. I am trying to make this a win-win. I am going to the Mideast to say the same thing,” he added.
Graham expressed full support for Ukraine on its path in attempts to join NATO and said that he wanted to provide Ukraine with as much weaponry as possible to achieve “a qualitative advantage on the battlefield.”
In related news: Zelensky says it is ‘Critically Important’ for US to approve aid soon.
Drone strikes targeted Russia’s oil refineries for the second day in a row on Wednesday, with one sparking a fire and injuring several people after it struck a facility in the Ryazan region, officials said.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov publicly rejected Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s recent offer to host a negotiation platform for Russia and Ukraine. Lavrov attended the Antalya Diplomatic Forum in Turkey on March 1 and responded to a question about Erdogan’s offer by stating that there are no current dialogue initiatives that consider Russian interests.
Turkey hopes talks for a ceasefire in Ukraine will start soon, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Sunday (3 March), at the end of a diplomatic forum in the southern city of Antalya.
Fidan met his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, on Friday on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum. He told reporters he had discussed a number of issues with Lavrov, including Ukraine.
“On the issue of Ukraine, our view is that both sides have reached the limits of what they can get by war. We think that it is time to start a dialogue for a ceasefire,” Fidan said.
“That doesn’t mean recognising the occupation (by Russia), but issues of sovereignty and ceasefire should be discussed separately.”
In other news, it looks like the USA will vote on Ukraine aid by the end of this month.
UPDATE ON THE RUSSIAN ATTACK ON ODESA: