NEW DELHI: Prime Ministers of three European countries — Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovenia — will visit Kyiv as representatives of the European Council today to show “unequivocal support” to Ukraine amid war with Russia.
Prime Minister Petr Fiala of the Czech Republic, Prime Minister Janez Jansa of Slovenia, and Prime Minister Mateusz Moawiecki of Poland will visit the Ukrainian capital. Jaroslaw Kaczynski, Deputy Prime Minister of Poland for Security will also be part of the delegation.
The leaders will call on Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Prime Minister Denys Anatoliyovych Shmyhal.
“Today, we are going together with Poland PM Mateusz Morawiecki, Deputy PM Jarosław Kaczyński, and Slovenia PM Janez Janša to Kyiv as representatives of the European Council to meet President Zelenskyy and PM Shmyhal,” The Czech Republic PM said in a tweet.
He further said, “The visit is organized in consultation with European Council President Charles Michel, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The aim of the visit is to express the European Union’s unequivocal support for Ukraine and its freedom and independence.”
This visit comes days after Ukraine PM Shmyhal, while speaking at Antalya Diplomacy Forum via video link, appealed to the world leaders to take immediate action against Russia’s military attack on his country.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba had physically attended the high-level conclave in Turkey on the request of the Turkish government, a source confirmed to The New Indian.
The European Union has rejected Ukraine’s request for granting immediate membership to it. The bloc has so far ignored the former Soviet state’s call for enforcing a no-fly zone over Ukraine in face of continued air attacks by Russia.
President Zelenskyy has extended the period of martial law, which was enforced in Ukraine following the Russia invasion on February 24, for about a month, local media reports.
Russian troops continue to launch missile attacks and conduct air raids in several cities of Ukraine, including capital Kyiv, disrupting water and electricity supplies in some cities.
At least three loud explosions were heard in Kyiv today, media reports said.
More than 4,000 people were evacuated from the conflict zones in Ukraine since the war broke out, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said, accusing Russian forces of killing civilians.