European Union leaders plan visit to Ukraine's capital as Russian war enters third week
Leaders of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia will be traveling to Kyiv
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues for its third week, leaders from three European Union countries have planned a visit to Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, to show support for the country, according to a report.
Poland’s Mateusz Moravetsky, the Czech Republic’s Petr Fiala, and Slovenia’s Janez Jansa will travel to Kyiv after thousands of civilians and soldiers have been killed and 2.8 million people from the city have been forced to evacuate. They will meet with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.
Loud blasts were heard throughout Kyiv as recently as Tuesday morning as Russia continues its siege.
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Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has ceaselessly called for international partners to help see through an end to the Russian war, as cities across the country continue to fall to Russian control.
Ukrainian soldiers and firefighters search in a destroyed building after a bombing attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, March 14, 2022. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
Some of these partners are beginning to take action to show their support for his country, but members of the UN’s Security Council have mostly remained out of the conflict.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}While the international community is moving to deter further aggression from Russia, mostly through sanctions, the situation in Ukraine remains dire.
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"Ukraine is on fire," United Nations chief Antonio Guterres told reporters on Monday. "The impact on civilians is reaching terrifying proportions."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"We are witnessing the worst humanitarian crisis in Europe since World War II," France’s U.N. ambassador Nicolas De Riviere and Mexican Ambassador Juan Ramon De La Fuente said in a joint statement Monday. "The humanitarian situation in Ukraine keeps deteriorating hour by hour," with civilians dying every day and the number of refugees and internally displaced people continuing to grow.
In this image from video provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office and posted on Facebook, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Friday, March 11, 2022. ((Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)
"In order to allow for a vigorous united message to be sent by the international community, we have decided to take our initiative to the General Assembly," the joint statement added.
On March 3, Zelenskyy personally challenged Russian President Vladimir Putin to sit down for a negotiation.
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"Sit down with me to negotiate, just not at 30 meters," he said, referencing a lengthy table Putin and Russian officials used to meet with foreign leaders. "I don’t bite. What are you afraid of?"
As recently as Tuesday morning, Zelenskyy said he believed Ukraine was winning the military struggle against a "confused" Russian army.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"The 19th day of our resistance is over. Historical war. Another difficult day, which is still approaching our victory. Approaching peace for Ukraine," Zelenskyy said, according to his presidential office.
Trolleybus damaged by Russian army rocket fire in Kyiv. (Photo by Sergei Chuzavkov / SOPA Images/Sipa USA)
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He also called for Russian troops to lay down their arms and surrender.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"If you surrender to our forces, we will treat you the way people are supposed to be treated. As people, decently. In a way you were not treated in your army. And in a way your army does not treat ours," the Ukrainian president added. "Choose!"
Fox News' Tyler O'Neil and the Associated Press contributed to this report.