The Ukrainian president issued a speech from the thousand-year-old Saint Sophia Cathedral on the occasion of the celebration of the religious holiday that coincides with the two months since the start of the Russian military operation. There, he affirmed that they are going through “dark times”, but they are fighting “for a bright idea”. In other news, Recep Tayyip Erdogan promised to make a diplomatic link between kyiv and Moscow and the Mariupol humanitarian corridor failed again.
In a setting unimaginable months ago, this Sunday, April 24, Orthodox Easter is celebrated in regions that have not been affected by the war, such as Lviv. However, between the number of migrants, the men in the line of fire and the anti-bombing alarms, the context is far from calm.
President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the Ukrainian people on this date and stated that they will not be defeated by “any evil” despite living through “dark times”. On the other hand, seeking a diplomatic solution to the conflict, the Turkish president offered to act as a bridge between Russia and Ukraine.
These are the most relevant news about the war in Ukraine this Sunday, April 24:
10.59 (BOG) The Red Cross calls for a humanitarian corridor for Mariupol
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) requested that a road be opened in the port city and the Azovstal steel mill to evacuate the civilians and the hundreds of wounded who still remain there.
“The ICRC is deeply concerned about the situation in Mariupol, where the population urgently needs help. Unhindered humanitarian access needs to be provided immediately,” the entity said in a statement.
However, this could not materialize this Sunday, according to the Minister of the Interior, Iryna Vereshchuk. The official blamed the Russian troops for not having stopped the fire so that the humanitarian corridors could be traced.
He also confirmed that they will make a new attempt to get a safe passage out of Mariupol on Monday. While he urged UN Secretary General António Guterres to talk about it with Vladimir Putin during his visit to Moscow scheduled for this week. “This is what Guterres should be talking about, if he is preparing to talk about peace,” he lashed out.
We are deeply alarmed by the situation in #mariupol. @ICRC calls for immediate access to facilitate the safe passage of civilians & wounded out of the city.
Each hour that passes has a terrible human cost.https://t.co/6mr4T5Opw8
— ICRC Ukraine (@ICRC_ua) April 24, 2022
The ICRC has frequently insisted on the need to carve out aid routes for the port city, which has civilians who were unable to leave and are in an oppressive environment.
“As a neutral and impartial mediator, we stand ready to assist the parties to the conflict in reaching practical and workable agreements to ensure the voluntary evacuation of those in need,” they added.
10.25 (BOG) Erdogan tells Zelensky to be ready to help in the negotiation with Russia
The Turkish president spoke by telephone with his Ukrainian counterpart this Sunday when he expressed his country’s commitment to sustain the progress of the talks with Moscow, which have been paralyzed since the episodes that occurred in Bucha.
The last update in the negotiations took place precisely in Istanbul, when Ukraine affirmed its willingness to maintain neutrality, but requesting that the United States be one of its defense guarantors against possible future aggression.
But since the massacre in the town of Bucha was uncovered, the talks have frozen. Subsequently, the Russian troops left kyiv to go to Donbass and Mariúpol, where the siege is intense.
(1/2) Had an important phone conversation with President @RTErdogan. On the eve of his talks with Putin, I stressed the need for immediate evacuation of civilians from Mariupol, including Azovstal, and immediate exchange of blocked troops.
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) April 24, 2022
Precisely, the port city was present at the talk between Erdogan and Zelensky. The Turkish head of state asserted that the departure of civilians from Mariupol must be guaranteed, where “the situation becomes sadder every day,” according to the Turk.
“I stressed the need for the immediate evacuation of civilians from Mariupol, including Azovstal, and the immediate exchange of blocked troops,” Zelensky wrote on his Twitter account.
Turkey, a member of NATO, shares a maritime border with Ukraine and Russia in the Black Sea and maintains a good relationship with both, even in times of war. Although it has given its full support to kyiv, it is one of the countries that was reluctant to approve or apply economic sanctions to Moscow.
9.44 (BOG) Zelensky issued a message on the occasion of Orthodox Easter
The president of Ukraine broadcast a video speech from the Saint Sophia Cathedral, one of the most important monuments in the country that has been in kyiv for a thousand years, where he assured that they will overcome the serious situation they have suffered since the invasion of Russia, precisely today , two months.
He expressed his prayers for God to protect and return happiness to children and give compassion to mothers who have lost their children during the war. “We still believe in the new victory of Ukraine and we are convinced that we will not be destroyed by any horde or evil,” he said.
In addition, he added that they are fighting to “overcome dark times” and for “a bright idea.” On the day the celebrations were opaque throughout the country, including those regions where they have not suffered the direct effects of the war.
For his part, the governor of Lugansk, Sehiy Gaidai, reported that seven churches have already been destroyed in that region of eastern Ukraine due to the armed conflict. In the eastern section they explicitly asked citizens not to gather in large numbers.
kyiv had proposed to Moscow a brief truce during the Easter period, something that was rejected. In contrast, attacks were reported at the Avozstal steelworks, in besieged Mariupol, where Ukrainian resistance soldiers are taking refuge.
With EFE and Reuters
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