E-Paper
European Council chief, on surprise visit to Ukraine’s Odessa, 'forced to take cover' as missiles hit city: Official
Russia-Ukraine war: Charles Michel arrived in the port city on the occasion of Europe Day to meet Ukrainian President Denys Shmyhal.
European Council president Charles Michel was on Monday forced to break off a meeting and take cover when missiles struck Odessa in south-west Ukraine during his surprise visit to the city, an official of the European Union (EU), of which the Council is a collegiate body, said. “During the meeting with PM, the participants needed to interrupt the meeting to take shelter as missiles struck again the region of Odessa,” the EU official told news agency AFP.
Click here for fresh updates on Russia-Ukraine war
Michel, a former Belgian prime minister, was in Odessa to meet Ukrainian prime minister Denis Shmyhal. “I came to celebrate #EuropeDay in #Odesa, the city where (late Russian poet Alexander) Pushkin said that ‘you can feel Europe.’ And where today the Ukrainian people shield their monuments from bullets and rockets and their freedom from Russian aggression. You are not alone. The EU stands with you,” the 46-year-old leader, who has headed the European Council since July 2019, tweeted on his visit to the port city.
Also Read | Ukraine crisis: Sifting the facts from diplomatic fictions after 75 days of war
Also Read | Putin Says Russia fighting in Ukraine as it did in World War II
“In the port of #Odesa with @Denys_Shmyhal, I saw silos full of grain, wheat and corn ready for export. This badly needed food is stranded because of the Russian war and blockade of Black sea ports. Causing dramatic consequences for vulnerable countries. We need a global response,” he said in another post.
Also Read | Ukraine won't allow Russia to 'appropriate' WWII victory over Nazism: Zelenskyy
Also Read | EU chief slams Russia on Ukraine war: 'Why we're celebrating Europe Day'
Michel’s impromptu visit to the war-hit nation came a day after two high-profile dignitaries also travelled unannounced to the east European country: US First Lady Jill Biden met her Ukrainian counterpart Olena Zelenska in Uzhhorod, while Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau met Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky in the capital, Kyiv.
Also Read | Ukraine war: Russia says it destroyed radar station built by US in Zolote town
On April 28, shortly after a meeting between Zelensky and United Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres in Kyiv, Russia had struck the metropolis.
Also Read | Ukraine war: US imposes visa restrictions on Russian military officers
Moscow’s full-scale invasion of its neighbour began on February 24.
