WAR IN UKRAINE: April 24, 2022
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Day 59
Today is Easter Sunday on the Julian calendar. Ukrainians in almost all regions of the country went to bed last night as air raid sirens blared. The traditional all-night church services were canceled ahead of time.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that he will be meeting with top US officials on Sunday in Kyiv. The delegation would include US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
In a marathon press conference held in a Kyiv press conference, Zelensky said he was “expecting specific things and specific weapons” from world leaders who visit the country. Melinda Haring of the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center said on Twitter that the US delegation should also pledge to re-open their embassy in Kyiv - and install an ambassador.
President Zelensky said Saturday that around half a million people - including 5,000 children - have been forcibly deported to the Russian Federation from occupied areas of Ukraine️. In a reply to my Tweet on this, Ambassador Boris Ruge, vice chairman of the Munich Security Conference said: “If order of magnitude referenced by @ZelenskyyUa is accurate, this is shocking. Mass deportation of civilians to Russia is a violation of the 4th Geneva convention. It's also relevant with regard to the issue of genocide. Ukraine should document incl specific individual cases.”
Separately, Russia forcibly deports 308 Mariupol residents to Vladivostok, including 90 children. Ukrainska Pravda reported that the children will also be forced to learn Russian, citing an adviser to the mayor of Mariupol Petro Andryushchenko. Vladivostok is located on the Sea of Japan over 9,000 kilometers east of Mariupol.
A memorial wall to some of the victims of the war in Ukraine appeared in central Lviv yesterday. The instigator is a Miami-based chap who has built similar walls elsewhere. Leo Soto of the Wall of Hope Foundation said he had raised funds to come to Ukraine and erect the wall of photos and flowers. He told me he didn’t bother to seek permission from local officials. Already the make shift memorial has become an instant hit. Photo below.
