| Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (left) arrives at a press conference with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres during a visit to Kiiu on the 28th (local time). © Reuters=News1 © News1 Reporter Dongmyeong Woo |
Kiiu Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the Russian military attack on Kiiu, Ukraine, while UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was visiting, was an insult to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ‘middle finger’ to the United Nations and the West. Al Jazeera reported on the same day (local time).
Earlier on the 28th, during Guterres’ visit to Kiiu, the center of the city was attacked by Russian missiles, killing at least one person and injuring 10 others. However, Guterres and his companions were not injured.
This is the first time the attack on Kiiu has been resumed since the Russian army decided to retreat from the northern army, including Kiiu, and concentrate its firepower in the southeast as a result of the peace talks on the 29th of last month.
Volodymyr Pesenko, head of the Ukrainian think tank Penta Center, interpreted the message of the attack as “a clear signal that Russia intends to continue the war despite pressure from the international community.”
Pesenko predicted that Russia would continue its attacks targeting all of Ukraine. “With this attack, the Kremlin intends to send a warning to all international organizations and groups trying to influence or hinder Russia’s military plans,” he said. It is likely to continue to hit cities with
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| Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomes United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres during a visit to Kii on February 28, 2010. © Reuters=News1 © News1 Reporter Dongmyeong Woo |
The attack came an hour after Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky and Guterres held a joint press conference. At the time, Guterres was looking around the gruesome scene around Kiiu and condemning the attack on civilians.
President Zelensky said the attack “represents Russia’s true attitude toward international organizations and the Russian leadership’s intention to insult the United Nations and everything it represents.”
However, in relation to President Zelensky’s remarks, Guterres’ deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said, “The general does not see this attack as directed at him. We see it as a sign, and we want to continue our old-fashioned efforts.”
Guterres returned after visiting Ankara, Turkey, Moscow, Russia, Zespro, Poland, and Kiiu, Ukraine. On the 26th, he even had talks with Putin.
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| Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) discusses the situation in Ukraine while sitting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at the Kremlin Palace in Moscow on the 26th (local time). © Reuters=News1 © News1 Reporter Dongmyeong Woo |
The visit was interpreted as a measure conscious of the criticism that the UN was doing nothing despite Russia’s unjustified invasion of Ukraine, but it is also pointed out that preparations were insufficient in terms of the order of visits and achievements.
Meanwhile, Radio Free Europe (RFA) reporter Vira Harik was also found dead among the rubble of a building destroyed in the attack, the media reported.
sabi@news1.kr
