Kiev rocked by explosions during visit of “shocked” UN chief Guterres: “Residential complex hit” | War Ukraine and Russia

Read all the news about the war in Ukraine in this dossier.

We are safe,” Saviano Abreu, spokesman for the Secretary-General, told journalists afterwards. “It’s a war zone, but it’s shocking that it’s happening close to where we were.”

UN chief Guterres said he was “shocked” by the missile strikes. “Not so much because I’m here now, but because Kiev is a holy city for Ukrainians and Russians,” Guterres said.

Guterres and Zelensky gave a joint press conference at which the Portuguese stated that the United Nations is doing everything it can to evacuate people at the Mariupol steel plant. The UN chief called the situation in the southern port city a “crisis within a crisis”. Even during Guterres’ visit, Kiev came under fire. It is the first time since mid-April that Kiev has been shelled.

At least ten people were injured, according to Ukrainian emergency services. “As a result of enemy shelling, a fire has broken out on a 25-storey residential building, the first two floors of which were partially destroyed,” it said via Facebook.

Zelensky says in a video message on Telegram that Kiev was hit by “five missiles”. According to him, the attack took place “just after the conversation” with Guterres. This says a lot about Russia’s real attitude towards international institutions. The fact that Russian missiles hit Odesa and other Ukrainian cities at the same time shows that “we can’t relax yet and we shouldn’t think the war is over,” Zelensky said.

According to eyewitnesses who spoke to Reuters news agency, two major explosions took place in the center of Kiev. Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kiev, had previously spoken of “two attacks” on the Shevchenkovsky district.

Russia has not responded to the missile strikes on civilian targets in Kiev. The Ministry of Defense does report that the air force hit dozens of military targets in Ukraine on Thursday.

Missile strikes in the center of Kiev during Antonio Guterres’ official visit, Mikhailo Podoliak, an adviser to Zelensky, also tweeted. “Yesterday he was sitting at a long table in the Kremlin and today there are explosions over his head.”

“This is proof that we need a quick victory over Russia and that the entire civilized world must unite around Ukraine. We must act quickly. More weapons, more humanitarian efforts, more aid,” said the head of the presidential administration, Andriy Yermak. He called for the removal of Russia’s veto power in the UN Security Council.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba called it a “horrific act of barbarism”. In doing so, he says, the Kremlin has once again shown its attitude towards Ukraine, Europe and the world.

The UN chief said he had ‘intense’ talks with Zelensky this evening about the evacuation at the Azovstal factory. At least 1,000 civilians are still detained in the area surrounded by Russian troops, according to Ukrainian authorities.

Guterres said he received a pledge from Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday that the United Nations will be involved with the Red Cross in establishing a humanitarian corridor in Mariupol.

Zelensky was optimistic after the conversation with Guterres. He believes that the siege of the Azovstal factory in the city can now end. The factory is surrounded by Russian troops, who have taken almost the entire city. It is not clear how many people are still there. According to Ukrainian sources, 1,000 civilians and about 500 wounded soldiers are involved. The number of defenders is estimated by Russia at almost three thousand.

Earlier in the day, Guterres visited Borodjanka, northwest of Kiev, where he sharply criticized the Russian attack on Ukraine. “I imagine my family in one of these houses, I see my granddaughters running in panic,” he said as he watched the ruined houses.

“A war in the 21st century is an absurdity, no war is acceptable in the 21st century,” the secretary general said in one of the places where Ukrainians accuse the Russians of war crimes during their occupation.

Guterres also visited Butsha. He called on Russia to cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. It is investigating possible war crimes in Ukraine. “When we talk about war crimes, we cannot forget that the worst crime is war itself,” he said in Butya, where hundreds of civilians were found dead after Russian troops withdrew. By the way, Russia is not a member of the court.