The main topics in the contacts of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky with the leaders of other countries remain defense and financial support of the state, blocking of Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea, the threat of a food crisis, Presidential Press Secretary Sergei Nikiforov said.
“The list of issues is the same. There is an urgent issue – blocking our ports in the Black Sea. There is a threat of a general food crisis and a food crisis in certain regions of different countries, because Ukraine is a supplier of agricultural products for many markets. And now because of violations of supply chains and supply chains, such a threat exists,” Nikiforov said on the air of the national telethon on Sunday.
Also, according to him, topical issues are financial support for the Ukrainian economy in the conditions of war, sanctions against the Russian Federation and defense support.
“With some of the leaders, certain issues come to the fore, with others – in the background. It depends on the country and each specific situation,” he said.
More than 350,000 people have been evacuated from the combat areas since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine as a result of negotiations with the Russian side, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
“The organization of humanitarian corridors is one of the elements of the ongoing negotiation process with the Russian Federation. It is very complex. Nevertheless, no matter how difficult it was, more than 350,000 people were saved from the combat areas,” Zelensky said in a video message on Sunday evening .
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi in Kyiv on May 1, the press service of the President’s Office reported.
“I am grateful to you for this signal. A signal of strong support for Ukraine from the people of the United States, Congress, bipartisan support. This indicates that the United States is the leader in supporting Ukraine during the war against Russian aggression, and I want to thank you for being help Ukraine defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the President said.
Zelensky noted the importance of US President Joseph Biden’s appeal to Congress on providing financial assistance to Ukraine in the amount of $33 billion.
Pelosi noted that today Ukraine is fighting heroically for freedom, and the United States is ready to help Kyiv until this fight is over. According to her, Ukraine is the border of freedom.
For a significant personal contribution to strengthening Ukrainian-American interstate cooperation, support for a sovereign, independent and democratic Ukraine, Zelensky awarded Pelosi the Order of Princess Olga.
As Serhiy Leshchenko, a member of the Ukrzaliznytsia Supervisory Board, specified, four congressmen visited Kyiv together with the Speaker of the House of Representatives: Gregory W. Meeks, head of the International Affairs Committee, Jason Crow, Jim McGovern and Adam Schiff, who, as head of the House Intelligence Committee, led the impeachment of Donald Trump.
Friedrich Merz, head of the opposition Christian Democratic Union of Germany, will visit Ukraine on Monday, German media reported citing their own sources.
“CDU leader Friedrich Merz (66) travels to Kyiv on Monday,” writes Bild.
Merz’s upcoming visit to Ukraine is also reported by Tagesspiegel. “CDU leader Friedrich Merz will travel to the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Monday. Tagesspiegel learned about this from party and security circles,” the message says.
French President Emmanuel Macron, during a telephone conversation on Saturday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, promised to intensify the provision of military and humanitarian assistance to Kyiv, BFMTV channel said, citing sources.
According to the channel, Macron “promised to increase support for Ukraine by transferring weapons and humanitarian aid.”
The number of people who entered Ukraine through its western border on April 30 rose from over 35,000 a day earlier to almost 40,000, the highest since the start of the war, the State Border Service reported on Facebook on Sunday.
According to its data, on the last day of April, a record number of vehicles passing through the border since the beginning of the war was also recorded – 19 thousand, which may be due to the expectations of closing the window for preferential import of cars into Ukraine in connection with the relevant law submitted to the Verkhovna Rada .
The exit flow on April 30 remained at the level of the previous day – 38 thousand, being less than the entry flow for the first time since April 24, the State Border Service indicated.
The agency clarified that over the past day, the number of registered vehicles with humanitarian cargo increased to 380 from 250 the day before.
The State Border Service recalled that, according to the Slovak side, from May 2, the Velke Slementse checkpoint (on the Ukrainian side – Malye Selmentsy) will operate from 09:00 to 21:00 (Kyiv time).
According to the data of the Polish border service on Twitter, on April 30, 26.8 thousand entered Ukraine from the country against 23.6 thousand the day before. In the opposite direction, the flow amounted to 23.5 thousand compared to 21.8 thousand a day earlier.
In total, since the beginning of the war, the Polish border agency points out, 3.076 million people entered the country from Ukraine, and 975 thousand people in the opposite direction.
According to UNHCR data, as of 13:00 on April 29, a total of 5.469 million people left Ukraine since the beginning of the war (excluding entry flow), of which 3.014 million went to Poland, 881.19 thousand to Romania and Moldova, and 656 to Russia 38 thousand, Hungary – 519.98 thousand, Slovakia – 371.92 thousand, Belarus – 25 thousand.
At the same time, according to the State Border Service, 1.29 million people have entered Ukraine by this date since February 28.
