QUICK READING April 21: US rectifies: ‘Ukraine has not received a fighter’

Ukrainian soldiers rest at a position in the Kharkov region, Ukraine on April 20 – Photo: REUTERS

* John Kirby, a spokesman for the US Department of Defense, admitted there were “mistakes” at a press conference on April 20. “I thought the delivery of complete planes from a country in the region to Ukraine had already been done. But it turned out not to be.”

* President Joe Biden joined the annual meeting of military leaders America on April 20, in the context of the war in Ukraine entering a new dangerous phase and Washington’s plan to support more weapons to this country.

A spokesman for the US National Security Council said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, General Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and senior military leaders raised “many other topics”. each other” in the discussion.

* Announced on Twitter on April 20, Ukraine’s negotiator Mykhailo Podolyak said his administration was ready to organize a “special round of negotiations” with Russia in the city of Mariupol without any conditions.

Mariupol in southern Ukraine is almost falling into the hands of Russian and pro-Russian forces. The city was besieged during the first days of Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine.

Currently, only a small group of Ukrainian soldiers are entrenched in an underground area of ​​​​the vast factory and are being given an ultimatum by the Russian side “surrender or die”.

Ukrainians on the streets of the port city of Mariupol on April 20 – Photo: REUTERS

* Ukraine Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk accused Russian forces of violating the ceasefire, causing The humanitarian corridor at the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol could not open as planned.

Vereshchuk also said that buses organized by Russia did not bring evacuees to the point where Ukrainian buses and ambulances were waiting in time.

Ukrainian officials estimate that about 1,000 civilians are sheltering in Azovstal. This is Ukraine’s last stronghold in Mariupol, in the southeastern part of the country.

Earlier the same day, Donetsk Region Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said that fewer buses than planned reached civilians in Mariupol on April 20 and that they could not evacuate many people.

Kyrylenko said he expected 90 buses to be able to enter the city and take out about 6,000 women, children and the elderly.

* April 20, Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says she walked out of G20 meeting (group of 20 largest economies in the world) in Washington to protest against Russia’s involvement, after a “special military operation” in Ukraine jeopardized the global economy.

According to RIA news agency, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov called on the G20 not to politicize dialogue between member states, warning the group of the risk of undermining confidence in the global monetary and financial system. bridge.

Earlier, British Finance Minister Rishi Sunak said that top finance officials from the UK, US and Canada walked out of the meeting when the Russian representative spoke.

European Council President Charles Michel (left) shakes hands with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev on April 20 – Photo: REUTERS

* A senior US defense official told Reuters news agency that The US military has begun training a small number of “more than 50” Ukrainian soldiers on how to use howitzers. The source revealed that the training is being conducted outside of Ukraine and will last about a week.

Last week, US President Joe Biden announced additional military aid worth $800 million to Ukraine, including heavy artillery.

* Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky praised the visit to Kiev of European Council President Charles Michel. Michel’s visit on April 20 aims to show solidarity with Ukraine in the war with Russia.

Michel stated the EU’s support for Ukraine at a joint press conference after talks with Zelensky. Michel said Brussels has so far provided Kiev with 1.5 billion euros ($1.63 billion) in military aid.

* In a phone call on April 20, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu that the outcome of the negotiations with Ukraine depends entirely on Kiev’s readiness to respond to Russia’s demands.

The Russian Foreign Ministry also said that Lavrov and Cavusoglu discussed the situation in the Ukrainian port of Mariupol, as well as possible measures to provide the safety of civilians, including from abroad.