Conflicts & War

Security tightened as Erdogan, Guterres expected to meet Zelenskyy in Ukraine

Lviv, Ukraine, 18 Aug (EFE).- Ukraine has taken all necessary security measures as United Nations secretary general Antonio Guterres and Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan are expected to meet Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the western city of Lviv on Thursday.

Military intelligence spokesman Andriy Yusov told Ukrainian TV Channel 24 early on Thursday that Russia had already engaged in “provocations, shelling and aviation attacks” during some of the previous high-profile visits to Ukraine, including those by the UN representatives.

Yusov, however, assured that the Ukrainian ministry of defense has been preparing for “different scenarios” of how the visit could unfold.

He added that the visit by Erdogan and Guterres is a sign they support Ukraine and are not afraid of possible Russian attacks.

Guterres arrived Wednesday evening and is expected to meet Zelenskyy and Erdogan in the central Potocki Palace in Lviv, according to the Turkish Anadolu news agency.

A rally to support Ukrainian prisoners of war who surrendered at Azovstal in Mariupol is set to take place in central Lviv at 12:00 pm, the Lviv media center said in a statement.

According to the statement, relatives of prisoners of war and defenders of Azovstal will gather for a peaceful rally to draw the attention of Guterres, and Erdogan, who is visiting Ukraine for the first time since the start of the February 24 Russian invasion.

Meanwhile, Kharkiv region suffered “one of the most tragic nights” since the beginning of the war, the head of regional military administration Oleh Synyehubov said, after Russian missile attacks killed at least 11 people and injured 37 others.EFE

ra/smq/jt

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