European Council chief, on surprise visit to Ukraine’s Odessa, ‘forced to take cover’ as missiles hit city: Official

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Russia-Ukraine war: Charles Michel arrived in the port city on the occasion of Europe Day to meet Ukrainian President Denys Shmyhal.

European Council president Charles Michel was on Monday forced to break off a meeting and take cover when missiles struck Odessa in south-west Ukraine during his surprise visit to the city, an official of the European Union (EU), of which the Council is a collegiate body, said. “During the meeting with PM, the participants needed to interrupt the meeting to take shelter as missiles struck again the region of Odessa,” the EU official told news agency AFP.

Click here for fresh updates on Russia-Ukraine war

Michel, a former Belgian prime minister, was in Odessa to meet Ukrainian prime minister Denis Shmyhal. “I came to celebrate #EuropeDay in #Odesa, the city where (late Russian poet Alexander) Pushkin said that ‘you can feel Europe.’ And where today the Ukrainian people shield their monuments from bullets and rockets and their freedom from Russian aggression. You are not alone. The EU stands with you,” the 46-year-old leader, who has headed the European Council since July 2019, tweeted on his visit to the port city.

 

“In the port of #Odesa with @Denys_Shmyhal, I saw silos full of grain, wheat and corn ready for export. This badly needed food is stranded because of the Russian war and blockade of Black sea ports. Causing dramatic consequences for vulnerable countries. We need a global response,” he said in another post.

 

Michel’s impromptu visit to the war-hit nation came a day after two high-profile dignitaries also travelled unannounced to the east European country: US First Lady Jill Biden met her Ukrainian counterpart Olena Zelenska in Uzhhorod, while Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau met Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky in the capital, Kyiv.

On April 28, shortly after a meeting between Zelensky and United Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres in Kyiv, Russia had struck the metropolis.

Also Read | Kyiv sees one of the boldest attacks amid war during UN chief visit

Moscow’s full-scale invasion of its neighbour began on February 24.



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