“Here the dark side of humanity revealed itself.” What did foreign leaders see in Ukraine?

Zelensky visited Kharkov at the forefront of the Ukrainian army.

“I am infinitely proud of our defenders. <...> Thank you each and every one of you for your service!” he wrote on Telegram.

The President rewarded the outstanding fighters during the visit. A few days ago, he stated that 15,000 Ukrainians received state awards in the last three months.

After visiting Kharkov, the Ukrainian president said that more than 2 thousand houses were destroyed in the city and the region. “We will restore everything, rebuild it, fill it with life,” Zelensky promised.

For the first time since the outbreak of hostilities, Zelensky left the Kyiv region, according to the Reuters international news agency.

In early April, the Ukrainian leader arrived in Bucha (Kyiv region) after foreign journalists showed footage of dead local residents that Ukraine thought were the work of the Russian army, and Russian officials insisted that the footage from Bucha was fake and fake. It was created to “smear the Russian army”.

Which of the European politicians came to Ukraine?

The peak of visits by European politicians fell at the beginning of April. On April 8, Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, and Josep Borrell, head of European diplomacy, arrived in the country. First, they visited Bucha, where they lit candles in memory of the dead in the Orthodox Church.

European politicians then went to Kiev by train, where they met with Zelensky. The most important detail of the meeting was von der Leyen’s delivery of the EU accession questionnaire.

“Your path to the European Union starts here,” said the president of the European Commission.

Apart from EU officials, but on the same dates, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer visited Bucha and Kiev.

In Bucha, Nehammer also lit candles in memory of the dead, and in Kiev, in addition to Zelensky, he met with the mayor of the city, Vitali Klitschko. He described the Prime Minister’s visit as a “bold decision” because “a rocket can always explode” in Kiev.

“We are militarily neutral, but we are not neutral when it comes to calling crime a crime and acting where there is injustice,” Nehammer said after meeting with Zelensky.

He promised that those responsible for the victims in Ukraine would be brought to justice. “The mills in international jurisdiction are grinding slowly but steadily,” the Chancellor said.

Just after Ukraine, Nehammer flew to Moscow, where he became the first European politician to meet personally with Russian President Vladimir Putin since the beginning of the conflict. The meeting took place without shaking hands and taking joint photos.

“This is not a cordial visit. I have just come from Ukraine, where I have seen immeasurable suffering with my own eyes,” the Chancellor explained.

Also, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson arrived in Ukraine on 9 April. Contrary to what was mentioned above, his visit was not announced in advance. The Ukrainian Embassy in London announced the meeting by posting a photo of Johnson and Zelensky on Twitter with the caption “Surprise”. In addition to the talks, Johnson walked with Zelensky in Kiev. During the march, the politicians were greeted by a woman who introduced herself as a Kharkovite and presented each of them with a ceramic pot in the shape of a rooster.

A few days after these visits, the presidents of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia arrived in Ukraine together. This time, the politicians did not visit Bucha, but the village of Borodyanka, near Kyiv. Ukrainian officials reported that the delegation examined the infrastructure destroyed during the conflict.

“I was in Borodyanka today. The dark side of humanity showed itself here,” Lithuanian President Gitanas Naused said of the trip.

Then the Baltic delegation visited Zelensky in Kiev. Polish government spokesman Piotr Muller noted that the meeting was “symbolic, but at the same time an instrument of moral and political pressure on the leaders of Western countries, who promised only help rather than real aid to Ukraine.”

Polish President Andrzej Duda visited Ukraine twice, on 22 May for the second time. Then he spoke in the Verkhovna Rada in Kiev, and in this capacity he became the first foreign leader since the beginning of the military conflict.

At the end of April, UN Secretary-General António Guterres arrived in Kiev. He also visited Irpin, Bucha and Borodianka.

“I must say how I felt when I saw these demolished houses. I pictured my family in one of the now destroyed and charred houses. “I see how my grandchildren fled in panic and how part of the family eventually died,” he said.

Later, the President of the European Council Charles Michel also visited Kiev. He also visited Odessa, where Michel had to hide from the bombing in the bomb shelter. “I came to celebrate Europe Day (May 9) in Odessa, in the city of which Pushkin said, “here you can feel Europe,” the politician said.

Among others, Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Chuke visited Kiev (the Romanian delegation also came to Irpin and Borodianka), Croatian Prime Minister Andrey Plenkovic, German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock (came in Bucha).

Who among the top US officials visited Ukraine?

American officials began arriving in Ukraine later than their European counterparts at the end of April. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin met with Zelensky in Kiev on April 25. They promised him the repatriation of evacuated American diplomats and more than $322 million in financial aid. The US Embassy began work in Kiev on May 18.

After Blinken and Austin, US First Lady Jill Biden visited Ukraine in early May. She arrived on an “unannounced visit,” the White House reported. In the Transcarpathian region, Biden met with the wife of Ukrainian leader Olena Zelenskaya (his first public appearance since the outbreak of hostilities) and offered her flowers. Biden also met with Ukrainian refugees who had to live in a local school during the conflict.

“I wanted to come for Mother’s Day. I thought it was important to show the Ukrainian people that. <...> “They are supported by the American people,” he said.

The US Senate also sent its own delegation, which held a secret meeting with Zelensky on May 14 in Kiev.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived from the US Congress on May 2. She stressed that she visited Kiev to “give a very clear message to the world that America stands with Ukraine until victory”.