???? Live: Ukraine’s Zelensky arrives in Poland to strengthen bilateral ties

Issued on: 05/04/2023 – 08:22

7:36am: Zelensky arrives in Poland, says Polish president’s aide

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has crossed the border into Poland ahead of his official visit to the capital Warsaw, the Polish president’s foreign policy adviser said on Wednesday. “I can say that President Zelensky has crossed the Polish border,” Marcin Przydacz told private broadcaster TVN24.

Zelensky’s visit to neighbouring Poland, a close ally that has played a big role in galvanising Western military and political support for Kyiv against Russia’s invasion, comes as Ukraine plans a counteroffensive to recapture occupied land in its east and south.

Poland has taken in more than 1 million Ukrainian refugees over the past 13 months of war. The NATO member has also played an important role in persuading other Western powers to supply tanks and other weaponry to Ukraine.

7:26am: Ukrainian drone crashes near Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant

A Ukrainian drone has crashed near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Russia’s RIA news agency cited a Russian officer as saying on Wednesday, as the chief of the global nuclear watchdog was expected in Russia for talks on the plant’s security.

International Atomic Energy Agency head Rafael Grossi was due to travel to Russia’s Kaliningrad region on Wednesday, a week after visiting the Zaporizhzhia facility in southern Ukraine, which is controlled by Russian forces.

4:33am: Macron and Biden discuss how to engage China in Ukraine peace

French President Emmanuel Macron and US President Joe Biden discussed China in a phone call on Tuesday and how to engage Beijing in bringing an end to the war in Ukraine, the Élysée Palace said on Wednesday. 

>> Read more: Biden and Macron speak about China’s role in ending Ukraine war

Key developments from Tuesday, April 4:

Finland has formally joined the NATO military alliance in a historic policy shift for Helsinki brought on by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, drawing a threat from Moscow of “countermeasures”. Finland’s accession roughly doubles the length of the border that NATO shares with Russia and bolsters the alliance’s eastern flank as the war in Ukraine grinds on.

Russian investigators charged Darya Trepova, a 26-year-old resident of St Petersburg, with terrorist offences over the killing of pro-war blogger Vladlen Tatarsky in a bomb blast in that city, Russian news agencies reported. The charges carry a maximum jail term of 20 years. Investigators said Trepova had acted under instructions from people working on behalf of Ukraine.

>> Read our live blog for all of yesterday’s developments as they unfolded.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)