WAR – Ukrainian officials are making new attempts to evacuate people from Mariupol, against fears the city could be soon taken over by the Russians, the BBC reports. Ukrainian authorities will try again to open a new humanitarian corridor to evacuate civillians. Kyiv’s chief negotiator has offered to travel to Mariupol for negotiations. President Volodymyr Zelensky has estimated that around 1,000 civillians are hiding in underground shelters beneath the Azovstal steel plant, the last bastion of Ukrainian resistance in Mariupol. US President Joe Biden will later today deliver an update on the situation in Ukraine as he works to complete a new arms package for its military, Reuters reports. The new package is worth around 800 million dollars, just like the one announced last week, but details still remain to be set, an American official told Reuters.
REFUGEES – Over 760,000 Ukrainian citizens entered Romania since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, the Romanian Border Police announced. Of them, several thousands are asylum seekers. On Wednesday, in 24 hours, some 7,700 Ukrainian citizens entered Romania, by 4.8% more than on the previous day.
ELECTION – The war in Ukraine was a topic for debate on Wednesday evening in Paris, when the two candidates to the country’s presidency, Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen, took part in a televised debate. The centrist Emmanuel Macron reminded his far right contender that she must repay millions to a Russian bank, which gave her a lon for her presidential campaign five years ago. Macron also said a French president cannot depend on Putin and the Russian power. The candidates also clashed over France’s role in the EU, the Radio Romania correspondent reports. Macron, an established pro-European, pleaded for a strong and sovereign Europe, while Le Pen is known as a Euroskeptic. Opinion polls regarding voting intentions for the April 24 election, show Macron as winner, with around 55% of the votes.
MATCH FOR PEACE – Wednesday’s ‘match for peace’ between Romania’s football champion, CFR Cluj and Ukraine’s champion Dinamo Kyinv ended in a goalless draw. All money collected from the tickets will be donated to the Ukrainian refugees. The match was preceded by a concert for peace, featuring vocalists from the two countries. The event in Romania was staged by Dinamo Kyiv’s headcoach, the Romanian Mircea Lucescu and is part of a European tournament organized by the Ukrainians, after their championship was cancelled following Russian invasion.
(Radio Romania International)
