Antonio Guterres to Visit Ukraine

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres will visit Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv today.

Guterres’ visit follows his two-day trip to Moscow where he sought to discuss peace-making possibilities with top Russian representatives amidst the ongoing war in Ukraine. While Guterres’ arbitration efforts brought little to no success, the UN will likely increase its involvement in the region to dissuade the conflict peacefully. During his stay in the Ukrainian capital, Guterres will introduce UN-sponsored humanitarian aid packages that are set to be delivered to the civilians.

During the short-to medium term, the UN will continue to call for the creation of an independent investigation group to probe alleged war crimes in Ukraine—allegations that Russia firmly denies. The UN Secretary General and Moscow will agree on several items which largely concern the evacuation of the civilians in war-torn cities such as Mariupol. In this framework, Moscow will permit the UN to set up humanitarian corridors within the besieged cities that would allow for the safe outflow of refugees that are seeking asylum in surrounding counties. Due to the soaring number of civilian casualties, Moscow will have an impetus for upholding UN suggestions with the hope of bettering its negative perception.