Three EU Leaders Visit Kyiv to Support Ukraine
2022-03-16
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1Three European prime ministers visited Kyiv on Tuesday.
2The prime ministers of neighboring Poland, Czechia and Slovenia came to Ukraine by train for the first such visit by foreign leaders since the Russian invasion.
3"It is our duty to be where history is forged. Because it's not about us, but about the future of our children who deserve to live in a world free from tyranny," said Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.
4Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala and Janez Jansa of Slovenia joined him on the trip.
5Fiala said the visit was to show complete "support of the entire European Union for the sovereignty and independence of Ukraine."
6The European leaders arrived in a city still under Russian attack.
7Buildings were burning and workers were trying to save civilians from the damaged remains.
8Around half of the 3.4 million people who call Kyiv home have fled.
9Those who stayed are sheltering in underground stations.
10On Tuesday, several powerful explosions rocked Kyiv in the early morning hours.
11A tall building was burning after being struck by artillery.
12Firefighters tried to put out the fire and rescue workers helped those trapped inside.
13"Yesterday we extinguished one fire, today another. It is very difficult," said a firefighter who gave Associated Press reporters only his first name, Andriy.
14"People are dying, and the worst thing is that children are dying," he said.
15"They haven't lived their lives and they have already seen this."
16Sitting on the ground outside, Igor Krupa said he survived because he had slept under a shelter of furniture and metal weights.
17He told Reuters, "All the windows went out and all the debris went into the apartment."
18Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian artillery hit four buildings in Kyiv and killed several people. He called on Russian troops to surrender.
19"You will not take anything from Ukraine. You will take lives," he said.
20"But why should you die? What for? I know that you want to survive."
21In Mariupol, Russian forces have surrounded the city of 430,000 people for weeks.
22Local officials estimate the weeks-long attack has killed more than 2,300 people there and left survivors without food, water, heat and medicine.
23Mariupol city officials reported that 2,000 civilian cars were able to leave along a humanitarian pathway.
24The pathway runs for more than 260 kilometers west to the city of Zaporizhzhia.
25They said another 2,000 cars were waiting to leave.
26In the east, Russian forces launched more than 60 strikes overnight on Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv.
27Local administration chief Oleh Sinehubov said the strikes hit the city's historical center, including the main marketplace.
28He said buildings were still burning as rescuers pulled several bodies from the ruins of destroyed apartment buildings.
29In the western Ukrainian city of Rivne, officials said 19 people had been killed in a Russian airstrike on a television tower.
30If confirmed, it would be the worst attack on a civilian target so far in the northwestern part of the country.
31In the southern city of Mykolaiv, airstrikes killed nine people on Sunday.
32People prepared food for soldiers who were waiting for another round of attacks.
33"We are bombed during the day and during the night," said Svetlana Gryshchenko, whose soldier son was killed in the fighting.
34"It's a nightmare what Russia is doing on the territory of Ukraine."
35The United Nations says nearly 3 million people have fled Ukraine since the start of the war.
36The war has led to a complete ban on all independent media and free speech in Russia.
37But an employee of Russia's state TV Channel One entered a live news broadcast late on Monday and held up an anti-war sign.
38"Stop the war. No to war," she said. The broadcaster then cut to a different report.
39The independent group OVD-Info said the woman, Marina Ovsyannikova, was quickly arrested.
40She is one of the nearly 15,000 people who have been arrested for protesting what the Russian government describes as a "special military operation."
41I'm Ashley Thompson.
1Three European prime ministers visited Kyiv on Tuesday. The prime ministers of neighboring Poland, Czechia and Slovenia came to Ukraine by train for the first such visit by foreign leaders since the Russian invasion. 2"It is our duty to be where history is forged. Because it's not about us, but about the future of our children who deserve to live in a world free from tyranny," said Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala and Janez Jansa of Slovenia joined him on the trip. 3Fiala said the visit was to show complete "support of the entire European Union for the sovereignty and independence of Ukraine." 4Explosions, fires in Kyiv 5The European leaders arrived in a city still under Russian attack. Buildings were burning and workers were trying to save civilians from the damaged remains. 6Around half of the 3.4 million people who call Kyiv home have fled. Those who stayed are sheltering in underground stations. 7On Tuesday, several powerful explosions rocked Kyiv in the early morning hours. A tall building was burning after being struck by artillery. Firefighters tried to put out the fire and rescue workers helped those trapped inside. 8"Yesterday we extinguished one fire, today another. It is very difficult," said a firefighter who gave Associated Press reporters only his first name, Andriy. "People are dying, and the worst thing is that children are dying," he said. "They haven't lived their lives and they have already seen this." 9Sitting on the ground outside, Igor Krupa said he survived because he had slept under a shelter of furniture and metal weights. He told Reuters, "All the windows went out and all the debris went into the apartment." 10Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian artillery hit four buildings in Kyiv and killed several people. He called on Russian troops to surrender. "You will not take anything from Ukraine. You will take lives," he said. "But why should you die? What for? I know that you want to survive." 11Around the country 12In Mariupol, Russian forces have surrounded the city of 430,000 people for weeks. Local officials estimate the weeks-long attack has killed more than 2,300 people there and left survivors without food, water, heat and medicine. 13Mariupol city officials reported that 2,000 civilian cars were able to leave along a humanitarian pathway. The pathway runs for more than 260 kilometers west to the city of Zaporizhzhia. They said another 2,000 cars were waiting to leave. 14In the east, Russian forces launched more than 60 strikes overnight on Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv. Local administration chief Oleh Sinehubov said the strikes hit the city's historical center, including the main marketplace. He said buildings were still burning as rescuers pulled several bodies from the ruins of destroyed apartment buildings. 15In the western Ukrainian city of Rivne, officials said 19 people had been killed in a Russian airstrike on a television tower. If confirmed, it would be the worst attack on a civilian target so far in the northwestern part of the country. 16In the southern city of Mykolaiv, airstrikes killed nine people on Sunday. People prepared food for soldiers who were waiting for another round of attacks. 17"We are bombed during the day and during the night," said Svetlana Gryshchenko, whose soldier son was killed in the fighting. "It's a nightmare what Russia is doing on the territory of Ukraine." 18The United Nations says nearly 3 million people have fled Ukraine since the start of the war. 19Protests of the war 20The war has led to a complete ban on all independent media and free speech in Russia. But an employee of Russia's state TV Channel One entered a live news broadcast late on Monday and held up an anti-war sign. "Stop the war. No to war," she said. The broadcaster then cut to a different report. 21The independent group OVD-Info said the woman, Marina Ovsyannikova, was quickly arrested. She is one of the nearly 15,000 people who have been arrested for protesting what the Russian government describes as a "special military operation." 22I'm Ashley Thompson. 23Hai Do adapted this story for Learning English based on Reuters and Associated Press reporting. 24_______________________________________________________ 25Words in This Story 26forge - v. to form or create 27tyranny - n. cruel and unfair treatment by people with power over others 28extinguish - v. to stop something from burning 29debris - n. pieces that are left after something has been destroyed 30nightmare - n. a very bad dream