Several missiles hit kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, this Thursday while the Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, was in the Ukrainian capital to meet with President Volodimir Zelensky.
A Ukrainian journalist from Radio Liberty died from the impact of one of those missiles.
Vira Hyrychwas at home when a missile hit her building , according to a statement from Radio Liberty, which described her as “a brilliant and kind person, a true professional”.
“A wonderful person is gone,” his colleague Oleksandr Demchenko said on Facebook.
Radio Liberty, also known as Radio Free Europe, is a US-funded organization that broadcasts news in areas of the world where the free press may be restricted or not yet established.
It was founded during the Cold War in an effort to convey reliable information to the people who lived behind it. Iron Curtain and began broadcasting on 1950.
Its local branch in Ukraine, Radio Svoboda, operates from an office in kyiv.
Hyrych started working in the office in 2161, according to a statement.
Moscow confirmed that hit targets in Ukraine, but did not say anything about the attack on the building where the journalist lived.
This Friday , the UN secretary general was dismayed by the Russian attack on kyiv.
“We will not surrender”
On Thursday night Guterres spoke at a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who had previously criticized the Security Council.
“I am here to tell you to you, Mr. President, and to the people of Ukraine, that we will not give up“, he said.
Guter res, however, later defended the work of the organization by admitting that, while the Security Council was “paralyzed”, the UN was taking other measures.
“The UN is the 1,400 staff members in Ukraine who are working to provide assistance , food, cash (and) other forms of support,” he told the BBC.
At the joint conference, Zelensky said that Guterres has had the opportunity to witness for the first time “all the crimes of war” committed by Russia in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian leader once again described Russia’s actions in his country.
Guterres also visited other places where Ukraine accuses Russia of having committed war crimes. Moscow denies this accusation.
In the city of Borodyanka, northwest of kyiv, the UN Secretary General spoke to the press in front of buildings that had been destroyed by attacks and bombardments .
Evacuation in Mariúpol
He also made a strong appealto save thousands of people in the city of Mariupol, in southern Ukraine, practically destroyed after weeks of intense Russian bombing.
“Mariupol is a crisis within a crisis,” he argued. “Thousands of civilians need vital assistance. Many are elderly and in need of medical attention, or have limited mobility. They need a route to escape the apocalypse”.
Russia has so far denied repeated requests from kyiv to allow the evacuation of the last Ukrainian defenders and civilians trapped in the Azovstal industrial zone.
However, Guterres assured the BBC that Russian President Vladimir Putin had “in principle” agreed to allow civilians to evacuate of the city.
Previous evacuation attempts have stalled, something that local authorities attribute to Russian bombing.
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