Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi will pay an official visit on Wednesday to Poland, a close ally that has played an important role in Western military and political support for Kyiv against a full-scale Russian invasion.

The latest on the war in Ukraine, day 406, LIVETEXT:

07:32Lawyers for American journalist Evan Hershkovich, arrested in Russia last week on espionage charges he denies, were able to meet with him in prison on Tuesday, his employer, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), said in a letter to the editor. AFP.

01:30 Ukrainians will soon begin training on Abrams tanks, said a representative of the US Ministry of Defense

Training of Ukrainians on American M1-A1 Abrams tanks has not yet begun, but will begin “relatively soon”, a high-ranking representative of the US Ministry of Defense said on Tuesday.

“Training with Abrams hasn’t started yet… We’re still working on acquiring the equipment, so we haven’t started training yet, but I expect that to happen relatively soon,” a US official said during a news conference. briefing, reports CNN.

In total, the official said, the US has trained more than 7,000 Ukrainian soldiers since the start of the Russian invasion last February. The US plans to send 31 M1-A1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, which is equal to a full battalion of Ukrainian tanks.

00:55UN: Britain blocked the Internet broadcast of the Russian meeting regarding Ukraine

Britain blocked the Internet broadcast of an informal meeting of the UN Security Council on Ukraine on Wednesday, at which the Russian commissioner for the rights of the child, whom the International Criminal Court wants to arrest for war crimes, was to speak, Reuters reported.

The meeting will focus on the “evacuation of children from conflict zones,” and Russia said Tuesday that Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova will attend virtually.

00:35Biden and Macron had a phone conversation about China and the war in Ukraine

US President Joe Biden spoke by phone with French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday and discussed Macron’s upcoming visit to China, the White House said, adding that they also talked about maintaining support for Ukraine against a Russian invasion, Reuters reported.

Macron will visit China on April 5-7. Chinese President Xi Jinping plans to hold talks with him to determine the course for bilateral relations, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Monday.

A brief summary of recent events:

• Russian President Vladimir Putin will preside over a meeting of the Russian Federation Security Council on Wednesday to review the security situation in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia regions, annexed by Russia last year, although it only partially controls them. land
• Britain blocked the Internet broadcast of an informal meeting of the UN Security Council on Ukraine on Wednesday, at which the Russian commissioner for the rights of the child, whom the International Criminal Court wants to arrest for war crimes, was to speak, Reuters reported. The meeting will focus on the “evacuation of children from conflict zones,” and Russia said Tuesday that Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova will attend virtually.
• President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky was invited to the July NATO summit, the head of the Alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, announced.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin will chair a meeting of the Russian Federation Security Council on Wednesday to review the security situation in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia regions, which Russia annexed last September, although it only partially controls. land
• It is impossible to imagine that there will be an attack on Sweden and NATO will not react, said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Tuesday evening in Brussels. On the day of Finland’s accession to NATO, he emphasized that Sweden was not alone.
• “The most powerful artillery of Western Europe.” What Finland can offer NATO from a military point of view
• The United States on Tuesday announced a new tranche of $2.6 billion in military aid to Ukraine, including Patriot anti-aircraft missiles and artillery ammunition. Missiles for HIMARS precision launchers and spare parts are also listed.
• Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Hershkovich, who was arrested and charged with spying in Russia last week, met with his lawyers on Tuesday, Editor-in-Chief Emma Tucker said in a news release.
• The UN demands access to Ukrainian children and civilians deported by Russia. The UN Human Rights Council on Tuesday called on Russia to allow international organizations to visit children and other civilians “who were forcibly deported” from Ukraine to Moscow-controlled territories.
• Polish farmers threaten to “spoil” Zelenskyi’s visit on Wednesday because of the grain conflict
• ​Ikea has no option to buy back its factory in Russia, the new owner announced on Tuesday, thus ruling out the possibility of the Swedish group returning to the country in the future.

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• Tuesday’s events related to Russian aggression were broadcast LIVE on HotNews.ro