Ukraine Says Situation Unchanged in North after Prigozhin Flight to Belarus

 Ukrainian soldiers work during a combat operation on the frontline near Kreminna, Luhansk region, Ukraine, Thursday, June 8, 2023. (AP)
Ukrainian soldiers work during a combat operation on the frontline near Kreminna, Luhansk region, Ukraine, Thursday, June 8, 2023. (AP)
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Ukraine Says Situation Unchanged in North after Prigozhin Flight to Belarus

 Ukrainian soldiers work during a combat operation on the frontline near Kreminna, Luhansk region, Ukraine, Thursday, June 8, 2023. (AP)
Ukrainian soldiers work during a combat operation on the frontline near Kreminna, Luhansk region, Ukraine, Thursday, June 8, 2023. (AP)

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday the security situation in northern Ukraine was unchanged and under control after Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin flew into exile in Belarus.

Prigozhin flew from Russia to exile in Ukraine's northern neighbor on Tuesday following an aborted mutiny, and Russian President Vladimir Putin said fighters in Prigozhin's Wagner mercenary group would be offered the choice of relocating there.

"Wagnerites are in occupied territory in Ukraine - they were and are in the (eastern) Luhansk region," Zelenskiy told a press conference, confirming that some of the group's fighters remained on Ukrainian soil after fighting in the east.

Asked about the presence of Wagner mercenaries in Belarus, he said: "I don't think this contingent will be very big."

"Our army believes that the situation in the north of our country is unchanged and is under our control," he said.



Zelenskiy Says Ukraine is Preparing to Resume Diplomatic Ties with Syria

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks as he attends a European Union leaders summit in Brussels, Belgium, December 19, 2024. REUTERS/Johanna Geron/File Photo
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks as he attends a European Union leaders summit in Brussels, Belgium, December 19, 2024. REUTERS/Johanna Geron/File Photo
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Zelenskiy Says Ukraine is Preparing to Resume Diplomatic Ties with Syria

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks as he attends a European Union leaders summit in Brussels, Belgium, December 19, 2024. REUTERS/Johanna Geron/File Photo
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks as he attends a European Union leaders summit in Brussels, Belgium, December 19, 2024. REUTERS/Johanna Geron/File Photo

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday he was preparing to re-establish diplomatic ties with Syria, less than a month after the overthrow of the Russia-backed government in Damascus.
Zelenskiy spoke after a visit to Syria by his Foreign Minister, Andrii Sybiha, and by Agriculture Minister Vitaliy Koval who said earlier Ukraine had already sent a shipment of food aid.
"We are preparing to resume diplomatic relations with Syria and cooperation in international organisations," Zelenskiy said, Reuters reported.
Ukraine cut diplomatic ties with Syria in June 2022 after the then government in Damascus said it recognized the "independence" of the Russia-occupied territories in Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
Since opposition factions overthrew Syria's President Bashar al-Assad last month, Ukraine has been moving to build ties with the new Islamist rulers there. Russia, which invaded Ukraine in 2022, was a staunch ally of Assad and has given him political asylum.
Kyiv also planned to increase trade with Lebanon and at least double its agriculture exports from $400 million, Zelenskiy added.
Zelenskiy previously said that Ukraine would send 500 metric tons of wheat flour to Syria under Kyiv's humanitarian "Grain from Ukraine" initiative in cooperation with the UN World Food Program.
The delivery would provide resources for around 167,000 Syrians for a month, Koval said in a televised interview.
He added that the shipment will not be the last and that Syria was also interested in oil, sugar and meat deliveries.
"Today, at the level of government dialogue, we clearly understand that support should be sustainable and not a one-off, but rather long-lasting and predictable," Koval said.
Moscow has also said it is in contact with the new administration in Damascus, including over the fate of Russian military facilities in Syria.