UPDATE WITH LEADERS ARRIVE IN KYIV
By Ruslan Rehimov and Ali Murat Alhas
KYIV, Ukraine / ANKARA (AA) - The leaders of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia arrived in Ukraine's capital Kyiv on Wednesday to hold talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Poland's Andrzej Duda, Lithuania's Gitanas Nauseda, Latvia's Egils Levits, and Estonia's Alar Karis were welcomed by Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.
Earlier on Wednesday, Karis said on Twitter that the presidents of the four countries were on their way to Kyiv, "a city that has suffered terribly due to the Russian war since my last visit," with a photo of the leaders outside a train.
"Together with Presidents Andrzej Duda, Gitanas Nauseda, Egils Levits, we visit Ukraine to show strong support to the Ukrainian people, will meet dear friend President Volodymyr Zelenskyy," he added.
Russia began its "special military operation" in Ukraine on Feb. 24 to "denazify and demilitarize" Ukraine. Western countries reacted with fury, imposing severe financial sanctions on Moscow.
A number of leaders including EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson have met Zelenskyy since Russia's announcement to decrease its military activities toward Ukrainian cities of Kyiv and Chernihiv.
The decision was announced after peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv in Istanbul late last month.
Ukrainian negotiators, meanwhile, said they could agree to a neutral status, one of Russia’s key demands, but sought international guarantees for its security.
* Zehra Nur Duz contributed to the story in Ankara