Ukraine updates: Zelenskyy in Albania to drum up support

The Nobel Peace Prize committee said it was "appalled" by the  prison sentence imposed on Russian activist Oleg Orlov, a leader of the disbanded human rights center Memorial, who shared the Peace Prize in 2022.

"The sentence against Mr. Orlov is politically motivated and provides another proof of the increasing disrespect for human rights and freedom of speech in today's Russia," Joergen Watne Frydnes, head of the committee, said in a statement.

Orlov was sentenced to 2-1/2 years in prison on Tuesday for "discrediting the armed forces" by protesting against the war in Ukraine and accusing Russian President Vladimir Putin of leading a descent into fascism.

"The Putin regime has for many years tried to silence the leadership of Memorial and other important civil society organizations in Russia, and they are now using the war on Ukraine as a pretext to finish the job," said Watne Frydnes. "It is important that they won't succeed."

Memorial has defended freedom of speech and documented human rights abuses since its founding in 1989. It was banned and dissolved in Russia in 2021 after being designated a "foreign agent."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy tried to drum up Balkan support for his vision of peace in Ukraine and promoted the idea of joint arms production at a two-day summit of southeastern European countries in Albania's capital, Tirana.

A joint declaration signed by 10 countries at the summit said their leaders were ready to take part in a Ukrainian-led peace summit in Switzerland this spring to discuss Zelenskyy's vision of peace.

The leaders reiterated their support for Kyiv in a joint declaration, saying they were ready "to participate in the post-war recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine in order to enable the Ukrainian people to rebuild their country."

Meanwhile, Zelenskyy proposed organizing a Ukrainian-Balkan defense forum in Kyiv or a Balkan capital to nurture arms cooperation, repeating similar initiatives conducted last year with British and US weapons companies.

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama and Zelenskyy also signed an Agreement on Friendship and Cooperation between Ukraine and Albania, the leaders said.

The European Union will establish an office for defense innovation in Ukraine's capital, Kyiv. 

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the move in a speech to the European Parliament.

"I am proud to announce that we will set up an Office for Defence Innovation in Kyiv," she said.

"This will bring Ukraine ever closer to Europe and it will enable all EU countries to draw on Ukraine's battlefield experience and expertise in industrial defense innovation," she added.

Ukraine is now in its third year of fighting a full-scale Russian invasion.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Wednesday said that a "temporary" closure of the border with Ukraine was under consideration amid tensions over low-priced Ukrainian grain.

"We are talking with the Ukrainian side about a temporary closure of the border, the cessation in general of trade," the AFP news agency quoted Tusk as telling reporters.

"I will also discuss this with Polish farmers tomorrow. This solution would only be temporary ... and mutually painful," he added.

The EU decided in 2022 to drop tariffs on Ukrainian goods traveling through the bloc by road, however, an accumulation of Ukrainian cereal exports in Poland has led to difficulties for local producers.

"We have a very important problem. We are the most pro-Ukrainian nation when it comes to aid, but we have the biggest problems in Europe resulting from the war," the Reuters news agency quoted Tusk as saying.

He said he was ready to take tough decisions relating to the border in consultation with Ukraine.

Polish farmers have been blocking border crossings with Ukraine and, on Sunday, train carriages carrying Ukrainian corn were prised open and tons of grain spilled onto rail tracks. 

Kyiv has called on Warsaw to put an end to "impunity" over the "acts of vandalism."

China on Wednesday announced that it would be sending senior diplomat Li Hui on a trip to Ukraine and Russia to discuss the two-year-old war.

Li will meet with EU representatives in Brussels and will also travel to Poland, France and Germany in a trip announced by China's Foreign Ministry.

"Over the past two years, we have never given up our peace efforts and never stopped advocating for dialogue," said the spokesperson for the Beijing Foreign Ministry, Mao Ning. 

China's Foreign Ministry described the upcoming visit as "the second round of shuttle diplomacy to promote a political solution to the Ukrainian crisis."

In February 2023, China presented a position paper on the war in Ukraine, calling for respect for sovereignty, a cease-fire, and the resumption of peace negotiations.

Critics have accused China of supporting Russia, with the neighbors ramping up economic cooperation and diplomatic contacts in recent years.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has traveled to Albania to co-host a summit with Prime Minister Edi Rama and meet with several regional leaders as he looks for continued support in the face of Russia's invasion, now into its third year.

Zelenskyy said on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, that he was in Tirana and would meet "Ukraine's unwavering friend, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, and attend the Ukraine-South-East Europe summit." 

Zelenskyy said they would discuss defense and political cooperation, support for his 10-point peace plan, and security agreements.

Leaders from across the Balkans — including Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, and Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani — were expected to attend the summit in Tirana, according to organizers.

Albania's Foreign Minister said on Tuesday that Zelenskyy's visit was "a pivotal moment for fostering bilateral ties and standing in solidarity with Ukraine in its heroic fight against Russia's aggression."

Albania has been a NATO member since 2009. Rama has been vocal in his support of Ukraine.

kb/wd (Reuters, AP, AFP, dpa)