The President of the Republic spoke, this Wednesday, about the announced visit of his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, to Portugal, information that had been advanced this week by the national press, at first, but which was later canceled.

Questioned by journalists about whether he was disappointed with the cancellation of Zelensky's visit to Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa was assertive: "We cannot speak of cancellation, because the visit had never been confirmed. It was an initiative involving several countries that, apparently, was being studied, but was never confirmed".

Stressing that "the reason why the visit is not happening is understandable", the Head of State recalled the reason: "For security reasons - not so much in the countries visited, but, above all, for Ukraine, which is at war".

"What concerns me is to make sure that the evolution of the war in Ukraine is a positive evolution and not a negative one. That is what is most important", he considered.

The intensification of the attacks happened on May 10th. The Ukrainian Head of State's withdrawal from this visit to the Iberian Peninsula became known on Tuesday, moments after the Spanish Royal Palace, where he would meet with King Felipe VI, had announced that his visit to the country would take place on May 17th.

It should be recalled that, after the first news on the subject came out, the Minister of Defense, Nuno Melo, indicated that Zelensky's visit was "being prepared", without providing further details on the date or program of the trip. "The visit is being prepared with the necessary discretion and we will see, very soon, how everything will happen"

The Notícias ao Minuto, however, was unable to confirm the information with any authority, not even after the cancellation, having contacted the Ministry of Defense, the Prime Minister's office, and the Presidency's office, all indicating that they had no information on the situation.

Russian troops crossed the border in the Kharkiv region in recent days, opening a new combat front and taking control of several locations, similar to what they had done in the first months of the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

On Monday, the command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine acknowledged that the Russian Army had achieved "tactical successes" on the Kharkiv front, while the head of military operations in the region was replaced.

On the same day, a Russian airstrike on the city of Kharkiv caused at least 20 injuries, according to the local Prosecutor's Office, which stated in a statement that the victims were also in a state of "'acute stress'".

The Ukrainian Army announced on Tuesday night that it had withdrawn forces from "certain areas" of the Kharkiv region front and that Russia was being successful in this offensive.

Due to this situation, the Ukrainian Head of State was forced to cancel his visit to the Iberian Peninsula, where he was supposed to  sign bilateral security agreements.

Read Also: Threat to Kharkiv forces Zelensky to retreat and cancel trip to Portugal (Portuguese version)