Out of all the participants in the meeting, 93 countries voted in the favour of the motion, while 24 voted against.Russia Ukraine War Crisis Live: The United Nations General Assembly on Thursday suspended Russia from the UN Human Rights Council over reports of “gross and systematic violations and abuses of human rights” by invading Russian troops in Ukraine. The US-led push garnered 93 votes in favor, while 24 countries voted no and 58 countries abstained. India abstained in the UNGA on a vote moved by the US to suspend Russia from the UN Human Rights Council.
Russian Embassy in India on Thursday expressed grief over the attack in Ukraine’s Bucha and said, “The heinous attack in Bucha brings back the nightmares of the Nazi crimes during the Second World War. It raised revulsion and condemnation in Russia and India and globally.” It also said that Russia firmly stands for bringing to justice those involved in this outrageous war crime act.
Meanwhile, the Mayor of Mariupol put the number of civilians killed there at more than 5,000 Wednesday, as Ukraine collected evidence of Russian atrocities on the ruined outskirts of Kyiv and braced for what could become a climactic battle for control of the country’s industrial east, according to AP.
The United States on Wednesday announced a new round of sanctions targeting Russian financial institutions, as well as Kremlin officials and their family members, following mounting global accusations of Russian war crimes in Ukraine, Reuters reported. The measures include banning new investment in Russia, sanctioning Russian President Vladimir Putin’s adult children and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s family members. A senior administration official told reporters that if Putin were to change course in Ukraine, sanctions could slow and possibly reverse.
Burned column of military vehicles are seen on a highway, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Kyiv region, Ukraine, April 5, 2022. (REUTERS/Gleb Garanich)
The United Nations' humanitarian chief is not optimistic about securing a ceasefire to halt the fighting in Ukraine, he said Thursday following high-level talks in Moscow and Kyiv that underscored how far apart the two sides are.
Undersecretary-General Martin Griffiths gave the bleak assessment in an interview with The Associated Press in the Ukrainian capital after wrapping up talks with Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and other top officials. That followed discussions with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and officials in Moscow earlier in the week.
"I think it's not going to be easy because the two sides, as I know now ... have very little trust in each other," he said. (AP)
At least one person was killed and 14 wounded in shelling on Ukraine's northeastern city of Kharkiv on Thursday, regional governor Oleh Synehubov said in an online video address.
The Ukrainian military earlier said Russian troops were bombarding the city with shells and rockets.Russia denies targeting civilians. (Reuters)
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that Russia had sustained 'significant losses' in Ukraine.
'We have significant losses of troops, and it's a huge tragedy for us,' he told the British channel Sky News in an interview. (Reuters)
Ukraine was trying to evacuate as many trapped civilians as possible on Thursday, warning of a new offensive by Russian forces pounding cities in the east and south of the country.
Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk announced agreement with Russia on opening 10 safe corridors, mostly in southern and eastern Ukraine, but said residents trying to leave the besieged city of Mariupol would have to use their own vehicles. Underlining the problems facing civilians, the head of the state railway company said three trains carrying evacuees had been blocked by an air strike on a line near the town of Barvinkove in the eastern region of Kharkiv.
Ukrainian officials say Russian forces have been regrouping for a new offensive, and that Moscow plans to seize as much territory as it can in the eastern part of Ukraine known as Donbas bordering Russia. "Evacuate! The chances of saving yourself and your family from Russian death are dwindling every day," said Serhiy Gaidai, governor of the eastern region of Luhansk, adding that Russian troops had not made any significant breakthroughs. (Reuters)
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday said Washington will not let anything stand in the way of sending Ukraine the weapons it needs in its fight against Russia. Speaking to reporters at NATO following a meeting of foreign ministers, Blinken said the United States is looking at what new weapons it can send Ukraine.
Blinken also said that Russia must decide if it wants to engage in meaningful diplomacy with Ukraine. Blinken, speaking to reporters at NATO, said the reported killings of civilians in Ukraine's Bucha are not a major factor in the peace talks but that Russian President Vladimir Putin's calculus is key. (Reuters)
India abstained on the United Nations General Assembly vote this morning during the emergency meet over the Ukraine crisis.
After holding a vote during the emergency special session of the General Assembly, the United Nations voted Russia to be suspended from UN Human Rights Council. Out of all the participants in the meeting, 93 countries voted in the favour of the motion, while 24 voted against. 58 countries, including India abstained from voting.
Ukraine's United Nations ambassador urged members of the world body on Thursday to suspend Russia from the world organization's leading human rights body, saying it has committed "horrific human rights violations and abuses that would be equated to war crimes and crimes against humanity." Sergiy Kyslytsya introduced the U.S.-initiated resolution before the 193 members of the General Assembly vote.
"Russia's actions are beyond the pale,'' he said. "Russia is not only committing human rights violations, it is shaking the underpinnings of international peace and security.'' Russia's deputy ambassador Gennady Kuzmin urged members to vote "no." "What we're seeing today is an attempt by the United States to maintain its dominant position and total control," he said. "We reject the untruthful allegations against us, based on staged events and widely circulated fakes." Approval would require a two-thirds majority of the assembly members that vote "yes" or "no," with abstentions not counting in the calculation. (AP)
When India condemned the killings of civilians in Ukraine's Bucha at a meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday and sought an independent investigation, it did not mention Russia once.
Remarks by Indian officials and analysts suggest the condemnation, the first by New Delhi since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, will not mean an end to long-standing defence and trade ties between India and Russia despite pressure from the West and within some quarters in India.
"India's approach should be guided by our national beliefs and values, by our national interest and by our national strategy," Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar told parliament on Wednesday. He said Europe, for example, was buying Russian energy despite the tension.
"So what should India do in these circumstances? At the time when energy costs have spiked, clearly, we need to ensure that the common person in India is not subject to an additional and unavoidable burden. Similarly, fertiliser prices have a direct implication for the livelihoods of the majority of our population." (Reuters)
United Nations on Thursday held an emergency special session of the General Assembly on Russia's invasion of Ukraine, at the United Nations headquarters in New York City, US. Sergiy Kyslytsya, Permanent Representative of Ukraine took the stage first and spoke about the crisis in the country after invasion by Russia. The General Assembly today will vote on suspending Russia from the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and the United States wants Russia expelled from the G20.
The head of the Russian Orthodox faith was quoted as saying on Thursday that his church and its faithful were holding back the antichrist. Patriarch Kirill was speaking six weeks into Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which has forced over 4 million people to flee, killed or injured thousands and left cities and towns destroyed.
While he was not quoted specifically referring to Ukraine, Kirill's comments backed the Kremlin line on the war by implying that Russia's actions there were a forced response to a foreign aggressor. 'Why did external forces rise up against the Russian lands? 'Why do they strive to destroy, divide, set brother against brother?' Kirill was quoted by Russia's RIA news agency as saying.
The Kremlin says the invasion is a special operation to demilitarise and 'denazify' Ukraine, arguments Ukraine and Western governments reject as a false pretext for an invasion. Kirill, an ally of President Vladimir Putin, has defended Russia's actions and sees the war as a clash with a Western liberal culture he considers decadent, in particular in its acceptance of homosexuality. (Reuters)
India on Thursday asserted that it has established economic relations with Russia and political colouring should not be attributed to the engagement.
The comments by External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi came in response to questions on growing criticism of New Delhi by several Western powers on its trade ties with Moscow notwithstanding the crisis in Ukraine. At a media briefing, Bagchi said India has been very open about its engagement with Russia and even cited continuing procurement of crude oil from Russia by Europe. (PTI)
Europe's coal futures prices have surged to a record high in real terms over the last month as traders anticipate an EU embargo on Russian exports will disrupt supplies globally. EU policymakers may decide higher electricity and gas bills for households and industry are the necessary price to respond to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
But EU decisions will have significant spill-overs for other coal-importing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, likely raising coal, gas and electricity prices for all consumers. Europe's coal production has fallen faster than consumption in recent years - leaving the region increasingly reliant on imports, particularly from Russia, to cover the shortfall.
Europe now depends on imports to meet more than 40% of its coal consumption, up from less than 30% at the start of the century, according to data from BP. Russia supplied roughly 50% of coal imports in both 2019 and 2020, accounting for more than 20% of the region's total consumption. (Reuters)
France has summoned Russia's ambassador over his tweet suggesting that images of civilians killed in Ukraine's town of Bucha were staged. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian called the tweet “indecent.” Thursday's tweet, which was later removed but had already been reprinted by numerous French media, showed a street in Bucha with a knocked-out tank and numerous journalists, under the caption “film set.”
Media covering the war in Ukraine, including The Associated Press, have revealed scenes of horror in the Kyiv suburb with bodies of Ukrainian civilians scattered about the town, which was occupied by Russian troops in March. Moscow has been deriding the reports and images as fake, or killings carried out by Ukrainians. AP and other news outlets have provided evidence to the contrary.
Le Drian denounced the “indecency and the provocation” of the Russian Embassy in France, vowing to “continue to fight all Russian manipulation of information on the war in Ukraine.” Last month, Ambassador Alexei Mechkov was summoned for a tweet showing caricatures that the French called “unacceptable.” (AP)
Ukraine on Thursday reiterated a demand that the EU impose a full oil and gas embargo on Russia and called for weapons deliveries to be speeded up, as the bloc promised a fifth round of sanctions against Moscow by Friday.
Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba addressed NATO's 30 members plus the European Union, Finland, Sweden, Japan, New Zealand and Australia, in a session of his counterparts convened to maintain broad backing for sanctions and arms supplies in response to Russia's invasion.
"We will continue to insist on a full oil and gas embargo," Kuleba said. Outrage over killings of civilians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha near Kyiv appears to have galvanised Western support. Russia denies any wrongdoing there and says the evidence was fabricated.
EU lawmakers voted overwhelmingly in a non-binding resolution on Thursday for "an immediate full embargo" on Russian energy imports. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said a fifth package of EU sanctions, including a ban on coal, would be agreed on Thursday or Friday. (Reuters)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday that Kyiv had presented Moscow with a draft peace deal that contained 'unacceptable' elements, but that Russia would nonetheless continue talks and press to secure its own requirements.
The Kremlin has said that peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv are not progressing as rapidly as it would like and has accused the West of trying to derail negotiations by focusing on war crimes allegations, which Moscow denies. Lavrov said on Thursday that Ukraine had presented a draft peace agreement to Russia on Wednesday but that it deviated from proposals both sides had previously agreed on.
'Such inability to agree once again highlights Kyiv's true intentions, its position of drawing out and even undermining the talks by moving away from the understandings reached,' Lavrov said, adding that Kyiv's proposals were 'unacceptable.' There was no immediate comment from Ukraine. Kyiv has said that talks are needed but it is not willing to give up its sovereignty and territorial integrity. (Reuters)
The United States and its allies have imposed sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s two daughters as the West looks to penalise Moscow for the killing of Ukrainian civilians. Justifying the decision, a US official said: "We believe that many of Putin's assets are hidden with family members, and that's why we're targeting them.”
The European Union is also expected to follow suit as it discusses imposition of fresh sanctions against Russia among its 27 members. The EU sanctions, expected to take effect by Friday, would entail a freeze of any assets held in the bloc and a ban on traveling to member countries. The moves come after reports of alleged atrocities that Ukrainian officials say were committed by Russian troops. Moscow has, however, denied any responsibility. As the spotlight now shines upon a family shrouded in secrecy for years, we take a look at who Putin’s daughters are.
The family
Putin has two children, Maria and Katerina, from his marriage to Lyudmila Putina, a former Aeroflot steward whom he divorced in 2013, becoming the first Russian leader to divorce since Peter the Great in 1698. According to the Kremlin’s website, Putin and his wife had Maria before leaving for Germany in 1985, where he was based as a KGB officer. Katerina was born in 1986 in the German city of Dresden. (Read more)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday that Kyiv had presented Moscow with a draft peace deal that contained "unacceptable" elements, but that Russia would nonetheless continue talks and press to secure its own requirements.
Lavrov also accused Ukraine of drawing out and undermining peace talks, in comments published by Interfax news agency. (Reuters)
Russian Embassy in India on Thursday expressed grief over the attack in Ukraine's Bucha. The Embassy said, "The heinous attack in Bucha brings back the nightmares of the Nazi crimes during the Second World War. It raised revulsion and condemnation in Russia and India and globally."
It also said that Russia firmly stands for bringing to justice those involved in this outrageous war crime act. Asserting that the main challenge is to ensure a genuinely independent and unbiased investigation, the embassy said, "Regrettably there've been so far widespread hollow allegations against Moscow while there’s evidence that in fact a cynical false flag operation,perpetrated by Kiev itself. It's vitally important to take this evidence into account as we seek justice."
Russia is facing its most difficult situation in three decades due to unprecedented Western sanctions, but foreign attempts to isolate it from the global economy will fail, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said on Thursday.
He also said the situation provided room for new business opportunities as foreign companies leaving Russia would make space for others. Western countries are progressively tightening a barrage of economic sanctions imposed to try to force Russia to end its military operation in Ukraine and withdraw its forces. (Reuters)