-April 26, 2022, News/Comments
As the Russia-Ukraine war enters its 62nd day, we take a look at the main developments.
Fighting
- The British Ministry of Defence says Russian forces are likely attempting to encircle heavily fortified Ukrainian positions in the east of Ukraine.
- Oleh Synehubov, governor of Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, tells the country’s public broadcaster that four people were killed and nine wounded in Russian shelling in the Kharkiv region.
- Two villages in Russia’s Belgorod region came under fire from Ukraine, and at least two people were wounded, the region’s governor says. Officials have in the past few weeks reported cross-border shelling.
- Russian forces carried out air raids on Ukrainian positions in the Azovstal steel plant, the main remaining Ukrainian stronghold in Mariupol where more than 1,000 civilians are also sheltering, Ukrainian officials say.
Diplomacy, sanctions, aid
- United Nations chief Antonio Guterres is heading to Russia for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and foreign minister Sergey Lavrov.
- Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba has urged the UN chief to press Russia for an evacuation of the besieged port of Mariupol, calling it something the world body is capable of achieving.
- At the invitation of the United States, 40 countries will hold a security summit in Germany to discuss further arms supplies to Ukraine as well as to ensure the country’s longer-term security once the war is over.
- Lavrov has told the world not to underestimate the elevated risks of nuclear war and said he viewed NATO as being “in essence” engaged in a proxy war with Russia by supplying Kyiv with weaponry.
- He also said peace talks with Ukraine will continue but criticised Kyiv’s approach to the negotiations and accused President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of “pretending” to negotiate.
- Putin is due to hold talks with Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on Tuesday, his spokesman told RIA Novosti.
- The United Kingdom says it has dropped all tariffs on goods from Ukraine while slapping a ban on some technology exports to Moscow to help Kyiv in its fight against the Russian invasion.
- Moscow said it is expelling 40 German diplomats after Berlin sent 40 Russian diplomats packing earlier this month.
War crimes investigation
- The International Criminal Court will take part in a joint team investigating allegations of war crimes in Ukraine, the European Union’s agency for criminal justice cooperation said.
Refugees
- About 5.2 million Ukrainians have fled the country since Russia launched its invasion on February 24, the UN says, noting that the outflow has slowed since the start of the war.
Russian troops
- The UK estimates that 15,000 Russian troops have been killed since the war started, defence secretary Ben Wallace says.
- United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres calls for a ceasefire agreement “as soon as possible” during talks with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow. He will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin later on Tuesday.
- Kyiv urges Guterres to push for Mariupol evacuations, with tens of thousands still stranded in the besieged port city.
- Russia warns the conflict in Ukraine could escalate into World War III, says Western weapons sent to its neighbour “will be a legitimate target”.
- Moldova’s Russia-backed breakaway region of Transnistria raises “terrorist threat level” after reported attacks which come days after Moscow said it was seeking access to the area. Speaking at the start of talks with Lavrov, Guterres has urged for an agreement on a ceasefire in Ukraine to be brokered as soon as possible. “We are extremely interested in finding ways in order to create the conditions for effective dialogue, create the conditions for a ceasefire as soon as possible, create the conditions for a peaceful solution”, the UN chief said during a meeting between the pair in Moscow.
UN to vote on Security Council veto reforms
The 193 members of the UN General Assembly are set to vote on a resolution that would require the five permanent members of the Security Council to justify their use of the veto in future. Discussions of veto reform are rare and controversial, but have been revived by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Directly targeting the US, China, Russia, France and the UK – which are the only holders of the veto right – the measure would “make them pay a higher political price” when they opt to use their veto to strike down a Security Council resolution, said an ambassador from a country that does not have the veto. The measure was introduced by Liechtenstein. About 60 countries, including the US, have joined in co-sponsoring the reform.
Source:-Aljazeera
