Russia’s war is “genocidal,” says an independent report by genocide scholars and experts
Evidence shows that Russia is inciting genocide in Ukraine with the intention of “destroying” the Ukrainian people, said an independent report signed by more than 30 lawyers and genocide experts.
The report was the first to investigate allegations of genocide by Russian forces in Ukraine. He cited examples of mass killings and rapes of civilians, the dehumanizing language of Russian officials to describe Ukrainians and mass deportations.
“What we have seen so far is that this war is genocidal in nature, in terms of the language used and the way it is executed. That is very, very clear,” said Azeem Ibrahim, director of the United States. said a think tank based at the New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy.
This think tank co-produced the report with the Raoul Wallenberg Center for Human Rights in Canada.
The report’s authors described a “genocidal pattern of destruction” and “consistent and widespread atrocities against Ukrainian civilians collectively,” citing mass graves, executions and the destruction of hospitals, shelters and other civilian facilities. in many parts of the country.
Ibrahim urged countries to act, saying: “All countries that are signatories to the Genocide Convention, and that is 151 countries, including the Russian Federation, all countries must do everything they can to end this. otherwise they will also be in breach of the agreement “.
CNBC has contacted Russia’s foreign ministry for comment.
– Natasha Turak
Russian artillery hits central Kharkiv, nine people killed: regional governor
Russian artillery attacks hit central Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, for the first time in a week, killing nine people, their governor said. The attacks came as Russian forces intensified the bombing of cities throughout eastern Ukraine.
Paramedics and emergency workers carry a wounded man in a bombing raid on Kharkiv on May 26, 2022, the 91st day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Sergey Bobok | AFP | Getty Images
Kharkiv Governor Oleh Synehubov told the Telegram that doctors were providing all necessary care to all Kharkiv residents who were injured.
“The enemy continued to bomb the settlements of the Kharkiv region at night. A boarding school in Lyubotyn was damaged as a result of enemy bombing. Chuguiv was also bombed at night. Dwelling houses were damaged.” , he said.
“I insist once again that it is impossible to relax in any case,” the governor also said. “The enemy is acting insidiously and intentionally hitting civilians. Don’t be on the street unnecessarily and don’t ignore air alarms.”
– Natasha Turak
Russia has the “advantage” in the fighting of the Donbas: Ukrainian military officer
A view shows Ukrainian positions hit by Russian TOS-1A bombings in a field near Novomykhailivka, Donetsk region, Ukraine, in this still image taken from an undated video seen on social media on May 25 2022 and obtained by REUTERS on May 27th. 2022.
Social Media Reuters
A Ukrainian military official admitted that Russian forces were gaining ground in the fighting on the Donbas, as Ukrainian forces retreated from some of their positions there.
Oleksiy Gromov, a member of the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, said during a briefing in Kyiv that Russia had “the advantage in both aviation and artillery,” but that the national forces “were trying to change with all our might. ” the situation “, according to the Interfax news agency.
Only 5 percent of the Luhansk region remained under Ukrainian control, down from about 10 percent just over a week ago, Luhansk regional governor Serhiy Haidai said. He added that Ukrainian forces withdrew in some areas.
– Natasha Turak
Britain’s Boris Johnson calls Putin “crocodile”
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Sochi, Russia, on May 23, 2022.
Ramil Sitdikov | Sputnik | Reuters
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson, spoke of the difficulty of reaching a negotiated agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the war in Ukraine.
“How can you deal with a crocodile when it’s in the middle of eating your left leg? What’s the deal? That’s what Putin is doing,” Johnson said in an interview with Bloomberg on Friday.
“We desperately need it to end. The world needs it to end,” he said, suggesting a way for the Russian leader to save face in order to get out of Ukraine. “The only way he can end it is for Putin to accept that there has been a ‘deacification of Ukraine’ and that he can withdraw with dignity and honor.”
Putin launched the war on the false premise of “deactivating” Ukraine, a democratic country with a Jewish president. Ukrainian officials reject the idea that Putin would withdraw from the country if he was granted concessions as a ceded territory, arguing that it would only encourage him to go further.
– Natasha Turak
Russian forces capture several villages in the Donbas
This photo taken on May 25, 2022 shows an overview of a building destroyed after a strike in Kramatorsk, in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine.
Aris Messinis | AFP | Getty Images
Russian forces have captured several villages in the Donbas, northwest of Popasna, as they gradually progress in their efforts to encircle Severodonetsk and Lysychansk, the UK Ministry of Defense wrote in its daily intelligence update. license on Twitter.
“Russia is pushing Severodonetsk’s pocket even though Ukraine maintains control of multiple defended sectors, denying Russia full control of the Donbass,” he wrote.
It is likely that the invading forces also removed 50-year-old T-62 tanks from storage, the UK ministry wrote, in order to support southern troops tasked with occupying parts of southern Ukraine.
“The T-62s will almost certainly be especially vulnerable to anti-tank weapons, and their presence on the battlefield highlights the shortage of modern, combat-ready equipment in Russia,” the publication said.
– Natasha Turak
Officials say US is preparing to approve shipment of long-range rocket systems to Ukraine
A multi-launch rocket system is fired during an actual artillery fire event on March 4, 2020. The U.S. is preparing to improve military aid to Ukraine by sending advanced and long-range rocket systems that now are the main request of Ukrainian officials, CNN quoted several officials.
Christof Stache | Afp | Getty Images
The U.S. is preparing to improve military aid to Ukraine by sending advanced long-range rocket systems, according to CNN, which cited several officials.
The Biden administration is considering sending the systems as part of a larger package of military and security assistance to Ukraine, which could be announced as early as next week, CNN reported.
Ukrainian officials, including President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, have called on the United States and its allies to provide them with multiple rocket launch systems.
These systems can fire numerous rockets from a great distance, far beyond any of the systems already in Ukraine, CNN reported. Ukraine argues it could change the game in its war against Russia, according to the report.
The Biden administration has been reluctant to send the systems because of concerns the National Security Council that Ukraine could use the systems to carry out offensive attacks on Russia, CNN was quoted as saying.
Officials also added that the administration is concerned that the sending of heavy weapons to Ukraine could be seen by Russia as a provocation that could provoke retaliation against the US, CNN reported.
– Chelsea Ong
A U.S. defense official says Russia is making “incremental progress” in the Donbas
A Ukrainian military man is looking at a crater and a destroyed house in the eastern Ukrainian town of Yatskivka on April 16, 2022. Russia is making “incremental progress” in the Donbass after little progress has been made. his two previous tactics, said a senior U.S. defense official. he said in a briefing.
Ronaldo Schemidt | Afp | Getty Images
Russia is making “incremental progress” on the Donbas after little progress has been made on its two previous tactics, a senior U.S. defense official said in a briefing.
“We estimate that Russia has made some incremental gains in its push toward Sloviansk and Kramatorsk; not much, but some incremental gains,” he said, referring to two cities in the northern part of Donetsk Oblast.
The Donbas refers to two eastern Ukrainian regions of Luhansk and Donetsk, two “people’s republics” backed by Russia. Russian officials have said that their new main goal is the “total liberation” of the Luhansk and Donetsk t.
Russia is trying to encircle the Donbas region by pinching the eastern regions of Ukraine, the defense official said. However, no further advances were made by Russian troops in the Donetsk region, the official added.
– Chelsea Ong
The White House expects Russia to default on its debt, seeing a limited effect on the global economy
People line up close to the rates of the euro and the US dollar on the ruble sign at the entrance of the exchange office on May 25, 2022 in Moscow, Russia. Russia approached a default on Wednesday after the U.S. Treasury dropped a key sanctions exemption.
Konstantin Zavrazhin | Getty Images
The Biden administration expects Russia to default on its sovereign debt, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.
Moscow “will probably not fulfill its obligation and face default, a lasting sign of its status as a pariah in the global financial system,” he said. Jean-Pierre added that the White House expects a “minimal” effect on the world economy because Russia “has already been financially isolated” by a wave of sanctions.
When the US sanctioned the Russian central bank earlier this year, they allowed an exception for Russia to pay its bonds through US banks. The Treasury Department lifted the closure this week, raising the prospect of a default.
“Jacob Pramuk.”