Ukraine calls for urgent UN Security Council meeting after Russian missile attacks
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appears on a screen as he addresses the United Nations Security Council via video link during a meeting amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine at the headquarters of United Nations in New York on April 5, 2022.
Andrew Kelly | Reuters
Ukraine will request an urgent meeting of the United Nations Security Council to discuss Russia’s widespread missile attacks that left millions of Ukrainians without electricity and caused multiple deaths and injuries.
“The killing of civilians, the destruction of civilian infrastructure are acts of terror,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a tweet. “Ukraine continues to demand a decisive response from the international community to these crimes.”
Zelenskyy’s call for a meeting follows the European Parliament’s decision to declare Russia a state sponsor of terrorism, something Zelenskyy has repeatedly asked Europe, the United States and other allies to do.
Despite this request, Russia’s seat as a permanent member of the UNSC has cast doubt on the effectiveness of the council. Russia’s veto power within the 15-member body has derailed crucial decisions that would have held Russia accountable for its violations of international law and norms, including its annexation of four Ukrainian regions in late September .
Rocio Smith
The backlog of 82 ships waiting to transport crops from Ukraine
Ships, including those carrying grain from Ukraine awaiting inspections, are seen anchored off the coast of Istanbul on November 2, 2022 in Istanbul, Turkey.
Chris McGrath | Getty Images
The organization that monitors the export of Ukrainian crops said there is a backlog of 82 ships waiting to be loaded with cargo.
The UN-led Joint Coordination Center also said that around 112 loaded ships are awaiting inspection in Turkish territorial waters.
The Black Sea Grain Initiative, a deal negotiated in July between Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the United Nations, eased Russia’s naval blockade and saw the reopening of three key Ukrainian ports.
Since the agreement was signed, more than 490 ships carrying 11.8 million metric tons of grains and other food products have left for destinations around the world.
Kyiv has previously blamed Moscow for halting inspections and delaying ship movements.
— Amanda Macias
Biden pays tribute to victims of “starvation” in Ukraine
US President Joe Biden expressed skepticism about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s claims in a recent speech that he had no need or intention to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine.
Sarah Silbiger | Reuters
US President Joe Biden paid tribute to the victims of the Holodomor, or “death by starvation”, marking the 90th anniversary of the start of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin’s deliberate starvation of Ukraine.
The Holodomor has special significance this year in light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“During his regime, Joseph Stalin imposed harsh and repressive policies on Ukraine, including creating a deliberate famine in 1932-1933 that killed millions of innocent Ukrainian women, men and children,” Biden said in a statement . Biden was not shy about drawing comparisons between the Ukrainian people’s current struggle against Russian aggression and “past injustices and horrors inflicted on Ukraine.”
“This month, we remember the victims of the Holodomor,” Biden said. “We reaffirm our firm commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. And we honor the brave Ukrainian people who continue to bravely resist Russia’s assault on their democracy.”
Russia’s targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure has raised concerns about the availability of resources for the coming winter. Experts and officials have said this will be one of the harshest winters Ukrainians have ever experienced as they face energy shortages, food insecurity and limited access to mental health and medical services.
Rocio Smith
Zelenskyy says Russia shows it is a terrorist state with recent missile attacks
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends a joint statement with European Commission President Ursula as the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues, in Kyiv, Ukraine, June 11, 2022.
Valentyn Ogirenko | Reuters
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded to the European Parliament’s recognition of Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism with one word: “Finally.” He said the Russian bombing of Ukraine further supported the decision.
“Russia proved to the whole world that all of this is true by using 67 missiles against our infrastructure, our energy and ordinary people,” he said. Although he did not provide figures, Zelenskyy said the results of the strikes are “tragic”.
“A lot of people are injured and there are deaths,” he said.
The strikes also had a devastating effect on infrastructure, especially in the energy sector. Power outages occurred across the country, with outages due to flooding in Moldova. Water supplies were also disrupted in the country’s capital, Kyiv.
“In terms of electricity and water supply, everyone is working: energy specialists, emergency services, local authorities,” Zelenskyy said. “We will restore everything and overcome all difficulties because we are an unbreakable nation.”
Rocio Smith
Three killed and 11 injured by missile attacks in Kyiv, officials say
Firefighters and rescue services attend to a building hit by a missile in central Kyiv on November 23, 2022 in Kyiv, Ukraine.
Jeff J Mitchell | Getty Images
At least three people were killed and 11 injured during missile attacks on residential areas in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, the city’s administration said.
The city recorded 31 rockets over the capital during an air raid alert, and 22 of them were shot down. The rockets hit critical infrastructure, leaving parts of the capital without electricity and severely disrupting heat and water supplies, the administration said.
The city assured residents that heat and water are expected to be back on Thursday morning. Power is also expected to return once the grid is stabilized.
Much of Ukraine was left in a similar position as nearly 70 Russian missiles targeted power and other civilian facilities across the country.
Rocio Smith
Four ships will leave Ukrainian ports under the Black Sea Grain Initiative
A photo taken on Oct. 31, 2022 shows a cargo ship loaded with grain being inspected at the anchorage area of the southern entrance to the Bosphorus in Istanbul.
Ozan Kose | AFP | Getty Images
The organization that monitors the export of agricultural products said four ships carrying wheat, sunflower seeds and barley left Ukrainian ports.
The amount of cereals and other products exported under the Black Sea Cereals Initiative has so far exceeded 11.8 million metric tons.
The Black Sea Grain Initiative, a deal negotiated in July between Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the United Nations, eased Russia’s naval blockade and saw the reopening of three key Ukrainian ports.
The agreement between the signatories is expected to expire in about four months.
— Amanda Macias
UN report details horrifying Ukrainian accounts of abuse and torture in Russian prisons
Editor’s Note: The following article contains graphic material detailing reports of torture and sexual violence.
The door window frames the corridor of the district police department used by the Russian occupiers for torture, Balakliia, Kharkiv region, northeastern Ukraine.
Vyacheslav Madiyevski | Ukrinform | Future Publishing | Getty Images
A report commissioned by the United Nations found that Russian forces have committed widespread abuses against prisoners captured during the invasion of Ukraine.
In preparing the report, the researchers conducted 159 interviews over the course of eight months.
Ukrainian prisoners described so-called “admission procedures” upon arrival at the internment site, which involved prolonged beatings, strangulation, twisting or breaking of joints or bones, dog attacks, tasers, mock executions, sexual violence, stripping and use of stress. positions
According to the report, Russian guards also inserted lit cigarettes into victims’ nostrils, hung prisoners by their hands or legs for extended periods of time, and applied tourniquet-like devices to painfully restrict blood circulation to the limbs
The prisoners told investigators that they were subjected to invasive examinations during admission procedures in the presence of male guards. The prisoners also said they were forced to strip and walk naked through the corridors.
Read the full story here.
— Amanda Macias
The Pope links the situation of the Ukrainians to Stalin’s “genocide”.
Pope Francis arrives at the United Nations in New York on September 25, 2015.
Tony Gentile | Reuters
Pope Francis linked the suffering of Ukrainians now to the “artificially caused genocide by Stalin” of the 1930s, when the Soviet leader was blamed for creating a man-made famine in the country that is believed to have killed more than 3 millions of people
Francis’s linking of the plight of Ukrainian civilians today to those killed by starvation 90 years ago, and his willingness to call it a “genocide” and place the blame squarely on Josef Stalin, marked a sharp escalation of papal rhetoric against Russia. As of this year, only 17 countries have officially recognized the famine, known as the Holodomor, according to the Holodomor Museum in Kyiv.
In remarks at the end of his weekly general audience on Wednesday, Francis renewed calls for prayer for the “terrible suffering of the beloved and martyred Ukrainian people.” He recalled that Saturday marks 90 years since the start of the famine, which Ukraine commemorates every fourth Saturday in November with a Day of Remembrance.
— The Associated Press
Ukraine receives 36 prisoners in its latest exchange
A view shows a line of cars near blocks of flats destroyed during the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, as evacuees leave the besieged port city of Mariupol, Ukraine, on March 17, 2022.
Alexander Ermochenko | Reuters
Ukraine and Russia engaged in another prisoner exchange, with Ukraine…