After rejecting the “Russian” resolution, the United Nations General Assembly approved the Western proposal on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine and called for “the immediate cessation of hostilities on the part of Russia”. This time, China abstained. And while Moscow is threatening to use nuclear weapons, Washington is announcing the creation of contingency plans for chemical, biological or nuclear weapons. NATO is committed to “providing more aid to Ukraine, also from a military point of view”, but “not without restrictions”. There is a risk that the conflict will spread beyond Ukraine’s borders. The G7 states call on “all countries not to provide Russia with any military or other assistance,” with a clear reference to Beijing. On the war front, bombing and artillery attacks continue, particularly on Kharkiv and Odessa, but a stalemate remains for the Russian army.
The “Western” humanitarian resolution goes to the UN. Beijing abstains. The humanitarian resolution for Ukraine was adopted by 140 votes to 5, with 38 abstentions. However, it is the Western version that is going through after the Russian draft was rejected yesterday. To vote against, of course, the Russian Federation. Blocking alongside Moscow are Syria, Belarus, Eritrea and North Korea, the same people who last voted against the March 2 resolution. Beijing, on the other hand, after voting in favor of the Moscow proposal, is abstaining this time. Mal’China Ambassador to the United Nations Zhang Jun told the General Assembly that “major countries must not adopt a simplistic approach of friend or foe, black or white, and force no country to choose sides,” and stressed that “the developing countries, which represent the majority of the world, are not parties to the conflict, they must not be drawn into the issue and forced to suffer the consequences of geopolitical conflict and great power rivalries”. With this resolution which is not legally binding but has political and symbolic value the United Nations calls for “the immediate cessation of Russia’s hostilities, in particular all attacks on civilians”, humanitarian access and the protection of civilians, medical workers and journalists and humanitarian workers.
Another NATO no to “unrestricted military aid”. After a further request by Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and his ministers for “unrestricted military aid”, the states of the Atlantic Alliance committed themselves at today’s NATO summit to “provide more aid to Ukraine, including from a military point of view”, but did not comply with the request “For one percent of your 20,000 tanks” was a resounding no. However, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced that he would also send “antitank weapons, missile defense systems and drones, which have proven to be very effective,” to Kyiv. Stoltenberg said he was concerned that Russia was “trying to create some sort of subterfuge by accusing Ukraine, the US and NATO allies of preparing to use chemical and biological weapons, and we’ve seen these before.” way of blaming others is actually a way to create an excuse to do it yourself”. In addition, NATO has decided to deploy another four combat units on the Eastern Front, specifically in Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary. However according to Stoltenberg “it will not station troops on Ukrainian territory. US President Joe Biden said Washington is evaluating air defense systems for Kyiv.
G7: “No help for Russia”. The G7 countries also met today, ready to adopt new sanctions against Moscow. Then the whip against China: “We urge all countries not to provide Russia with military or other assistance” that could help Moscow carry out its aggression against Ukraine. “We will monitor any type of assistance of this nature.” That’s what we read in the summit conclusions, and although it’s not explicitly mentioned, it’s a clear reference to Beijing. Especially after the recent allegations by American intelligence and the recent exchanges of words between Beijing and the United States.
stalemate on the war front. But the bombings don’t stop. On the ground, meanwhile, the situation still seems to have faltered: Russian troops held their positions on the three fronts of the offensive without making any significant progress and continued bombing Ukrainian cities, with heavy civilian casualties. Heavy shelling on the center of Kharkiv and artillery shelling on the port of Odessa. Clashes in Izyum after the Russians opened fire “on civilians in the auxiliary line,” according to Ukrainian authorities. Kyiv also denounces that “the war has partially or completely deprived residents of Mariupol, Mykolayiv, Kharkiv, Okhtyrka, Izyum, Makarov, Pologi, Vasylivka Orikhiv, Huliaipil, Chernihiv, Trostyanets and many other settlements of drinking water”. But the Ukrainian counteroffensive continues. A Russian amphibious assault ship was destroyed in Berdyansk port. However, Russia is sending reinforcements in Belarus and Crimea with the aim of encircling Kyiv, according to the Ukrainian Army General Staff. This is reported by The Kyiv Independent.
First prisoner exchange. Today the first exchange of prisoners between Moscow and Kyiv took place. This was announced by Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk via telegram. 10 Russians for 10 Ukrainians. The Russians also took away 11 civilian sailors who were rescued by the Ukrainian army after the ship sank near Odessa this morning. . This is reported by Ukrainska Pravda.
The humanitarian budget is deteriorating. The civilian death toll continues to rise. According to the latest UN figures, the calculated number of civilians killed since the beginning of the invasion has exceeded the thousand threshold; the actual number would be far higher. According to the United Nations, 3.7 million people (out of a population of 44 million) have fled Ukraine. Half are children. After the controversy of the past few days over the evacuation of civilians from Mariupol, Kyiv has denounced that Moscow not only continues to bomb humanitarian convoys, but also “deported at least 6,000 residents of the city to Russia, and “they are already in Russian camps, where they could be used as hostages.
Moscow: “I regret the slowness of the negotiations”. At a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and members of the Moscow Security Council, “regrets about the slow pace of Ukraine’s negotiations” were expressed. This was announced by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, quoted by Interfax. RussianUkrainian talks will continue via video conference, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. On the table said Zakharova “a draft treaty to resolve the situation in Ukraine, its neutrality and guarantees of its security. The military, political and humanitarian aspects are being discussed. We hope that Kyiv will still be able to do this realize the “inevitability of a peaceful solution to the issue of demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine and its transformation into a neutral state. The sooner the representatives of the Kiev regime understand this, the sooner the special military operation will be completed”.
The US plan against chemical, biological or nuclear weapons. The White House has announced that it will prepare contingency plans should Russia use chemical, biological or nuclear weapons, and the draft G7 summit communiqué also warns Putin against using these unconventional weapons.