UNITED NATIONS \u2014 U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Tuesday that the \u201cunwinnable\u201d war in Ukraine is \u201cgoing nowhere fast\u201d and it is time the parties negotiate a cease-fire.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom my outreach with various actors, elements of diplomatic progress are coming into view on several key issues,\u201d Guterres told reporters at U.N. headquarters. \u201cThere is enough on the table to cease hostilities \u2013 now. And seriously negotiate \u2013 now.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
He did not give any details on where there may be potential agreement between the parties on key issues, nor who has emerged from a field of several possible mediators as a potential broker. But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has essentially dropped his demand in recent days that Ukraine retain its right to join NATO, while Turkey and Israel are among potential mediators.<\/p>\n
Guterres, who has been unusually outspoken on the war and in naming Russia as the aggressor, said the Ukrainian people are \u201cenduring a living hell\u201d since Moscow launched its \u201cmassive invasion\u201d nearly one month ago.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cSystematic bombardments that terrorize civilians. The shelling of hospitals, schools, apartment buildings and shelters,\u201d he said, has forced some 10 million people to flee their homes and even the country.<\/p>\n
\u201cContinuing the war in Ukraine is morally unacceptable, politically indefensible and militarily nonsensical,\u201d the U.N. chief declared Tuesday.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
He pointed to the Russian siege on the southern port city of Mariupol, which has endured weeks of shelling and bombing, and said even if it falls, the country cannot be \u201cconquered city by city, street by street, house by house.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThis war is unwinnable,\u201d he warned. \u201cSooner or later, it will have to move from the battlefield to the peace table. That is inevitable.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Until then, he asked, how many more lives will be lost and cities destroyed?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is time to end this absurd war,\u201d Guterres said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The U.N. Human Rights office has verified 953 civilian deaths since the war started on February 24 through late Monday, as well as 1,557 civilians who were injured. The U.N. says the actual number is likely much higher.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Humanitarian crisis<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Humanitarians have been trying to get guarantees for safe passage so they can access people in need in several Ukrainian cities. On Friday, the U.N. said the first convoy arrived in the northern city of Sumy with food, bottled water and ready-to-eat meals for 35,000 people.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
At the United Nations in New York, Mexico and France have been working on a draft resolution demanding protection of civilians and infrastructure, as well as of humanitarians, medical personnel, journalists and people fleeing the conflict. It could go for a vote in the General Assembly as soon as Wednesday, when a rare \u201cemergency special session\u201d of the U.N. membership is due to resume.<\/p>\n
South Africa, meanwhile, has put forward a similar text, only it does not state the cause of Ukraine\u2019s humanitarian crisis \u2014 namely, Russia\u2019s invasion. The Western draft does.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Russian diplomats say they will seek a vote on their own text in the U.N. Security Council early Wednesday, where it is certain to fail.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, Russia for a third time pressed its allegations to council members that Ukraine, backed by the United States, is planning \u201cchemical provocations,\u201d which it will then blame on Russia.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cWe presented evidence which, and more evidence is to come, to see that the United States was implementing a secret biological weapons program with the help of Ukrainians, and sometimes Ukrainians were not even aware of what they are doing,\u201d Russian Deputy U.N. Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy told reporters.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told reporters the Russian allegations are \u201cludicrous\u201d and reiterated Washington\u2019s concerns that Moscow\u2019s actions are the precursor to a chemical attack in Ukraine.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThey always sort of preview what they plan to do by accusing others of doing exactly the same thing,\u201d Thomas-Greenfield said. \u201cSo, we see this as a false flag opportunity, and they are basically warning us of their future plans.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Source: Voice of America<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
UNITED NATIONS \u2014 U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Tuesday that the \u201cunwinnable\u201d war in Ukraine is \u201cgoing nowhere fast\u201d and it is time the parties negotiate a cease-fire.\u201cFrom my outreach with various actors, elements of diplomatic progress …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n