Based on the data collected by the agency, the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on Wednesday said that more than five million people have fled Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion, news agency Reuters reported. Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General António Guterres is calling for a four-day halt in fighting in Ukraine, starting Thursday to coincide with Orthodox Christians’ Holy Week observances. Noting that Orthodox Easter is coming amid an intensifying Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine, the U.N. chief said Tuesday that the need for a “humanitarian pause” is all the more urgent.
Ukrainian officials on Wednesday said they hoped to get thousands of women and children out of the besieged southeastern city of Mariupol as Russia pressed ahead with a new offensive along front lines in eastern Ukraine.
Ukraine hopes to evacuate 6,000 women, children and elderly from Mariupol
Ukraine hopes to evacuate 6,000 women, children and elderly people from the besieged city of Mariupol on Wednesday if a preliminary agreement with Russia holds, the city’s mayor said. Mayor Vadym Boichenko, who has left Mariupol, said 90 buses were waiting to head to the devastated southern port city.
Biden hosts military chiefs as Ukraine crisis intensifies
President Joe Biden will convene top U.S. military leaders on Wednesday in an annual White House gathering that takes on special significance as the war in Ukraine enters a risky new phase and the United States plans more military aid. A “variety of topics” will be discussed by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and senior military leaders, a National Security Council spokesperson said. The event includes a formal West Wing meeting as well as a dinner in the president’s residence with leaders’ spouses afterward.
Japan formally revokes Russia’s ”most favoured nation” status
Japan formally revoked Russia’s “most favoured nation” trade status Wednesday over its invasion of Ukraine, as Tokyo steps up sanctions amid revelations of the Russian military’s widespread atrocities against civilians. The stripping of Russia’s trade status is Japan’s latest move against Moscow and was part of a list of sanctions measures Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced last month that also included a decision to expel eight Russian diplomats and trade officials.
Tennis-Russian, Belarusian players barred from Wimbledon
Tennis players from Russia and Belarus will not be allowed to compete at this year’s Wimbledon due to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, the Grand Slam’s organisers All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) said in a statement on Wednesday. “We recognise that this is hard on the individuals affected, and it is with sadness that they will suffer for the actions of the leaders of the Russian regime,” said Ian Hewitt, chairman of the All England Club.
Here are a few other key updates:
➡️Norway is donating about 100 air defense systems to Ukraine with the Scandinavian country’s defense minister saying that “the country is depending on international support to resist Russian aggression.”
➡️Finland inched closer to joining NATO on Wednesday after its major parliamentary groups expressed support for some form of a military alliance as a response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
➡️ Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that “illegal” restrictions on Russian companies by Western states ran counter to World Trade Organization rules and told his government to update Russia’s strategy in the WTO.
➡️ United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has separately asked Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to receive him to discuss steps to bring about peace following Moscow’s invasion of its neighbor.
➡️ European Council President Charles Michel made an unexpected visit to Kyiv, following a trip to the Ukrainian capital by the head of the EU’s executive earlier this month.
➡️ Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, who started transitioning to the IMF’s economic counsellor role in January, said the war in Ukraine may damage expectations for decades-high inflation to start to subside this year.
➡️ US President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pledged to send more artillery weaponry to Ukraine.
➡️ Norway has donated about 100 Mistral air defence missiles to Ukraine, the Norwegian defence ministry said.
➡️ Western nations are preparing to stage coordinated walk-outs to protest Russia’s invasion of Ukraine at Wednesday’s meeting of G20 finance ministers in Washington.
➡️ Russia’s war in Ukraine is to blame for exacerbating “already dire” world food insecurity, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said.
➡️ World Bank President David Malpass will host a meeting on Thursday with Ukraine’s prime minister and finance minister to discuss further aid.
➡️ The Ukraine war’s impact on economic growth and associated costs such as reducing dependence on Russian natural gas have forced Austria to hike its budget deficit and debt forecasts for this year.
(Compiled from Reuters and Associated Press reports)
