Ukraine President Zelenskyy speaks to UN Chief, terms Russia's actions 'genocide'

Amid the escalations in the ongoing Russia Ukraine war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday spoke with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Following the talk between the two leaders, Zelenskyy said that he called for depriving Russia of the right to vote in the UN Security Council. He further urged the UN council to recognize Moscow's actions in Ukraine as "genocide."

Following the rising tensions over the Russian invasion, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that he has now urged the UN Security Council to take larger actions against Russia. "To deprive the aggressor country of the right to vote in the UN Security Council, to qualify Russia's actions & statements as genocide of Ukrainian people, to help with the delivery of corpses of Russian soldiers. Talked about it in a conversation with the #UN Secretary-General @antonioguterres," Zelenskyy tweeted, shedding light on his conversation with the UN Secretary-General.

Taking to his official Twitter handle, Guterres also confirmed the conversation and said that he conveyed the UN’s readiness to enhance humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. "I spoke today with @ZelenskyyUa and conveyed the determination of the @UN to enhance humanitarian assistance to the people of Ukraine. Respect for international humanitarian law and the protection of civilians are now paramount," he tweeted.

Earlier on Friday, the UN noted that humanitarian needs in Kyiv were multiplying and spreading by the hour and civilians are dying. It had informed that at least "100,000 Ukrainians have already reportedly fled their homes”. UN Chief Antonio Guterres had noted that the UN Charter has been challenged in the past, “but it has stood firm on the side of peace, security, development, justice, international law and human rights. The international community must do everything in its power so that these values prevail in Ukraine and for all humanity.” He had also informed that UN staff were scaling up the delivery of life-saving support to the war region affected country.

Anti-war protests in Russia

Thousands of demonstrators descended to streets of Moscow, St. Petersburg, and several other major cities in Russia to protest against Russia's decision to invade Ukraine. The public resentment against Putin began Thursday after Russia launched airstrikes on Ukrainian territories, killing over 100 civilians and military personnel on the first day. Large-scale devastation has forced Ukrainians to leave homes and take ad-hoc shelters in underground metro stations. Apart from leaders, Putin's move has been widely criticised by citizens across the world.

Russia-Ukraine war

The standoff between Kyiv and Moscow waded into war after Russia continued to amass over 1,50,000 troops along Russia-Ukraine borders. As per reports, 50% of the said troops have invaded Ukraine further advancing towards Kyiv. The blitz intensified as Russian soldiers began raining air-raids on eastern European cities, heavily damaging life and property. Russia created a pretext for the invasion by recognising the independence of two breakaway regions of Ukraine, effectively violating a ceasefire deal signed in Minsk in 2015.

The developments led to Western nations imposing penalties on Putin and targeting officials in his cabinet. Furthermore, additional sanctions also prohibit Russia from engaging in business in international currencies, expanding to include beneficiaries of the war. Meanwhile, Ukraine has displayed a sturdy resistance against Russia and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has ordered mass mobilisation and refused to surrender to Russia.

Image: AP