Tag Archives: Russia stand

India offers help to mediate to end Russia-Ukraine war

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India, which has maintained good relations with both Russia and Ukraine, offered help to “engage” in diplomacy to end the war in Ukraine following the UN concerns for the lives of millions of people.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has “emphasized that there is no option but the path of dialogue and diplomacy”, said India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, T.S. Tirumurti on Thursday.

“We stand ready to continue to engage on these objectives in the Security Council, as well as with the parties, in the coming days,” he said.

Modi has already spoken to both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, urging both the leader to direct talks.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Zelentsky expressed positivism on the outcome of talks being held in Belarus and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the talks were “close to an agreement”.

Zelenskyy

Zelenskyy

Taking note of the outcome in bilateral talks between Ukraine and Russia, Tirumurti said, “We reiterate our call for immediate cessation of hostilities across Ukraine.”

He said, “We continue to underline the need to respect the UN Charter, international law and the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states… The humanitarian situation has worsened, particularly in the conflict zones.”

He said that humanitarian assistance should not be politicised and said that India has already sent over 90 tonnes of relief supplies to Ukraine and its neighbours since March 1. “We are in the process of identifying other such requirements and sending further supplies in the coming days,” he said.

So far, 726 people have been killed, 52 of them children, and most of the casualties resulted from the use of explosive weapons with wide impact in residential areas. However, the actual number is likely much higher.

Attacks on hospitals

“Life-saving medicine we need now is peace,” World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said outlining the health catastrophe in Ukraine. He said that WHO has verified 43 attacks on health care facilities, with 12 people killed and 34 injured, including health workers.

“Attacks on health care are a violation of international humanitarian law – anytime, anywhere,” he said. He said that UN convoys with humanitarian supplies have not been able to reach several areas.

Russia’s Permanent Representative Vasily Nebenzia denied the accusations that Russia is attacking places like medical facilities or a theatre sheltering people or a mosque. “We note with regret that Ukraine has always was a pawn in the struggle against Russia and remains such a pawn still,” he said.

He said that Russia will not press for a vote on a resolution it had introduced to counter a resolution proposed by France and Mexico on facilitating humanitarian assistance in Ukraine.

Russia was calling for an emergency session of the Security Council on Friday on its complaints of what it said were bio-weapon labs in Ukraine.

World Court ICJ orders Russia to stop war immediately; Is it binding?

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The International Court of Justice (ICJ), the highest judicial body in the world, on Wednesday ordered Russia to suspend its military operations in Ukraine, though its orders are not mandatory for defying member nations.

In a vote of 13-2, the decision was to ask the Russian Federation to quickly suspend military operations it started on February 24. “The Russian Federation shall immediately suspend the military operations that it commenced on Feb 24, 2022 in the territory of Ukraine,” the judges said as quoted by Reuters.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised the outcome at the world court and said, “Ukraine gained a complete victory in its case against Russia at the ICJ. The ICJ ordered to immediately stop the invasion. The order is binding under international law. Russia must comply immediately. Ignoring the order will isolate Russia even further”.

On 26 February, Ukraine filed an application against Russia concerning “a dispute” on the interpretation, application and fulfilment of the Genocide Convention. Ukraine contended that having falsely claimed acts of genocide against the people of the Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts, Russia declared and implemented a “special military operation” to prevent and punish the purported acts.

The ICJ asked Russia to immediately suspend its attacks and cease all military operations as they were based on Moscow’s stated purpose of preventing or punishing Ukraine for committing genocide.

The Court also noted that Russia had decided not to participate in oral proceedings and later, presented a document setting out its position that in this case, the Court lacks jurisdiction and requested it to “refrain from indicating provisional measures and to remove the case from its list.”

Meeting conditions

In delivering the ruling, President of the Court Joan Donoghue of the United States, outlined that the necessary conditions were met to give the ICJ the authority to indicate provisional measures, namely that the rights asserted by Ukraine are plausible and the condition of urgency was met in that acts causing irreparable prejudice can “occur at any moment.”

“Indeed, any military operation, in particular one on the scale carried out by the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine, inevitably causes loss of life, mental and bodily harm, and damage to property and to the environment,” said the ICJ President.

On behalf of the world court, she continued, “the civilian population affected by the present conflict is extremely vulnerable,” adding that Russia’s aggression has resulted in “numerous civilian deaths and injuries…significant material damage, including the destruction of buildings and infrastructure”.

“Attacks are ongoing and are creating increasingly difficult living conditions for the civilian population. Many persons have no access to the most basic foodstuffs, potable water, electricity, essential medicines or heating. A very large number of people are attempting to flee from the most affected cities under extremely insecure conditions,” she explained.

The judges were unanimous in their order that both parties refrain from any action that might “aggravate or extend the dispute…or make it more difficult to resolve.”