Category: Europe

The “tragic killing” at the penal colony at Olenivka in the Donetsk region of Ukraine, under temporary Russian military control, occurred overnight on 28 July 2022.   Many of the POWs were Ukrainian soldiers who had surrendered at the stricken Azovstal steel plant in the city of Mariupol. Appeal for justice “The prisoners of war who were injured or died… Read More

Over the past week, Russia has carried out aerial attacks on Odesa and two other port cities, Chornomorsk and Mykolaiv, since terminating the landmark Black Sea Initiative on grain and fertilizer exports. International media reported that at least one person was killed and more than 20 wounded in Sunday’s attack, which damaged significant cultural sites in Odesa, including the Transfiguration… Read More

Ms. DiCarlo strongly condemned the aerial strikes this week on the ports in Odesa, Chornomorsk and Mykolaiv, which destroyed critical infrastructure and killed or injured civilians. The attacks followed Russia’s decision on Monday to effectively end the Black Sea Initiative, the UN-brokered accord that facilitated Ukrainian grain and foodstuffs to be shipped to international markets at a time of spiralling… Read More

Alexander Senkevich, the Mayor of Mykolaiv, spoke to UN News about reconstruction efforts and the role of the United Nations amidst the threat of ongoing shelling. “We were bombed for 230 days, 159 people died, and 750 were injured. A lot of the city was destroyed because there was shelling everywhere. Mykolaiv City Council/Valery Fedchenko Alexander Senkevich, Mayor of Mykolaiv.… Read More

In making its decision, Russia also withdrew safe passage guarantees for ships carrying grain and other foodstuffs navigating in the northwestern part of the Black Sea. Over the past year, the Initiative has facilitated the export of more than 30 million tonnes of Ukrainian grain to global markets via three Black Sea ports, including Odesa. Grain deal stalled The Black… Read More

Since the outbreak of the conflict, tens of thousands have lost their lives, many more have been wounded, and millions displaced within Ukraine and outside its borders. “We must remember that behind every number lies a mother, a father, a child, a grandparent. To turn a blind eye would be an affront to the memory of those who have already… Read More

Concerns over legislation The Illegal Immigration Bill eliminates access to asylum for anyone who arrives “irregularly” in the UK, meaning they passed through a country – however briefly – where they did not face persecution.   The bill bars migrants from presenting refugee protection or other human rights claims, regardless of their circumstances. It has passed through the Commons, but… Read More

Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo briefed the Security Council in the wake of the collapse earlier in the day of the Black Sea Initiative to bring grain and fertilizer from the region to the world. “The longer this war continues, the more dangerous its consequences, including the possibility of a wider conflict,” she warned. “For the sake of the Ukrainian people and… Read More

The figure is equivalent to about 11 children dying each week, “far beyond what we hear in news headlines,” Vera Knaus, the agency’s Global Lead on Migration and Displacement, told journalists attending the biweekly UN humanitarian briefing in Geneva. “We cannot continue to ignore what is happening – stand by silently when nearly 300 children – an entire plane full… Read More