Tag: Europe News

Recent weeks have seen an escalation in shelling in and around Europe’s largest nuclear facility.  The Council meeting was requested by Russia, whose forces have occupied the plant since March, or shortly after the start of the war, while Ukrainian personnel continue to carry out their on-site operations.  ‘Suicidal’ threat  Ms. DiCarlo reiterated the UN’s ongoing grave concern over the… Read More

Before dawn on 24 February, Kharkiv took a fierce hit. Within 24 hours, Russian troops had reached the northern suburbs, just 30 kilometres from the Ukraine-Russia border. Despite outnumbering the Ukrainian forces, the invading army was unable to enter the city. “I am from Kharkiv, from the largest residential area in Ukraine – Saltivka, where about 400,000 people lived before… Read More

OHCHR spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said the trials by the Russian-backed authorities could begin in the occupied city, possibly within days – and warned that such a process could amount to a war crime. “We are very concerned about the manner in which this is being done. There are pictures in the media of cages being built in Mariupol’s philharmonic hall,… Read More

“Once again, as in all wars, the reckless decisions of adults are putting children at extreme risk. There are no armed operations of this kind that do not result in children being harmed,” UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said in a statement.  Likely underestimate  The Russian invasion of Ukraine began nearly six months ago, and UNICEF has verified that at… Read More

In a dark, overcrowded cellar in Kharkiv, Ukraine, 40-year-old Natalia is hiding from almost constant air raids nearby. Together with her son, niece, uncle and mother, she lives in one of the most dangerous areas of the city. Sleeping on a cold floor alongside dozens of others, sometimes she does not see the sky for several days. “We were under… Read More

Mr. Guterres flew into Istanbul on Saturday morning from Chisinau, Moldova – where he was hosted for a working dinner with President Maia Sandu the previous evening – and boarded a pilot boat in the Sea of Marmara, where he sailed next to the M/V Brave Commander, the World Food Programme (WFP) ship which picked up more than 23,000 of… Read More

Ships carrying grain have been leaving there under a recent UN-brokered agreement, and Mr. Guterres said Odesa was a symbol of what countries can achieve when they work together for the common good.  Speaking to journalists, the UN chief revealed that it was a moving experience to be at the port, where he witnessed wheat being loaded onto a ship. … Read More

Speaking at a press conference alongside Presidents Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Türkiye, he expressed gratitude for the opportunity to visit “again during such a difficult period”.  Despite that the Black Sea Grain Initiative was signed a few weeks ago, the UN chief reiterated that “there is no solution to the global food crisis without ensuring full global access to Ukraine’s food products… Read More

“Tomorrow, he will join President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in a meeting hosted by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine,” UN Deputy Spokesman Farhan Haq told a regular press briefing in New York. “He will go on to visit Odesa and then Istanbul in the following days,” he added. Checking the grain During his visit, the UN chief will stop by one… Read More

The MV Brave Commander departed with 23,000 metric tonnes of wheat grain for WFP’s response in the Horn of Africa, where the threat of famine is looming due to severe drought.  This is the first shipment of humanitarian food assistance under the Black Sea Grain Initiative signed by Ukraine, Russia, Türkiye and the UN in June.  Feeding the world’s hungry … Read More