Breaking free from a Russian veto, the United Nations Security Council unanimously approved this Friday (6th) a declaration expressing “deep concern” and “strong support” for diplomatic efforts for a peaceful exit from the war. in Ukraine. This is the first consensus of its kind.
The likely alternative found so that a barrier was not imposed by Russian diplomacy is between the lines of the succinct text written by Mexico and Norway, rotating members of the collegiate: there is no mention of the terms “war”, “conflict” or “invasion” – the government Vladimir Putin calls the war a “special military operation”.
“The Security Council expresses deep concern for the maintenance of peace and security in Ukraine and recalls that all member states have assumed, under the UN Charter, the obligation to resolve their international disputes by peaceful means,” the statement reads. read by US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield.
The few sentences do not differ much from what the UN Secretary General, the Portuguese António Guterres, has said in his speeches and conversations with leaders on both sides of the conflict, but it symbolizes the first consensus of the Security Council, of which Russia is a member. permanent member and has already acted to veto resolutions that would harm it.
“For the first time, the council spoke with one voice for peace in Ukraine,” said the secretary-general. “I welcome this support and I will continue to spare no effort to save lives and find the path to peace.”​
“I find it encouraging to see diplomacy earning its place on the council, although this is the first initial step,” Mexico’s ambassador Juan Ramón de la Fuente told reporters.
On the war front, this Saturday (7), the 73rd day of the invasion, Russian forces claim to have blown up three road bridges in the Kharkiv region to slow down the Ukrainian counteroffensive and to have destroyed a large stock of US and US military equipment. Europe also in the vicinity — information that could not be independently confirmed. In Odessa, the regional governor said several missiles hit the port city.
Attacks have been reported again by officials in Transdnistria, the separatist enclave fought over by pro-Russian separatists in Moldova. The Interior Ministry says that on Friday night, four explosions hit Voronkovo, 5 km from the Ukrainian border, with artifacts launched by a drone, and that there were no casualties.
At the Mariupol port, the International Committee of the Red Cross said it was continuing its efforts to evacuate dozens of civilians who remained sheltered at the Azovstal plant. To the Swiss newspaper Neue Zuercher Zeitung, the organization’s director of operations, Dominik Stillhart, described as “extremely frustrating” the unsuccessful attempts at a ceasefire that would allow the operation.
“In conversations with the warring parties, we expressed our concern about this type of war. Unfortunately, I see no reason to expect this conflict to end soon,” he added.
Officials from the self-declared republic of Donetsk, in eastern Ukraine’s Donbass region, said 50 people had been evacuated from Azovstal and taken to the village of Bezimenne, an area about 30 km from Mariupol also controlled by Russian separatists.
The UK Ministry of Defence, which monitors the conflict, said the war was “considerably affecting” some of Russia’s top units, saying at least one T-90M, the most advanced tank in Russian defence, had been destroyed in combat.
“It will be particularly challenging to replace modern and advanced equipment due to sanctions restricting Russia’s access to critical microelectronic components,” the British defense continued.
So far, the war in Eastern Europe has left at least 3,309 civilians dead, according to an updated balance sheet by the United Nations human rights arm — which recognizes the underreporting of the figure. About 234 victims are children, and at least 3,493 civilians were also injured.
With the migration crisis as one of the main consequences of the conflict, Ukraine has already seen more than 5.8 million citizens leave the country, with neighboring Poland and Romania as the main destinations, data from the UNHCR (UN Refugee Agency) show. .
Although on a smaller scale, the war also seems to have generated a diaspora movement of Russians. According to the Moscow Times, data from the FSB (Federal Security Service) show that 3.8 million Russians traveled from January to March this year — it is unclear how many have returned to Russia.
Georgia, for example, welcomed 38,000 Russians in the first quarter of this year, an increase of nearly five times the 8,500 accepted in the same period last year. The loosening of restrictions related to the Covid pandemic influences the figure, but local analysts also see the discontent of part of the population with the actions of the Vladimir Putin government as motivating.
