‘Tensions between major powers are at an historic high. So are the risks of conflict,’ says António Guterres at UN meeting chaired by Russia
The UN chief and representatives from western nations berated Russia’s top diplomat as he chaired a UN meeting Monday, accusing Moscow of violating the UN Charter by attacking Ukraine and occupying part of its territory.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov responded by defending his country’s military action and accusing the US and its allies of undercutting global diplomacy, the foundation of the United Nations, which was created to prevent a third world war.
Russia has switched to defensive positions in all its areas of combat apart from Bakhmut, according to the Ukrainian head of intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov. In an interview with RBC Ukraine, he said: “The only places on the frontline where they are making attempts are in the city of Bakhmut, an attempt to cover the city of Avdiivka from the north, and localised fighting in the city of Marinka. Both in Avdiivka and Marinka the tactics are identical to those in Bakhmut – just an attempt to wipe the settlement off the face of the Earth.”
UN secretary-general António Guterres has proposed to Russian president Vladimir Putin a “way forward aimed at the improvement, extension and expansion” of a deal allowing the safe Black Sea export of Ukrainian grain, which Moscow has threatened to terminate from 18 May. Russia’s defence ministry meanwhile accused Ukraine of attempting to attack its ships in the Black Sea, which it said was threatening prospects of extending the deal.
A woman charged with killing a pro-war Russian military blogger using explosives has been denied bail by a Russian court. Darya Trepova, 26, is accused of killing Vladen Tatarsky, whose real name was Maxim Fomin, on 2 April. He was presented with a statuette containing a bomb while giving a talk at a cafe in St Petersburg.
Ukrainian authorities say Russian forces are “forcibly evacuating” civilians in the parts of the Kherson region that they still occupy, a day after it was claimed Ukrainian forces had established a bridgehead on the east bank of the Dnieper River. The claim cannot be verified, but it comes amid an apparent increase in Ukrainian military activity in the south of the country which some analysts have interpreted as a potential precursor to Kyiv’s long anticipated counter-offensive.
Estonia’s prime minister Kaja Kallas voiced hope that EU membership talks with Kyiv could begin this year, during a visit to the Ukrainian city of Zhytomyr. “It will be a hard process and the requirements need to be fulfilled 100%,” she said, speaking alongside Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Estonia has been one of Ukraine’s largest donors per capita and this was Kallas’s first visit after her party won a landslide victory for her pro-Ukraine platform last month.
Beijing has insisted it respects the status of the independent nations that emerged from the USSR after remarks by China’s ambassador to France questioning the sovereignty of former Soviet states sparked outrage in EU capitals. “The Chinese side respects the status of the member states as sovereign states after the collapse of the Soviet Union,” the foreign ministry’s spokesperson Mao Ning said, adding that on the issue of territorial sovereignty, Beijing’s position was consistent and clear.
The EU foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, expressed confidence that the bloc would complete a plan within days to buy ammunition for Ukraine after Kyiv expressed frustration at wrangling among EU member states. “Yes, still there is some disagreement. But I am sure everybody will understand that we are in a situation of extreme urgency,” Borrell said.
