Zelensky’s rallying call comes amid warnings that Russia could be planning an attack to coincide with the anniversary…reports Asian Lite News
As the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine marked a year on Friday, President of the war-torn nation Volodymyr Zelensky in a defiant statement said that “this is a year of our invincibility… this will be the year of our victory”.
In a social media post along with a short video showing the devastation caused by the year-long war, the President said: “On February 24, millions of us made a choice. Not a white flag, but a blue and yellow flag. Not fleeing, but facing. Facing the enemy. Resistance and struggle.
“It was a year of pain, sorrow, faith and unity. And this is a year of our invincibility. We know that this will be the year of our victory!”
Zelensky’s rallying call comes amid warnings that Russia could be planning an attack to coincide with the anniversary.
On Thursday night, there were strikes reported in the regions of Kramatorsk and Kherson, where the city’s main pipeline was damaged, reports the BBC.
On this day last year at 2.30 a.m., Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the launch of a “special military operation” in Ukraine during a televised speech.
At 3.27 a.m., the first explosions are heard in the capital Kiev, and more blasts are reported across the country as Ukrainians wake up to war
About an hour later, Zelensky confirmed reports of nationwide missile strikes following which the NATO activated its defence plans, that included more than 100 jets on standby and 120 allied ships at sea, from the Arctic to the Mediterranean
At noon that day, the then British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, addresses the nation, saying: “Our worst fears have come true and all our warnings have proved tragically accurate. President Putin of Russia has unleashed war… without any provocation and any credible excuse.”
Later that night, Zelensky called for general mobilisation and imposed martial law. He had also announced that 137 Ukrainians had died on the first day of the assault.
Since then, tens of thousands of people have died, entire cities have been destroyed and millions have fled Ukraine.
The UNHCR estimates more than 6.5 million Ukrainians are internally displaced and over 7.8 million refugees have left the country.
For 12 months, Ukraine’s armed forces have mounted a resilient defence, defying expectations in Moscow that the invasion would be completed in days, CNN reported.
Russian tanks never reached Kiev’s city centre; instead, they were pushed out of northern Ukraine, and stifled in grinding battles in the east and south.
The central bank, led by Christine Lagarde, is widely tipped to approve another hike in a bid to make spending more expensive…reports Asian Lite News
Inflation in the euro zone receded for the third month in a row in January, according to preliminary data from Eurostat released on Wednesday.
Inflation in the twenty countries using the single currency is projected to have slipped to 8.5% year-on-year in January from 9.2 % in December. The first decline was seen in November although it was still above the 10% threshold after reaching a record-high the month before.
Energy continued to be the biggest driver of inflation last month with a year-on-year bump of 17.2% but prices have significantly lowered in recent months.
This is attributed to milder-than-user temperatures in the autumn and early winter, well-stocked gas storages and energy-saving plans across the 27-country bloc which have seen gas prices slip to levels not seen since Russia invaded Ukraine nearly a year ago.
Still, inflation remains four times above the 2% target set by the European Central Bank and whose governing body is to convene in Frankfurt on Thursday to decide whether to operate yet another interest rate hike to tackle the issue.
The central bank, led by Christine Lagarde, is widely tipped to approve another hike in a bid to make spending more expensive.
Despite the overall fall, two countries actually saw inflation increase.
The rates in Estonia and Latvia are projected to have risen to 18.8% and 21.6% respectively, up from 17.5% and 20.7% in December. Fellow Baltic state, Lithuania, has the third highest rate at 18.4%, down from 20.0% the month before.
The Baltics are particularly vulnerable to volatility in energy prices because of their previous exposure to Russian supplies, which they cut after Moscow launched its war in Ukraine. But the three small countries already had high inflation before the invasion due to supply-and-demand issues linked to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, Spain (5.8%), Malta (6.7%) and Cyprus (6.8%) have the lowest rates across the bloc.
Like energy, prices for non-industrial food and services are forecast to have receded slightly but those of food, alcohol and tobacco actually increased with the annual inflation rate seen at 14.1% compared to 13.8% in December.
Core inflation, which excludes energy and food prices because of their volatility and is therefore seen as a more accurate depiction of the state of the economy, is stable month-on-month at 5.2%.
Romania followed closely behind, with a further 110,000 children living in poverty…reports Asian Lite News
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and rising inflation have pushed some four million children into poverty across Eastern Europe and Central Asia, according to the United Nations children agency.
“Children are bearing the heaviest burden of the economic crisis caused by the war in Ukraine,” UNICEF said on Monday.
The conflict “and rising inflation have driven an additional four million children across Eastern Europe and Central Asia into poverty, a 19 percent increase since 2021”, it said.
UNICEF drew its conclusions from a study of data from 22 countries.
Russian and Ukrainian children have been most affected since Moscow attacked its neighbour in February.
“Russia accounts for nearly three-quarters of the total increase in the number of children living in poverty due to the Ukraine war and a cost-of-living crisis across the region, with an additional 2.8 million children now living in households below the poverty line,” UNICEF found.
The blow to Russia’s economy from Western sanctions has combined with its large population to produce the outsize effect.
“Ukraine is home to half a million additional children living in poverty, the second largest share,” UNICEF added.
Romania followed closely behind, with a further 110,000 children living in poverty.
“Children all over the region are being swept up in this war’s terrible wake,” said UNICEF regional director for Europe and Central Asia, Afshan Khan.
“If we don’t support these children and families now, the steep rise in child poverty will almost certainly result in lost lives, lost learning, and lost futures.”
The poorer a family is, the greater the proportion of its income it must spend on food and fuel, leaving less for children’s healthcare and education, the agency explained.
They are also “more at risk of violence, exploitation and abuse”.
This could well translate into an additional 4,500 children dying before their first birthdays, and an additional 117,000 children dropping out of school this year alone, UNICEF said.
It called for a range of measures to tackle the issue, including providing universal cash benefits for children and protecting social spending, especially for the most vulnerable children and families.
“Austerity measures will hurt children most of all – plunging even more children into poverty and making it harder for families who are already struggling,” said Khan. “We have to protect and expand social support for vulnerable families before the situation gets any worse.”
The document says: “You have the option to leave the UK voluntarily. However, should you be removed it will be to Rwanda.”…reports Asian Lite News
The British Home Office is giving asylum seekers the option of being flown back to the conflict zones they escaped from or being sent to Rwanda, the east African nation that the UK has signed a deportation deal with.
The Guardian has seen a document issued to the first set of asylum seekers expected to be sent to Rwanda, which says that the Home Office could send them to their home countries instead.
The document says: “You have the option to leave the UK voluntarily. However, should you be removed it will be to Rwanda.”
In a letter, the Home Office said that migrants had “inadmissible” asylum claims because they had crossed the English Channel by small boats. The letter added: “There is no right of appeal against the decision to treat your asylum claim as inadmissible.”
Those detained and awaiting offshoring to Rwanda include Syrians, Afghans, Iranians and Iraqis. Many of those expecting to be sent to the east African nation escaped from active conflict zones, with thousands of Afghans recently fleeing after the Taliban secured control of Kabul. Afghans were the largest group coming to Britain by small boats with 1,094 arrivals, followed by Iranians with 722 arrivals.
Karen Doyle, of Movement for Justice, said: “It’s as if the Home Office is saying to this group of asylum seekers: ‘Here’s a hell we created for you in Rwanda but you can choose to go back to the hell you escaped from instead.’ This is not a choice. These are refugees who cannot return home. In practice this is ripping up the UK’s stated commitment to refugees.”
On his part, Zelensky said that Ukraine is ready for immediate negotiations to evacuate people from Mariupol and is counting on the UN’s support…reports Asian Lite News
At a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, visiting UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres criticised the 15-member Security Council for failing to prevent or end Russia’s ongoing war against Kiev.
During the conference here on Thursday evening, Guterres, who arrived in Ukraine on Wednesday evening following his trip to Moscow, said: “Let me be very clear: (it) failed to do everything in its power to prevent and end this war,” the BBC reported.
He added that this was “a source of great disappointment, frustration and anger”.
The Secretary-General told Zelensky, who has previously criticised the Security Council after it faced criticism for failing to act since the invasion began on February 24, that “I am here to say to you President, and to the people of Ukraine, we will not give up”.
“The UN is the 1,400 staff members in Ukraine who are working to provide assistance, food, cash (and) other forms of support,” the BBC quoted Guterres as saying.
On his part, Zelensky said that Ukraine is ready for immediate negotiations to evacuate people from Mariupol and is counting on the UN’s support.
He also revealed that they also discussed the “food crisis provoked by Russia, increasing humanitarian aid for our country, and the return of Ukrainians deported by occupiers”.
“We appreciate the clear and unimportant position of the Secretary-General regarding the war of Russia against Ukraine.”
Describing Russia’s actions in his country as “genocide”, Zelensky said that Guterres had a chance to witness first-hand “all the war crimes” committed by Moscow since the war began.
After his arrival in Ukraine, Guterres also visited Borodyanka, a town north-west of Kiev destroyed due to Russian shelling.
Speaking to mediapersons in the town, he called the war an “absurdity in the 21st Century” and also appealed to save thousands of people in the besieged southern city of Mariupol.
“Mariupol is a crisis within a crisis… Thousands of civilians need life-saving assistance, many are elderly and in need of medical care, or have limited mobility. They need an escape route out of the apocalypse,” he was quoted as saying by the BBC.
During a meeting with Guterres in Moscow on Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed in principle to the involvement of the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross in the evacuation of civilians from the Azovstal plant in Mariupol.
His takeover followed Russia’s failure to seize any major cities, its retreat from Kiev, and the loss of 30,000 troops and hundreds of aircraft and tanks…reports Asian Lite News
Russian troops are being ‘ritually humiliated’ in Ukraine, but they are still in a position to win the war, Western officials cautioned, Daily Mail reported.
In their bleakest assessment of the campaign since the very first days, they admitted that Vladimir Putin’s forces were gaining territory and presently outnumber the defenders by three soldiers to one.
Moscow’s troops failed in their initial invasion objectives, with Ukraine inflicting a series of humiliating defeats on them.
The turnaround has come after a general known as ‘The Butcher’, who is a veteran of the Syrian campaign, overhauled the performance of the Russian advance, Daily Mail reported.
Western officials credited the reversal in Russia’s fortunes to General Aleksandr Dvornikov, who was made overall commander a fortnight ago.
His takeover followed Russia’s failure to seize any major cities, its retreat from Kiev, and the loss of 30,000 troops and hundreds of aircraft and tanks.
Since then its use of drones, rocket systems and electronic warfare has been transformed — potentially providing Putin with a platform to claim victory.
“This is a new chapter of the campaign, and despite his previous failures, Putin is still in a position to win,” an official said, adding: “Russia has concentrated sufficient force, which, if used intelligently, should be able to destroy a large part of Ukraine’s forces.”
Officials now believe that with such a numerical advantage, and more effective leadership, the Russians will be difficult to dislodge from the territory they have won, Daily Mail reported
Rashad Al-Alimi, head of Yemen’s newly formed Presidential Leadership Council, has vowed to work to end the country’s devastating conflict and achieve permanent peace…reports Asian Lite News
On Thursday, President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi issued a republican decree delegating all his executive powers to the eight-member Presidential Leadership Council, and relieving his Vice President Ali Mohsin Al-Ahmar of his duties, reports Xinhua news agency.
“This council is a council of peace, not war, but it is also a council of defence, power, and unity, and its mission is to protect the nation’s and citizens’ sovereignty,” Al-Alimi said in his first televised speech on Friday broadcast from Saudi Arabia.
Following seven years of devastating internal conflict, he vowed to work along with other seven members of the Presidential Leadership Council to end the war and establish a comprehensive and urgent peace process.
He also promised to prioritize the country’s national interests and to work tirelessly to address all political, economic, social, and security challenges.
“We will work without exception or discrimination to meet Yemenis’ demands,” he said, urging Yemen’s people to support the state institutions.
Al-Alimi is a well-known Yemeni official who has been working as an advisor to Hadi since 2014 and held a number of government posts, including minister of the interior.
The other seven members of the council include Aidarous Zubaidi, the chief of the pro-secession Southern Transitional Council, and Tariq Saleh, nephew of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Hadi was elected to lead the turbulent Arab country on February 25, 2012 following the handover of power by former President Saleh in accordance with the Gulf Initiative on Yemen.
Russian tourists are cancelling trips to Middle Eastern destinations. Tunisia vows hard work to overcome impact of Russia-Ukraine crisis on tourism. Oil and flour prices are touching roofs in Egypt, Syria, Ethiopia, and Lebanon
The Tunisian tourism minister promised to work hard to overcome the repercussions of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict on the country’s tourism sector.
“Several flights have been cancelled to Tunisia, especially since the number of Russian tourists will be in remarkable decline,” Mohamed Moez Belhassine said on the sidelines of a national forum on tourism.
Belhassine revealed that his ministry has set up a crisis unit whose main mission is to monitor the effects of the conflict.
“The crisis unit is in direct contact with most of the tourist operators in Russia and Ukraine as well as in eastern and central Europe,” the minister said, highlighting the importance of the Russian market for the growth of the Tunisian tourism sector.
A total of 630,000 Russian tourists visited Tunisia in 2019, and the number dropped sharply to 90,000 during the period of 2020-2021 because of the global COVID-19 pandemic, according to Belhassine.
Food prices soar
The consequences of Putin’s war will play out in regions already experiencing acute food insecurity and in food-importing countries that are most vulnerable to supply shocks and price increases.
World food prices increased in February
Russia’s invasion has put global stocks of grains and oilseeds into question and caused energy prices to soar, throwing fuel onto the fire and risking pushing food insecurity skyward, says Caitlin Welsh, Director of the Global Food Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
The impacts of disruption to agriculture in the Black Sea region could take months, or even years, to play out. Beyond pain at the gas pump, Americans will continue to experience sticker shock in the checkout line, with global food and fuel supply disruptions leading to even higher food prices, Welsh said.
An underreported reality is that global food insecurity is already at a 10-year high. Prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the follow-on effects of the pandemic — lost jobs and wages, supply chain disruptions, food price volatility — pushed the number of food-insecure people to record levels, Welsh says.
This spike in food insecurity happened despite ample global food stocks and record-low fuel prices.
Shocks to global agriculture markets can reverberate worldwide. In 2007 and 2008, decreases in production from major producers — Australia, Burma, Russia, and others — led to price increases and riots from Haiti to Cote d’Ivoire to nearly 40 other countries.
Today, decreases in the global stocks of wheat and other grains and oilseeds from Ukraine and Russia could exacerbate ongoing crises in Afghanistan, Syria, Ethiopia, and other hotspots and aggravate instability in Egypt, Lebanon and Syria.
Among Ukraine’s major wheat buyers, almost half already experience acute food insecurity; particularly vulnerable to a decrease in Russian wheat supply are its purchasers across Asia and Africa, Welsh said.
With China pledging to purchase Russia’s barley and wheat, any sanctions imposed on Russia’s agriculture sector would have limited effect, Welsh said.
The UAE’s position is firm in its rejection of “military solutions” in Ukraine, according to Dr Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to President Sheikh Khalifa, who called for a diplomatic resolution to the unfolding crisis…reports Asian Lite News
“The UAE’s position is firm on the basic principles of the United Nations, international law, state sovereignty, and its rejection of military solutions,” said Gargash. “We believe that alignment and positioning will only lead to more violence, and in the Ukrainian crisis, our priorities are to encourage all parties to adopt diplomacy and negotiate to find a political settlement that ends this crisis.”
He said the world is facing “a difficult test and severe polarization” imposed by the Ukrainian crisis, which “threatens the foundations of the international community and increases the factors of instability.”
“From our experience in a region full of crises, we believe that political solutions and creating balances that enhance security and stability are the best way to confront crises and limit their effects,” he added.
Meanwhile, India, China and the UAE have abstained for the third time on a Security Council vote on Ukraine. The three became the only countries to abstain on Sunday on a procedural vote to have the 193-member General Assembly take up the Russian invasion of Ukraine at an emergency meeting.
Russia’s negative vote did not have the power of a veto and it passed with the support of 11 members from Europe, the Americas and Africa in the 15-member Council.
This is the first time the Council has called for an emergency meeting of the Assembly in 40 years — the last one was in 1982 after the US vetoed a resolution on the Israeli occupation of the Syrian Golan Heights.
The General Assembly is scheduled to meet for the emergency session on Monday at 10 a.m. local time (8.30 p.m. in India) and consider a resolution condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and demand it withdraw its troops immediately that had been vetoed by Russia in the Security Council on Friday.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the country’s deterrence forces to be placed on “a special mode of combat duty” in a meeting with top defence officials.
Senior officials of leading NATO members issued “aggressive statements” against Russia, Putin on Sunday said at a meeting with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Valery Gerasimov.
The need for India to take an unambiguous position on Ukraine and one that isn’t seen as backing Russia was taken up by French authorities with Jaishankar, who visited France this week, reports Asian Lite News
With Russia having launched a military operation in Ukraine, India has come under pressure from the West to shed its posture of neutrality. Hours before the “invasion” started, India’s key European partner France, which currently also holds the EU Council presidency, said it wants India to speak up on the crisis.
External affairs minister S Jaishankar also received a call from EU high representative for foreign affairs Josep Borrell on Thursday and the two discussed “the grave situation in Ukraine and how India could contribute to de-escalation efforts”.
France is currently spearheading EU’s efforts to punish Russia with financial sanctions that are likely to be intensified further after the Russian military action. While India has expressed concern over the situation and called repeatedly for diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis, it has refrained from condemning Moscow’s actions. The latest military action by Russia though is likely to put a strain on India’s position with the US, France and other western partners piling on the pressure to take a tougher line on Russia.
The need for India to take an unambiguous position on Ukraine and one that isn’t seen as backing Russia was taken up by French authorities with Jaishankar, who visited France this week “Sanctions have been imposed because Russia has violated the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. We hope that as a non-permanent member of UNSC, India will have a very strong language on the violation of the UN charter by Russia. This was on the agenda with Jaishankar,” said the adviser, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
India’s position in the UNSC has so far favoured Russia more and Moscow has repeatedly thanked New Delhi for its role on the Ukraine issue. Russian acting ambassador to India Roman Babushkin, in fact, said on Wednesday that India’s activities in the Council reflected the merits of Russia’s strategic partnership with India.
Significantly, Jaishankar also said during his visit to France that the crisis had resulted from NATO expansion along with post-Soviet politics and Russia-West dynamics. While there are still doubts about how effective the sanctions against Russia might be, sources in Paris expressed confidence these will act as a deterrent for Moscow.
“Discussed the grave situation in Ukraine and how India could contribute to de-escalation efforts,”. Jaishankar tweeted about the call with European Union (EU) High Representative (HR/VP) Josep Borrell Fontelles, whose call was followed by the United Kingdom Foreign Secretary Liz Truss. The EU, the UK and US have announced an “unprecedented package of sanctions” against Russia, and have each separately expressed their hopes that India would also support their positions.
In briefings ahead of Jaishankar’s visit to Germany and France last week, European diplomats had stressed that India would need to “pick a side” in the event of a Russian invasion or military attack on Ukraine, and would not be able continue to balance its ties with Moscow and its stated commitment to the international rules-based order.
To begin with, India must consider its response to the resolution on Russian actions that the U.S. proposes to table along with allies, which would include a condemnation of the airstrikes ordered by President Putin, an immediate ceasefire and withdrawal of troops, as well as possibly put to vote proposed punitive action, including strict financial sanctions.
While the condemnation and actions will undoubtedly be vetoed by Russia, which is also at present holding the Presidency of the UNSC, all eyes will be on where countries like India will vote. In three statements made at the U.N. thus far, India has refrained from any criticism of Russian actions, and has repeatedly referred to the “legitimate security interests of all parties”. It also abstained on a vote to discuss the situation in Ukraine earlier this month, which was welcomed by Russian officials.
“There is still time for India to reconsider its position, given Russia has now attacked Ukraine,” said a western diplomat, adding, “Once the vote takes place, if India still abstains, then it will be seen simply as support for Russian aggression, and it will be much harder for India to credibly defend the international rule of law in its neighbourhood in the future.”
Government officials have thus far explained India’s stand as a “principled position” that is based on pushing for diplomacy to resolve the situation. In an interview to French daily Le Figaro, Mr. Jaishankar called the Ukraine crisis “the result of a complex chain of circumstances over the last 30 years”, referring to the post-Soviet rebalance, when many former Soviet states joined the NATO alliance. Russia has repeatedly protested this with the U.S. and EU, and tensions accelerated last year over the question of Ukraine’s membership of the NATO.
“The present deterioration of the security situation in Europe is a result of mismanagement or breakdown in big power relations. India should not be expected to pay the price for the failures of their policies,” observed Former Indian Ambassador to Russia Venkatesh Verma, speaking to The Hindu.
Apart from the hope that its long-standing partner Russia and its friends in the West de-escalate and resolve the situation through talks, India also has concerns over the impact of the sanctions on future energy and defence deals with Russia, as well as the inflationary price of oil that has breached the $100 a barrel mark. In addition, New Delhi’s choices are made more difficult by the fact that its two biggest adversaries- China and Pakistan, have come out in full support of Russia, as evidenced by the meeting in Moscow between President Putin and Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, and a call between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on Thursday.
While evacuating Indian civilians from the conflict zone is a priority, the government must mull all the diplomatic repercussions of the crisis, making it difficult to disengage from the situation in Europe, despite the distance.
