All eyes are on Türkiye as it hosts top diplomats of Ukraine and Russia for direct talks between them even as Russia steps up its offensive against Ukraine.
Thursday, March 10, 2022
Kiev accuses Moscow of genocide after bombing of children’s hospital
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Russia of carrying out genocide after Ukrainian officials said Russian aircraft bombed a children’s hospital on Wednesday, burying patients in rubble despite a ceasefire deal for people to flee the besieged city of Mariupol.
The attack, which authorities said injured women in labour and left children in the wreckage, underscored US warnings that the biggest assault on a European state since 1945 could become increasingly attritional after Russia’s early failures.
The White House condemned the hospital bombing as a “barbaric use of military force to go after innocent civilians”.
House approves ban on Russian oil to US, bolstering Biden
The House overwhelmingly approved legislation that would ban Russian oil imports to the United States, an effort to put into law the restrictions announced by President Joe Biden in response to the escalating war in Ukraine.
Going further than Biden’s import ban on Russian oil, the bill making its way through Congress would also encourage a review of Russia’s status in the World Trade Organization and signal US support for sanctions on Russian officials over human rights violations, as the US works to economically isolate Moscow.
Lawmakers in both parties have been eager to act, willing to risk higher gas prices at home in order to support Ukraine with a show of US bipartisanship. The legislation was approved Wednesday, 414-17, and now goes to the Senate.
Germany in a quandary over Russian energy
Germany has rejected a complete ban on Russian gas and oil imports over Russia invading Ukraine, but voices are growing louder for Berlin to ditch its economic imperative to take a moral stand.
After the United States and Britain imposed a ban on Russian oil, pressure has mounted on German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government and other G7 members to follow suit.
A group of climate activists, academics, authors and scientists published an open letter to the German government on Wednesday demanding a complete ban on Russian energy, reasoning that “we are all financing this war”.
UN delegation discusses humanitarian situation in Ukraine with Russian side
Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin hosted a UN delegation to discuss the humanitarian situation in Ukraine.
The delegation, led by Ramesh Rajasingham, acting assistant secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and deputy emergency relief coordinator at the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), had conversations on the humanitarian aspects of the situation in Ukraine as well as in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Moscow officially recognised Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states, followed by the start of a military operation in Ukraine on February 24.
US House votes to rush $13.6 billion to Ukraine
US lawmakers have advanced aid totalling almost $14 billion for war-torn Ukraine as part of a giant blueprint to fund federal agencies and avoid a damaging government shutdown at home.
“The brave, freedom-loving people of Ukraine and our allies in the region will receive urgently needed investments to fight Vladimir Putin and the Russians’ illegal and immoral invasion,” Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a joint statement.
The move comes in response to Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s invasion, which is entering its third week.
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Source: TRTWorld and agencies
Live blog: Kiev accuses Moscow of genocide after children’s hospital bombed
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