UN refugee chief: Russia violating principles of child protection in Ukraine
Russia is violating the “fundamental principles of child protection” in wartime by giving Ukrainian children Russian passports and putting them up for adoption, the UN’s refugee agency (UNHCR) chief told Reuters in an interview.
Speaking at the UNHCR offices in Kyiv following a six-day tour of the country, Filippo Grandi said Ukraine’s president had asked his agency to “do more” to help children from occupied regions to whom this was happening.
“Giving them nationality or having them adopted goes against the fundamental principles of child protection in situations of war,” Grandi said. “This is something that is happening in Russia and must not happen,” he added.
Grandi said his agency was unable to estimate the number of children who had been given passports or put up for adoption, as access in Russia was extremely limited.
“We are seeking access all the time, and access has been rather rare, sporadic and not unfettered, if you see what I mean.”
Russia has said accusations Ukrainian children have been abducted are false. “We categorically reject unfounded allegations that the Russian authorities are kidnapping children,” Russian diplomat at the United Nations Dmitry Polyansky said in July.
Key events
Tass is reporting that the occupied Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson are to be ordered to use Moscow time instead of Kyiv time. It writes:
According to the official Telegram channel of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation “Step-by-step synchronisation of Russian legislation continues after the admission of four new entities to it. In the near future, the Dontesk People’s Republic, Luhansk People’s Republic, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions will become part of the second time zone, where Moscow time operates,” the message says. The relevant bill has already been submitted to the government of the Russian Federation.
“Recall that earlier all four regions lived according to Kyiv time, UTC + 2 (one hour less than in Moscow) and UTC + 3 in the summer. Currently, Moscow time de facto operates in the new regions, and the new bill fixes this.
The Kremlin said on Friday that US President Joe Biden had the key to end the conflict in Ukraine by directing Kyiv to settle, but that Washington had so far not been willing to use it.
“The key to the Kyiv regime is largely in the hands of Washington,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters in his usual daily briefing.
“Now we see that the current White House leader … does not want to use this key. On the contrary, he chooses the path of further pumping weapons into Ukraine,” Reuters reports he added.
Here are some images of people ice fishing in Ukraine’s occupied region of Luhansk, which the Russian Federation claims to have annexed.
Ukraine’s state broadcaster Suspilne has reported on the latest energy situation. It writes on its official Telegram channel:
Currently, ten regions of Ukraine are already using emergency power outages due to a power shortage in the network after yesterday’s Russian shelling, and the restoration of damaged facilities is ongoing.
Ukraine would not rule out boycotting the Olympic Games if Russian and Belarusian athletes are allowed to compete in the Paris 2024 Games, its sports minister said.
Plans by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to look at ways for those athletes to return to international competition would be opposed, the minister, Vadim Guttsait, said on social media late on Thursday, Reuters reports.
“Our position is unchanged: as long as there is a war in Ukraine, Russian and Belarusian athletes should not be in international competitions,” Guttsait wrote on his Facebook page.
“Work is currently underway on further possible steps and first steps to continue sanctions and prevent Russians and Belarusians from international competitions,” he said.
“If we are not heard, I do not rule out the possibility that we will boycott and refuse participation in the Olympics.”
Volodymyr Zelenskiy has posted a message to his official Telegram channel on Holocaust Memorial day. 27 January marks the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. In the message, Ukraine’s president writes:
Today, as always, Ukraine honors the memory of millions of victims of the Holocaust.
We know and remember that indifference kills along with hatred. Indifference and hatred are always capable of creating evil together only.
That is why it is so important that everyone who values life should show determination when it comes to saving those whom hatred seeks to destroy.
Here are some of the latest images to be sent to us from Ukraine over the news wires.
Stefano Sannino, secretary general of the European Union’s European external action service, has defended German and US provisions of military equipment to Ukraine, and criticised Russia’s President Vladimir Putin for waging a war on Nato and the west.
Associated Press report that Sannino, speaking at a news conference in Tokyo as part of an Asia-Pacific tour, said Putin had “moved from a concept of special operation to a concept now of a war against Nato and the west.”
He said German and US tank provisions are meant to help Ukrainians defend themselves in the war, rather than making them attackers.
“I think that this latest development in terms of armed supply is just an evolution of the situation and of the way Russia started moving the war into a different stage,” Sannino said. He added that Russia is making “indiscriminate attacks” on civilians and cities and no longer military targets.
The EU is not moving the war into a different stage but is “just giving the possibility of saving lives and allowing the Ukrainians to defend from these barbaric attacks,” Sannino said.
Hungary will veto EU sanctions on Russian on nuclear energy
Hungary will veto any European Union sanctions against Russia affecting nuclear energy, the prime minister, Viktor Orbán, told state radio on Friday.
Ukraine has called on the 27-nation EU to include Russian state nuclear energy company Rosatom in sanctions but Hungary, which has a Russian-built nuclear plant it plans to expand with Rosatom, has blocked that.
Reuters reports that Orbán reiterated in an interview that sanctions on nuclear energy “must obviously be vetoed”.
“We will not allow the plan to include nuclear energy into the sanctions be implemented,” the Hungarian premier said. “This is out of the question.”
Ukraine’s state broadcaster Suspilne reports that the night passed in Sumy region without any shelling.
The UK’s ministry of defence has published its latest intelligence briefing on how it sees the situation in Ukraine. It casts doubt on recent Russian claims of military advances in Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk, writing:
Over the last six days, Russian online commentators have claimed Russian forces have made significant advances, breaking through Ukrainian defences in two areas: in Zaporizhzhia Oblast near Orikiv, and 100km to the east, in Donetsk Oblast, near Vuhledar.
Russian units have probably conducted local, probing attacks near Orikiv and Vuhledar, but it is highly unlikely that Russia has actually achieved any substantive advances.
There is a realistic possibility that Russian military sources are deliberately spreading misinformation in an effort to imply that the Russian operation is sustaining momentum.
The claim is presented on social media without any supporting evidence being published.
Oleskandr Musiyenko, head of the Military and Strategic Research Centre of Ukraine, says Russia is sending in more reinforcements to block Ukrainian advances.
“They are mostly sending infantry and artillery forces into battle, made up mainly of conscripts. But they do not have the level of artillery and tank support they had on Feb. 24,” Musiyenko said in an interview with Ukrainian television.
“They have fewer resources. They are relying on the numerical superiority of their troops.”
Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese on Friday reiterated Australian support for Ukraine and criticised supporters of Russia’s invasion after a video emerged showing Novak Djokovic’s father posing at the Australian Open with fans holding Russian flags, Reuters reports.
Police questioned four fans seen with “inappropriate flags and symbols” after a quarter-final match on Wednesday between Russia’s Andrey Rublev and favourite Djokovic, organisers Tennis Australia said.
“I will make this point, that Australia stands with the people of Ukraine. That is Australia’s position and Australia is unequivocal in our support for the rule of international law,” Albanese told a news conference after a reporter asked if Djokovic’s father, Srdjan, should be deported after he was seen posing for pictures with fans holding Russian flags.
“We do not want to see any support given to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, that is having a devastating impact on the people of Ukraine.”
Albanese did not respond directly to the question about whether Srdjan Djokovic should be deported.
Djokovic’s father could not be reached for comment by Reuters.
An adviser to president Zelenskiy has issued a warning to fellow Ukrainian officials which appears to be related to the ongoing drive to stamp out corruption.
More than a dozen Ukrainian officials have been removed this week after a series of scandals and graft allegations. Political analysts said Zelenskiy needs to show western partners and war-weary Ukrainians that he is serious about punishing misrule.
“Everyone should understand their level of responsibility to the country and nation during the war. Whoever forgets about it receives a quick reaction,” said Andriy Yermak, head of Zelenskiy’s office.
“This will happen to everyone who allows themselves to forget (their duties), regardless of names and offices,” Yermak wrote on Twitter.
Among the most high-profile cases was that of a deputy defence minister who resigned following a report, which he denied, that his ministry paid inflated prices to feed troops.
A presidential adviser who had been called out by local media for driving flashy cars also quit, as did a senior prosecutor who Ukrainian media reported had gone on holiday to Marbella in Spain, flouting martial law.
Explosions heard near Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station during Thursday’s strikes, says UN nuclear agency
Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), who visited Ukraine last week, said IAEA monitors reported powerful explosions near Ukraine’s Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station on Thursday and renewed calls for a security zone around the plant.
But Renat Karchaa, an adviser to the head of Rosenergoatom, the company operating Russia’s nuclear plants, said the comments were unfounded and called it a “provocation”.
Russia has in the past reacted to Ukrainian successes with massed airstrikes that left millions without light, heat or water.
On Thursday, it appeared to follow that pattern. Prime minister Denys Shmyhal said Russia’s attacks targeted energy plants.
“I held an urgent meeting today about the energy situation – about the shortages that are occurring and repair work after the terrorists’ strikes. Repair teams are working in those sites,” Zelenskiy said on Thursday.
The Kremlin said it saw the promised delivery of western tanks as evidence of growing “direct involvement” of the United States and Europe in the 11-month-old war, something both deny.
Zelenskiy calls for further sanctions and more weapons after latest strikes
In his nightly address following Thursday’s deadly missile strikes across, Zelenskiy called for further sanctions on Russia and for allies to supply Ukraine with more weapons.
Ukrainian civilians raced for cover on Thursday as Russia fired a barrage of missiles and drones across the country, killing at least 11 people, a day after Kyiv won pledges of battlefield tanks to combat Moscow’s invasion from western countries.
Zelenskiy said:
This Russian aggression can and should be stopped only with adequate weapons. The terrorist state will not understand anything else. Weapons on the battlefield. Weapons that protect our skies.
New sanctions against Russia, i.e. political and economic weapons. And legal weapons – we need to work even harder to establish a tribunal for the crime of Russian aggression against Ukraine.
Welcome and summary
Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the war in Ukraine. I’m Helen Sullivan and I’ll be bringing you the latest developments as they happen.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has called for further sanctions on Russia and more weapons for Ukraine, after Russian strikes on Thursday left 11 dead and 11 wounded.
We’ll have more from Zelenskiy’s latest address shortly. In the meantime here are the other key recent developments:
-
Ukrainian civilians raced for cover on Thursday as Russia fired a barrage of missiles and drones across the country, killing at least 11 people, a day after Kyiv won pledges of battlefield tanks to combat Moscow’s invasion from western countries.
-
Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych criticised the International Olympic Committee on Thursday for considering allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes to return to international competitions.
-
Russia’s finance ministry has proposed scrapping liquidity restrictions for spending on “anti-crisis” investments from its national wealth fund (NWF), citing the need to support key sectors amid challenging geopolitical conditions.
-
The UK hopes the Challenger 2 tanks it is supplying to Ukraine will arrive in the country at the end of March, defence department minister Alex Chalk said on Thursday.
-
Russian authorities designated the independent news outlet Meduza an “undesirable organisation” on Thursday, effectively outlawing the site from operating in Russia and banning any Russian from cooperating with Meduza or its journalists.
-
The Ukrainian central bank’s foreign currency reserves will stand at about $30bn at the end of January, Yuri Heletiy, the deputy governor told reporters on Thursday, according to Reuters.
-
The arrest of a high-ranking Ukrainian intelligence agent accused of spying for Russia has highlighted the urgent need for a cleanout of the country’s key security service, a former deputy head of the agency has said.
Discussion about this post