Amid continued Russian attacks from multiple directions, terrified families have been forced to seek shelter underground in Ukraine, including the capital Kyiv and other cities, as Vladimir Putin’s war tested the international system.
Major attacks in Kyiv forced people including families and children to seek shelters in subways. More than 160,000 civilians were reported to have left the country to seek refuge in neighboring East European countries.
The UN says three million people in Ukraine are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance and has allocated $20 million in immediate response to the unfolding crisis.
Several media reports Sunday said the Ukraine army has confronted the Russian forces and slowed down their advance to the capital.
Meanwhile, the United States and European countries including Germany vowed to supply weapons to Ukraine.
In Washington, President Joe Biden has pledged strict sanctions against Moscow and President Putin. He has ruled out American troops’ ground involvement in the war but vowed to hold Putin accountable for his actions.
At the United Nations, Secretary-General António Guterres said the latest developments in Ukraine are testing “the entire international system.”
“We must pass this test,” he underscored.
“Our world is facing the biggest global peace and security crisis in recent years – certainly in my tenure as Secretary-General,” he said.
“The use of force by one country against another is “the repudiation of the principles that every country has committed to uphold,” which applied to the military offensive in Ukraine, Guterres insisted.
“It is wrong. It is against the Charter. It is unacceptable. But it is not irreversible.”
Meanwhile, Russia has veoted a UN Security Council resolution condemning Moscow’s invasion of the neighboring country.
Two days since Russia launched military operations inside Ukraine, the UN rights office, OHCHR, confirmed that well over 100 civilians have already been killed.
“We’ve received reports of at least 127 civilian casualties; this includes 25 killed and 102 injured in Ukraine, caused by shelling and airstrikes…this is very likely to be an underestimate,” Ravina Shamdasani, OHCHR spokesperson, said in Geneva.
Communities are already in need of aid relief, too, UN humanitarians warned.
“When we look at shortages, we’re talking about fuel, which has been well reported in the media, we’re talking about cash, because often in humanitarian situations, cash assistance would be our first support to families, so obviously there’s been a drawdown on banks,” UNICEF’s Afshan Khan said.
Putin has asked Ukrainian forces to lay down arms, and says he is trying to save Ukraine from Neonazis. For weeks before ordering a military operation, Putin had demanded that West give guarantees that it would not take in Ukraine as its member.
