UNITED NATIONS (Times Of Ocean)- About two-thirds of all Ukrainian children have fled their homes in the six weeks since Russia invasion of Ukraine, and the UN has confirmed 142 deaths, though the actual number is likely much higher, UNICEF said Monday.
Manuel Fontaine, the United Nations Children agency’s director of emergency programs, said the displacement of 4.8 million of Ukraine’s 7.5 million children in such a short period of time is quite incredible. He had never seen it happen so quickly in 31 years of humanitarian work.
Kyiv has accused the Kremlin of drafting a bill to expedite the adoption of children taken from the occupied areas to Russia, including children with parents and relatives.
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According to Mariupol’s mayor, more than 10,000 civilians have been killed during the Russian invasion.
Austrian chancellor Karl Nehammer, the first EU leader to visit Moscow since the start of the war, described his meeting with Putin as ‘difficult’ on Monday.
Zelenskyy says Ukrainians still want peace, despite the atrocities they have witnessed during the war.
According to the World Bank, Ukraine’s economy will shrink by 45.1% this year due to the Russian invasion.
According to the Pentagon, Russia is preparing an offensive in the eastern Donbas region, moving troops and equipment there.
The CEO of Nokia told Reuters that the company is pulling out of the Russian market. Approximately 2,000 Nokia employees will be affected by the decision.
As of today, nine humanitarian corridors had been agreed upon to evacuate civilians in Ukraine, said deputy prime minister Iryna Vereshchuk. It included the besieged city of Mariupol, although civilians will have to use private cars.
Reuters reports Vereshchuk said in a statement that five of the nine evacuation corridors were in the east Ukrainian region of Luhansk, which is reportedly being heavily shelled by Russian forces.
According to Ukraine’s prosecutor’s office, more than 6,000 alleged war crimes have been committed by Russian troops in Ukraine.
According to UK defense ministry reports, fighting in eastern Ukraine will intensify over the next two to three weeks as Russia refocuses its efforts in the region. The West had previously said it expected Russia to increase the size of its forces in Donbas as it shifts troops from Kyiv and elsewhere in the coming weeks.
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 12 April 2022
Find out more about the UK government's response: https://t.co/kt8tMUxq3P
?? #StandWithUkraine ?? pic.twitter.com/vGy3y0iSjJ
— Ministry of Defence ?? (@DefenceHQ) April 12, 2022
In an attack on Mariupol, the UK foreign secretary Liz Truss said chemical agents may have been used by Russian forces. “We are working urgently with partners to verify details,” she said. “Allowing such weapons to be used would be a callous escalation in this conflict, and we will hold Putin and his regime accountable.”
Reports that Russian forces may have used chemical agents in an attack on the people of Mariupol. We are working urgently with partners to verify details.
Any use of such weapons would be a callous escalation in this conflict and we will hold Putin and his regime to account.
— Liz Truss (@trussliz) April 11, 2022
In a statement, Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby addressed the unconfirmed reports of a chemical weapons attack in Mariupol.
According to social media reports, Russian forces deployed a potential chemical munition in Mariupol, Ukraine, John Kirby said. At this time, we cannot confirm these reports and will continue to monitor the situation closely. “Whether or not these reports are true, they reflect our concerns that Russia may use a variety of riot control agents, including tear gas mixed with chemical agents, in Ukraine.”