Tag: Ukraine

Russia ready for peace talks with Ukraine– Putin

Russian president, Vladimir Putin has revealed that he’s open for peace talks with Ukraine to end the war, but only if Kyiv accepts ‘new territorial realities’.

The Kremlin claims it has annexed the Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions despite not controlling them in their entirety.

The Kremlin said on Thursday January 5, that Putin told Erdogan peace talks are possible, but only if Ukraine accepts that territories occupied by Moscow as Russian.

‘Putin again confirmed Russia’s openness to serious dialogue on the condition of Kyiv authorities fulfilling the well-known and repeatedly voiced requirements of taking into account the new territorial realities,’ the Kremlin said in a statement.

Erdogan had called for peace talks in the phone call with Putin, his office said earlier.

‘The Russian side emphasised the destructive role of Western states, pumping the Kyiv regime with weapons and military equipment, providing it with operational information and targets,’ the statement from the Kremlin added.

This is not the first time Putin has expressed that he is ready for peace talks under the conditions set out by Moscow.

On Christmas Day, in an interview with state television about the war in Ukraine, Putin said that Russia is ‘prepared to negotiate some acceptable outcomes’.

The leaders also discussed the implementation of a landmark grain deal, brokered by the UN with the help of Turkey, to unblock Ukrainian grain.

The Kremlin said the pair discussed ‘the unblocking of food and fertiliser supplies from Russia’ and the need for ‘the removal of all barriers to Russian exports.’

05/01/2023
Zelensky warns of more Russian attacks before 2023

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned the people of his country of further Russian attacks in the few remaining days of 2022.

“We must be aware that our enemy will try to make this time dark and difficult for us,” he said in his daily video address on Sunday evening.

He said Russia had lost everything it could lose this year, adding: “But it is trying to compensate for its losses with the cunning of its propagandists, after the missile attacks on our country, on our energy sector.

“I know that darkness will not prevent us from leading the occupiers to their new defeats.

“But we must be prepared for any scenario,” he continued.

Zelensky directed sharp words at the Russian military, which killed at least 16 people and wounded another 64 with artillery attacks in Kherson in the south of the country on Saturday.

“Brutes,” he said. “We will find every murderer.”

Russia announced in the autumn that it was annexing Kherson, before Ukrainian forces retook the city as Russian troops retreated to the other side of the Dnipro river.

From there they have bombarded the city with artillery, according to Ukrainian sources.

Russian officers were injured after an attack on a Russian command post in the Kherson region, according to the Ukrainian armed forces on Sunday.

It was unclear how many had died but at least 70 officers were injured after Kiev’s forces attacked during a meeting in the village of Zabaryne, the army said on Sunday.

Ukrainian fighters have attacked Russian command centres and command posts repeatedly since the start of the invasion, locating them by monitoring radio traffic or the mobile phone network.

Several senior Russian officers have died in similar attacks.

Volodymyr Saldo, the governor of the region appointed by Russia, rejected the Ukrainian allegations, insisting that it was Ukrainian forces who were bombarding the city and accusing them of terrorism.

“This is repulsive provocation with the apparent aim of attributing blame to the Russian forces,” he said.

He insisted that the nature of the destruction indicated artillery fire from Ukrainian-held territory to the north and north-west of the city.

The Kremlin insists that the entire Kherson region is Russian territory and will not be surrendered.

Meanwhile as Moscow’s forces seek to overpower the southern region, they are also battling for control of eastern Ukraine, with heavy clashes over the town of Bakhmut.

However, Kiev’s fighters inflicted “heavy losses” on the invaders there, according to a Ukrainian military spokesperson.

At least 50 Russian soldiers have been killed and another 80 wounded since Saturday alone, according to Serhii Chervatko, spokesperson for the Ukrainian Army Group East.

The figures could not be independently verified.

Bakhmut is seen as a critical point along the front in eastern Ukraine, as any breakthrough here would allow Russian troops to advance deep behind Ukrainian lines. Ukrainian fighters have transformed the town into a fortress in their attempts to defend it.

The head of administration of the Luhansk region, Serhii Haidai, said that alongside regular Russian troops, Wagner mercenaries and Chechen fighters sent by the republic’s leader Ramzan Kadyrov had failed in their attacks on Bakhmut.

“They want to show the bunker grandpa (Russian President Vladimir Putin) what they can do,” he said on Telegram, adding: “But so far they are only losing thousands of soldiers who will remain there forever.”

In spite of Putin’s repeated hints at his willingness to talk in the Ukraine war, Kiev thinks nothing of the Russian president’s words.

“Russia does not want negotiations and is trying to evade responsibility (for the War).

“This is obvious, so we are moving towards a tribunal,” Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to Zelensky, tweeted on Sunday.

Kiev thinks that Russia’s political and military leadership should stand trial for the war before an international tribunal modelled on the Nuremberg trials of the Nazis in World War II.

“Russia alone attacked Ukraine and is killing its citizens,” Podolyak further wrote. There are no other “sides, motives or geopolitics,” he added.

26/12/2022
Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy named Time’s 2022 Person of the Year

44-year-old Ukranian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the spirit of Ukraine have been named Time’s 2022 Person of the Year.

Zelenskyy has been called a hero by many in his country and abroad, and over the last year, established himself as a symbol of defiance and democracy while he continues to lead the nation through Russia’s unprovoked attacks on Ukraine.

Time Editor-in-Chief Edward Felsenthal announced the magazine’s choice exclusively Wednesday, Dec. 7, saying that Zelenskyy has kept the world’s attention on Ukraine.

“Whether one looks at this story of Ukraine with a sense of hope or a sense of fear, and the story is, of course, not fully written yet … Zelenskyy has really galvanized the world in a way we haven’t seen in decades,” Felsenthal said.

In an essay revealing Zelenskyy as 2022 Person of the Year, Time reporter Simon Shuster wrote: “Zelenskyy’s success as a wartime leader has relied on the fact that courage is contagious. It spread through Ukraine’s political leadership in the first days of the invasion, as everyone realized the President had stuck around.”

Russian forces invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, and Zelenskyy refused to leave Kyiv, instead staying on the ground and supporting the people of his country. “The fight is here; I need ammunition, not a ride,” Zelenskyy told the U.S., according to a tweet shared by the Ukrainian embassy of Britain on Feb. 26.

The war in Ukraine has continued for nearly 10 months with no end in sight. Zelenskyy has made risky visits to support Ukrainian soldiers and the country at large, including a trip to the frontlines of the Donbas region in June, and celebrating with residents of the city of Kherson after Russian troops withdrew in November.

Zelenskyy told the magazine that his security was against his visit to Kherson because of the poor shape the Russians left the city in, as well as the possibility that they left behind agents and saboteurs who could harm him. But the answer as to why he did it was simple: “It’s the people.”

After visiting the liberated city of Kherson, Zelenskyy in his private carriage as he heads back to Kyiv.Photograph by Maxim Dondyuk for TIME
“My security was 100% against it,” Zelenskyy told Time during the trip to Kherson. “They took it hard. They can’t control practically anything in a region that has just been de-occupied. So it’s a big risk, and, on my part, a bit reckless.”

But Zelenskyy’s willingness to stay has inspired Ukrainians to take up arms in the fight against Russia.

“Zelenskyy gives me confidence,” a 35-year-old woman identified as Natasha in Ukraine told TODAY. “For me, Zelenskyy is the real fighter of democracy worldwide and for the peaceful future of our children and our world.”

07/12/2022
Russia resumes Ukraine grain export deal after suspension

Russia has ended its suspension of an agreement allowing the export of grain via Ukraine’s Black Sea ports, the Defence Ministry in Moscow says.

With the help of Turkish mediation, Ukraine promised not to use the sea corridor for hostilities against Russia, the ministry said.

The deal to export grain was suspended by the Kremlin on Saturday after a vessel belonging to
its Black Sea Fleet was damaged in a Ukrainian drone strike.

Ukraine is a key global supplier of grain.

Moscow has been accused of exacerbating a global food crisis, especially in developing countries,
by blocking Ukrainian exports.

02/11/2022
Russia Ukraine War: Nigeria ‘ll act in the framework of UN – Minister

*Debunks claims of Nigeria sanctioning Russia

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama has debunked where it was alleged that the minister in an interview said Nigeria was ready to impose sanctions on Russia.

According to a statement signed by Sarah Sanda, SA Media to Minister of Foreign Affairs, and dated Tuesday, 2nd March, 2022 in Abuja, averred that the Minister clearly said, Nigeria would act in the framework of the UN, and if there was a UN resolution, Nigeria would be obliged, but would not be because Russia has a veto power.

See the detailed statement below:

“The attention of the Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs Geoffrey Onyeama has been drawn to an online publication where he was reported to have said in an interview that Nigeria was ready to impose sanctions on Russia for Invading Ukraine.

The Minister clearly said, “We would act in the framework of the UN, and if there was a UN Resolution, we would be obliged, but there would not be because Russia has a veto power.

For clarity, that portion of the interview is reproduced below:

Several countries have imposed sanctions on Russia. Is Nigeria making any practical move in that direction?

This is going to be a collective action. The UN has to act, and we are going to act and engage within the framework of the United Nations. So if UN, for instance, adopts and imposes sanctions on Russia, we will comply with UN resolutions on any matter.

How detrimental would that be to our investments concerned with Russia?
Certainly, it will have an impact. I’m not sure that we have huge investments in Russia. It’s not a country in which we have huge investments. We have good relations with Russia, but as I said, Russians vetoed the Security Council. They are chairing the Security Council. So it’s gone to the General Assembly.

Can we bear the anger of Moscow based on our relationship, Nigeria we go the way UN goes?

You won’t have sanctions because Russia has the veto power in the Security Council, so you will not have a situation when the Security Council is going to accept to impose sanctions on Russia, because Russia has the veto power and is chairing the Security Council.”

03/03/2022
Russia-Ukraine crisis: Nigeria Catholic Bishop expresses fear of third world war

His Grace Most Rev. Dr. Mathew Manoso Ndagoso

..Calls for serious prayers

By Achadu Gabriel, Kaduna

Archbishop of Kaduna diocese His Grace most Rev. Dr. Mathew Manoso Ndagoso has expressed serious fear that the Russia and Ukraine crises may lead to third world war if prolonged.

The Bishop made the disclosure in an interview after commissioning of St. Charles school built by St. Charles Lwanga Catholic Church at Angwan Sunday in Kaduna state.

Bishop Ndagoso expressed dismay over the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, describing the situation as an most unfortunate and frightening.

“There are fears that if this war prolonged, can lead to third world war, and only God knows what will happen with the kinds of sophisticated weapons available in the world today, Nuclear weapons that can go thousands meters away.

“We can only hope and pray that It doesn’t escalate, although it’s not too late to find diplomatic solution because nobody is safe anywhere including Nigeria here. If America and others who are also members of NATO, get involved, only God knows what will happen, if war of this nature is sustained. I encourage everybody to pray in Catholics church.

“Since the revolution of 1917, when Russia was Russia, our lady gave a message that we should pray for the conversion of Russia, and you know it worked.

“30 years ago, Soviet Union collapsed, the world experienced a beat of cold war, it ended. We don’t want another cold war and therefore we turn to our mother Mary again.

Pray the rosary, the wonder of what happened that time will happen again. lt started with Russian invasion of Ukraine”, he noted.

02/03/2022
More than 200 civilians killed – Ukraine official

Ukrainian government ombudsman Lyudmyla Denysova says more than 210 Ukrainian civilians have been killed and more than 1,100 wounded in Russia’s invasion.

“With unseen cruelty, the enemy is destroying residential buildings, hospitals, kindergartens and schools, taking away the right to live from the sons and daughters of Ukrainian land, including children,” she said in a social media post.

Denysova gave examples of some of the civilian deaths, including a child killed in the shelling of a hospital in Kyiv, and a woman killed after a missile hit a residential building in Kharkiv.

She called for Russia to be “punished severely for these crimes”.

“Ukraine is noting down all these facts and will pass them on to the military tribunal in The Hague,” she said.

27/02/2022
Nigerians in Ukraine: FG reaching out to IOM, others to assist stranded Nigerians

As war between Russia and Ukraine continues, the Federal Government has said it is reaching out authorities and the International Organization for Migration to assist stranded Nigerians .

The Minister of Foreign Affairs made this known in his Twitter handle.

“We understand how difficult things are at the border. We are reaching high authorities in those countries and the International Organization for Migration to assist our people suffering at the borders.”

The minister also said he spoke on the phone with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba.

He expressed sympathy for the needless loss of life and destruction and reiterated Nigeria’s recognition of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

West unleashes SWIFT bans, more crushing penalties on Russia

The United States and European nations agreed Saturday to impose the most potentially crippling financial penalties yet on Russia over its unrelenting invasion of Ukraine, going after the central bank reserves that underpin the Russian economy and severing some Russian banks from a vital global financial network.

The decision, announced as Ukrainian forces battled Saturday to hold Russian forces back from Ukraine’s capital and residents sheltered in subway tunnels, basements and underground garages, has potential to spread the pain of Western retaliation for President Vladimir Putin’s invasion to ordinary Russians far more than previous rounds of penalties.

“Putin embarked on a path aiming to destroy Ukraine, but what he is also doing, in fact, is destroying the future of his own country,” EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.

Russian troops enter Kharkov

As Russian troops enter Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second city, attacks are also continuing around Ukraine’s capital Kyiv.

Images shared online showed flames and plumes of smoke after Russian missile strikes hit near the city overnight.

One strike set an oil terminal ablaze in the town of Vasylkiv, south-west of the capital.

“The enemy wants to destroy everything,” said the town’s mayor, Natalia Balasinovich. Authorities in Kyiv have ordered citizens to stay indoors until Monday morning as Russian forces close in on the city.

All those venturing out “will be considered members of sabotage groups of the enemy”, they warned.

Thousands of people have been sleeping in bomb shelters and metro stations, while others have taken guns distributed by authorities to help defend the city.

27/02/2022
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine: End of peace, start of World War III?

By Uchenna Ekwo

In a speech that launched the invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned western countries and the United States not to get involved in the war and reminded the world that Russia has nuclear weapons.

The United States President, Joe Biden responded in a speech to Americans and described Putin ’s decision to invade Ukraine – an independent country as a flagrant violation of international law. “Putin is the aggressor. Putin chose this war, and now he and his country will bear the consequences,” Biden said in a televised address to fellow citizens and the world.

The reaction of other world leaders was swift. Boris Johnson of the United Kingdom said: “Putin has chosen a path of bloodshed and destruction …The UK and our allies will respond decisively.” The German Chancellor Olaf Scholz insists “Russian attack on Ukraine is a blatant violation of international law …and a dark day for Europe. Similar denunciations came from Australian, Japanese leaders and other world leaders.

This is not the first time a country is invading another country with all the contrived reasons. The United States invaded Iraq in 2003 because of Iraq’s unproven possession of weapons of mass destruction. The opposition to the war was global just like the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The difference with Russia’s expansionist adventure and Putin’s imperialist ambition in Ukraine is that the opposition to the war by major global powers is likely going to launch the third world war. After nearly eight decades of relative peace, this is the first time the world’s nuclear powers will likely confront each other. When Putin reminds the world, his got country got a nuclear weapon and President Biden mobilized the support every member of North Atlantic Treaty Organization – NATO, the world unfortunately is in the cusp of another world war. Hear Biden: “There is no doubt, no doubt that the United States and every NATO ally will meet our Article Five commitments, which says an attack on one is an attack on all.”

In the fog of war, it is almost certain that Putin’s forces will violate Article five of NATO not intentionally but as war’s collateral damage. In the event of Russian missiles hitting Ukraine’s neighbors such as Latvia, Poland, Lithuania, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, and others that are NATO members, the 27 other NATO members will invoke Article five and thereby attack Russia. A scenario where NATO confronts Russia’s aggression will mark the end of global peace that has endured since the end of the second world war and the formation of the United Nations. With Putin’s determination to recreate the old Soviet Union and NATO’s opposition to the return to the old global order, the stage is set for open hostility.

The fractures at the United Nations make the looming world war more imminent. The five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council – US, UK, France, Russia, and China are divided on the war in Ukraine – with democratic governments of US, UK, and France on one side and autocratic governments of Russia and China on the other side. The five permanent members have veto authority and make the resolution of any stalemate at the UN impossible. Can the UN – an essentially a peace- supporting organization endorse war against Russian aggression? Either China or Russia will immediately veto such a resolution or any anti Russia resolution.

Already, the Ukraine’s U.N. Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya has exposed a hole in the UN Charter that has the potential to dismantle the global body formed after the second world war. The UN Charter was never amended after the USSR broke up. It still references the Soviet Union as one of the permanent members of the UN Security Council. The Russian Federation just ascended to that seat after 1991. With Ukraine’s renewed demand for the documents (that don’t exist) that show that the Russian Federation was welcomed to the body by the UNSC and General Assembly, what becomes the future of the veto-wielding members? According to Ukraine, those documents don’t exist because the UN legal counsel made the call.

Is it possible that Ukraine’s effort to upend Russia’s membership of the UN veto club? While it may not work, it is
fascinating to see how the ongoing war in Ukraine could unravel the present international order. Should hostilities in
Ukraine ensnare other world powers as analysts predict, the world might be headed for complete restructuring
between democracy and authoritarianism. Of late the world has seen the forces of division and authoritarianism mount an intense assault on the ideals of democracy, rule of law, freedom of expression, and self-determination.

Why is Africa silent in the ongoing Ukraine crisis? Could a restructured United Nations recognize any African
country to be a permanent member of the security council? Why is Europe often the theater of wars that engulf the
entire world (World war I and II started in Europe)? Is the third world war going to start with the Ukraine impasse?
While there are no clear answers to these questions, what’s clear is that Putin’s delusional grandeur like Adolf Hitler
has once more put the future of peace in the most uncertain terms.

*Dr. Ekwo is the President, Center for Media and Peace Initiatives, New York. Follow him on Twitter @UcheEkwo

27/02/2022
Reps urge FG to evacuate Nigerian students from Ukraine

The House of Representatives on Thursday called for the urgent evacuation of Nigerian students in Ukraine following the worsening conflict with Russia.

The Leader of the House, Alhassan Doguwa, and the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Buba Yakub, were mandated to liaise with the Ministry Foreign Affairs, the Nigeria Intelligence Agency (NIA) to bring the students back.

Doguwa and Yakub were directed to ensure they travel to Ukraine on Friday and come back with as many Nigerians students as possible by Monday.

The House resolved that if nothing comes of this arrangement, then it would work with local airline, Air Peace, to see how the students can be brought home in a manner that would be devoid of bureaucracy and bottlenecks.

The House mandated the Committees on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora in conjunction with the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs to ascertain the exact figures of Nigerians affected by this conflict and put in place a comprehensive monitoring, evaluation and evaluation mechanism.

The Committees on Foreign Affairs and Legislative Compliance were mandated to ensure compliance.

These followed the adoption of a motion of urgent importance to evacuate Nigerian students in Ukraine moved by Hon Ahmed Munir.

The House noted that there is a worsening conflict between Russia and Ukraine of which the situation is deteriorating by the hour.

It also noted that Nigeria has a significant number of undergraduate and graduate students currently studying in Ukraine of which a portion are under government scholarships.

This is in addition to a number of Nigerian diplomats and their families in the Kiev embassy and Nigerian expatriates across Ukraine, the House noted.

It was concerned that if a strategic plan is not put in place to secure and provide safe passage for Nigerian citizens, they may be trapped or worse, harmed.

24/02/2022