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Russia’s UN ambassador Vasily Nebenzya on Tuesday announced plans to advance a draft UN Security Council resolution about aid teams operating in Ukraine, which Russia invaded on February 24.
Speaking with reporters in New York, Mr Nebenzya also reiterated Russia’s calls for the “demilitarisation” and “denazification” of Ukraine, along with assurances it will never join the western military alliance Nato.
“We'll see whether the Security Council can or cannot fulfil its mission to adopt a resolution which will be on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine,” Mr Nebenzya said outside the UN chamber.
The draft would call for a “negotiated ceasefire, evacuation of civilians, the respect of international humanitarian and human rights law, condemnation of attacks against civilians … or civilian objects, safe and unhindered passage, [and] unhindered access of humanitarian assistance”, he said.
Mr Nebenzya also noted that the US military assault on Iraq in 2003 did not raise the same “level of outrage” and “hysterics” as had Moscow’s more recent “special military operation” in Ukraine.
He spoke with reporters against a backdrop of escalating violence in Ukraine, where Russian forces have pounded towns and cities with artillery and missiles as the number of refugees fleeing across borders approaches three million.
Security Council members France and Mexico had drafted their own resolution on humanitarian access to Ukraine, but on Monday said they would not put it before the chamber, where Moscow could use its veto to nix the document.
Instead, French and Mexican diplomats said they would take their draft to the 193-nation UN General Assembly, which this month voted overwhelmingly to condemn Russian aggression in Ukraine.
“There’s no veto in the General Assembly. That’s an important element to take into consideration,” said Geraldine Byrne Nason, the UN ambassador for Ireland, which holds a two-year seat on the Security Council.
She added that Ireland was “happy to engage” with Russian diplomats about the draft document on humanitarian access to Ukraine as long as her country’s “views are taken into account”.
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Police officers detain a woman in central Moscow, during a protest against Russian military action in Ukraine. AFP -
Children look at phones as people who fled the conflict in Ukraine wait outside an immigration office in Brussels, Belgium. Reuters -
Soldiers stand next to a bus with a damaged windscreen, after an attack on the Yavoriv military base, in Novoyavorivsk, Ukraine. Reuters -
A soldier waits at a hospital after the attack on the Yavoriv military base. Reuters -
A wounded soldier is transported by medical workers, at a hospital in Novoyavorivsk, after the attack on the Yavoriv military base. Reuters -
Rescuers work at the site of an accident after a bus that was carrying about 50 Ukrainian refugees overturned near Forli, central Italy. One person died in the crash. AFP -
A man wounded in the air strikes at a nearby military complex is assisted by medical staff outside Novoiavorivsk District Hospital. Getty Images -
Paramedics find low ground after an air-raid siren sounds on the outskirts of Novoiavorivsk. Getty Images -
A view of a residential building damaged during an air strike, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues, in Chernihiv, Ukraine. Reuters -
A tram damaged by shelling sits at a depot, in Kharkiv. AP -
An abandoned doll next to a car riddled with bullets in Irpin, north of Kyiv. AFP -
A Ukrainian soldier holds a Next Generation Light Anti-tank Weapon that was used to destroy a Russian armoured personal carrier in Irpin. AFP -
Residents try to strengthen the wall of a house damaged by recent shelling, on the outskirts Kyiv. AFP -
Firefighters extinguish a blaze at a house after shelling in Kyiv. AFP -
A convoy of pro-Russian troops outside the separatist-controlled town of Volnovakha in the Donetsk region, Ukraine. Reuters -
Smoke from shelling rises behind a wreath at a cemetery in Vasylkiv, south-west of Kyiv. AP -
A woman stands outside a local hospital, damaged during fighting in Volnovakha. Reuters -
People gather in the basement of a local hospital, which was damaged during clashes in Volnovakha. Reuters -
A Ukrainian soldier leaves a damaged building after shelling in Kyiv. AFP -
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. AFP -
A finance police officer boards Russian billionaire Andrey Igorevich Melnichenko's superyacht, which has been sequestered at the northern port of Trieste, Italy. Reuters -
A Russian KA-52 gunship strikes a Ukrainian military object. AFP -
Bystanders watch what appears to be Russian forces arresting Ivan Fedorov, mayor of Melitopol, a city in south-eastern Ukraine. Reuters -
Firefighters battle a blaze at a warehouse storing frozen products hit by shelling in Kvitneve, Kyiv region. Reuters -
A soldier loads the cargo hold of a chartered Boeing 747 airplane with duffle bags belonging to US soldiers, during their deployment to Europe, at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Georgia. AP -
Two young girls pray for peace in Ukraine at Lisbon's 16th century Jeronimos Monastery. AP Photo -
A volunteer of the Ukrainian Territorial Defence Forces walks on the debris of a car wash destroyed by Russian bombing in Baryshivka, east of Kyiv. AP Photo -
Volunteers pass an improvised path under a destroyed bridge as they help an elderly resident in Irpin, north-west Kyiv. AP Photo -
A woman who was evacuated from Irpin kisses a cat wrapped in a blanket at a triage point in Kyiv. AP Photo -
An explosion is seen in an apartment building after a Russian army tank fires in Mariupol. AP Photo -
A Russian army tank moves through a street on the outskirts of Mariupol. AP Photo -
Tonya Steyn, office manager and volunteer co-ordinator, sorts through medical supplies at the non-governmental organisation, SOS International headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky. AFP -
An overview of damaged buildings and burning fuel storage tanks at Antonov Airport in Hostomel, north-west of Kyiv. Maxar Technologies / AFP -
The destroyed main building of school number 25, after being bombed in Zhytomyr. EPA -
A supporter holds a sign to support Ukraine during Paris' mayor and 'Socialist party' (PS) presidential candidate's campaign meeting in Rennes, western France. AFP
