| Top of the Agenda Russian Missiles Strike Across Ukraine Following Bridge Attack Russia launched (FT) its most extensive air strikes on Ukraine in months after a Russian bridge was bombed over the weekend. At least ten people were killed across Ukraine, including at least five people in the capital, Kyiv. Russian President Vladimir Putin called the strikes a retaliation for Ukraine’s “terrorist attack” on a bridge linking Russia to Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula Moscow annexed in 2014. Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the bridge attack. The Russian strikes hit at least ten Ukrainian cities, targeting infrastructure and civilian areas. North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called the attacks (Reuters) “horrific and indiscriminate.” Meanwhile, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said he ordered troops to deploy (Reuters) alongside Russian fighters near Ukraine. |
Al Jazeera English – 7/10/2022
Is the Ukraine war at a turning point? The Ukrainian army has been gaining territory fast while in Russia we’ve seen more unease about how the war is going — even on state TV. #AJStartHere with Sandra Gathmann explains the recent news from Ukraine and Russia.
| Top of the Agenda Human Rights Advocates From Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine Win Nobel Peace Prize This year’s Nobel Peace Prize was awarded (AP) to jailed Belarusian rights activist Ales Bialiatski, the Russian rights group Memorial, and the Ukrainian rights group Center for Civil Liberties. Norwegian Nobel Committee Chair Berit Reiss-Andersen celebrated their work toward anti-militarism, the rule of law, and “peace and fraternity between nations.” Bialiatski founded the human rights organization Viasna and was jailed without trial following his participation in the 2020 protests against the reelection of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. A Russian court shut down Memorial in December, and the Center for Civil Liberties has worked to document Russian war crimes against Ukrainian civilians. While Reiss-Andersen said the prize is not intended to send a message to Russian President Vladimir Putin, it is seen as an implicit rebuke of Russia’s continued onslaught on Ukraine (Reuters). |
| Top of the Agenda OPEC+ Weighs Deep Supply Cuts Despite U.S. Concerns The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and oil producers such as Russia are considering a sizable cut (NYT) in their oil output as they meet in Vienna today. The bloc and its allies, a grouping known as OPEC+, could cut production by two million barrels per day, or about 2 percent of global supply. The United States has lobbied Saudi Arabia against such a measure. Also today, European Union (EU) countries agreed (Reuters, AFP) to impose a price cap on Russian oil sales to third countries as part of a new sanctions package on Russia. The idea for a price cap was originally proposed by the Group of Seven (G7). G7 countries that aren’t part of the EU are expected to enact laws (NYT) similar to the EU’s to enforce the price cap. |
23 September 2022
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Ukrainian version (Word)
Distinguished President,
Excellencies,
Together with Ms. Jasminka Džumhur and Mr. Pablo de Greiff, I will present an update on the progress of the work of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, in conformity with this Council’s resolution 49/1, adopted in March 2022.
Last time the Commissioners were present at the Human Rights Council was in May this year. The Council then requested the Commission, in resolution S-34/1, to address events that took place in late February and March 2022 in the areas of Kyiv, Chernihiv, Kharkiv and Sumy, and to brief the Council on the progress of that inquiry as part of its oral update in September. Consequently, we have so far mainly focused on events in those four regions.
Continue reading Update by the Chair of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, at the 51st session of the Human Rights CouncilUnited States Mission to the United Nations
Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield’s Remarks at the UN Security Council Stakeout Following a Vote on a Resolution Condemning Russia’s Sham Referenda
Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield
U.S. Representative to the United Nations
New York, New York
September 30, 2022
AS DELIVERED
Let me thank all of you for waiting to see us this afternoon.
The illegal referenda that Russia held in Ukraine and the purported annexations of Ukrainian territory by force are a violation of the UN Charter and international law. They change nothing about the status and borders of Ukraine. That is the firmly-held conviction of the United States. This is the firmly-held conviction of the Secretary-General. And as you saw just now, that is the conviction of the Security Council – besides, of course, Russia.
Continue reading Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield’s Remarks at the UN Security Council (Following a Vote on a Resolution Condemning Russia’s Sham Referenda)| Waiting for Thermidor: America’s Iran Foreign Policy Ray Takeyh and Reuel Marc Gerecht A member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps waves the Iranian flag during a rally in downtown Tehran. Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto/Getty ImagesThe Islamic Republic of Iran may be on an accelerated schedule for revolutionary decay, at least if compared to the USSR. Read the opinion |
US STATE DEPARTMENT
MEDIA NOTE
SEPTEMBER 30, 2022
The text of the following statement was released by the G7 foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America, and the High Representative of the European Union.
Begin Text
We, the G7 Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and the High Representative of the European Union, are united in our condemnation in the strongest possible terms of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and its continued violations of Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and Independence.
President Putin’s efforts to incorporate Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhya regions into the territory of the Russian Federation constitute a new low point in Russia’s blatant flouting of international law, and yet another example of Russia’s unacceptable violations of Ukraine’s sovereignty, the UN Charter, and the commonly agreed principles and commitments of the Helsinki Final Act and the Paris Charter.
Continue reading G7 Foreign Ministers’ Statemaent on the Illegal Annexation of Sovereign Ukrainian Territory| Top of the Agenda Putin Announces Plan to Annex Four Ukrainian Regions Russian President Vladimir Putin will sign a decree to annex (FT) the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia tomorrow, a Kremlin spokesperson said. This major escalation in the war in Ukraine comes after Moscow orchestrated votes, widely denounced as a sham, for the regions to join Russia. The regions compose some 15 percent of Ukrainian territory. Russia’s annexation will be the largest forceful takeover of European territory since World War II, according to the Financial Times. The United States and European Union plan to impose new sanctions over the annexation, Reuters reported. Yesterday, military leaders from over forty countries met in Brussels (NYT) to plan long-term military support for Ukraine. |
| Top of the Agenda Moscow Admits to Problems in Military Mobilization as Russians Protest, Flee Draft Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has admitted to errors (NYT) in Russia’s ongoing military draft as protests against it erupt nationwide and men flee the country by the tens of thousands. While Moscow originally said only men with military experience would be required to fight in Ukraine, draft officers have attempted to conscript (FT) a broader group. Peskov blamed local officials for the problems. Ethnic minorities appear to be disproportionately targeted (Moscow Times) in the draft. Yesterday, a man shot and wounded a recruitment officer at a draft office in Siberia. Since last Wednesday, an estimated 261,000 men have fled the country, independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta reported, citing official sources. |
| Top of the Agenda Right-Wing Alliance Wins Sweeping Victory in Italian Elections A right-wing coalition headed by Giorgia Meloni of the Brothers of Italy party won a resounding victory (FT) in Italy’s parliamentary elections yesterday, earning over 44 percent of votes. Meloni’s far-right party won over a quarter of votes, putting her on track to become Italy’s first female prime minister and its first far-right head of government since World War II. Meloni’s win was celebrated (Politico) by populist European leaders who have sought to distance themselves from Brussels. Still, Meloni has signaled (The Economist) that her government would seek to work with the European Union (EU), and unlike her coalition allies Matteo Salvini and Silvio Berlusconi, she is a vocal supporter of Ukraine in its conflict with Russia. |
Putin’s war in Ukraine, as he calls up 300,000 reservists and thousands of Russian citizens flee the country.
“There is a choice: you go & kill innocent people or you go to jail. I’d better lead my life abroad.” We talk to one man who’s decided to leave Russia because of the military call-up. Our latest report for @BBCNews Producer @BBCWillVernon Cameras @AntonChicherov @LizaVereykina pic.twitter.com/CdPtt2MXga
— Steve Rosenberg (@BBCSteveR) September 22, 2022
| The World This WeekSeptember 23, 2022 |
| Putin’s Gamble Thomas GrahamDestroyed Russian military equipment in the center of Izyum, Ukraine, which was liberated after months of occupation. Wojciech Grzedzinski/Washington Post/Getty ImagesRussia’s moves to mobilize thousands more troops and to annex more of Ukraine’s territory signal a new, potentially more dangerous phase of the war. Get the quick take |
| The World This WeekSeptember 23, 2022 |
| Putin’s Gamble Thomas GrahamDestroyed Russian military equipment in the center of Izyum, Ukraine, which was liberated after months of occupation. Wojciech Grzedzinski/Washington Post/Getty ImagesRussia’s moves to mobilize thousands more troops and to annex more of Ukraine’s territory signal a new, potentially more dangerous phase of the war. Get the quick take |
Đọt Chuối Non 