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6 mins ago
UN records 1,892 civilian deaths in Ukraine
View of a cross and a coffin prepared for the funeral of a civilian killed by the conflict in Bucha, Ukraine, on April 12.
(Photo: Anastasia Vlasova/Getty Images)
At least 1,892 civilians have been killed and 2,558 wounded since the war in Ukraine began in February, according to the United Nations.
The number of registered deaths includes 478 men, 308 women, 30 girls and 52 boys, as well as 71 children and 953 adults whose sex is still unknown, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights reported Tuesday. (OHCHR) in a statement.
"Most of the recorded civilian casualties were caused by the use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including heavy artillery shelling and multiple launch rocket systems, and missile and air strikes," it said.
Dozens Killed in Missile Attack on Train Station in Eastern Ukraine
The actual number of victims could be considerably higher due to delayed reporting from some locations, the OHCHR added.
These include areas such as the besieged southeastern city of Mariupol, where "the figures are being corroborated."
The General Prosecutor's Office of Ukraine has reported an increased number of child fatalities.
In a statement Wednesday, he said 191 children had been killed and more than 349 injured since the Russian invasion began.
9 mins ago
Russian Embassy in the US denies the use of chemical weapons
By Clare Sebastian, Sophie Jeong
Russia's embassy in Washington said statements by US State Department spokesman Ned Price about the possibility of Russia using chemical weapons in Ukraine were "provocative" and "idle," in comments posted on Facebook. late this Tuesday.
"We take note of the provocative remarks by US State Department Press Secretary Ned #Price at a briefing on April 12," the embassy said.
"Ned Price once again distinguished himself by his verbiage, not supported by a single piece of evidence."
The embassy said the Russian military "does not and cannot have any chemical warfare agent at its disposal because our country eliminated all chemical weapons stockpiles as early as 2017."
Where have chemical weapons been used and are they really a red line for the West?
"The information confirmed by the Russian Defense Ministry about the preparation of provocations by Ukrainian radicals with the use of chemical substances is worrying. We also have questions about the origin of these substances," the embassy added.
The comments were in response to Price saying the United States is "concerned" that Russia "may try to resort to chemical weapons" during a briefing on Tuesday.
12 mins ago
Macron rejects the use of the term "genocide" Russian atrocities
By Simon Bouvier
French President Emmanuel Macron.
(Photo: AP Photo/Michel Euler)
French President Emmanuel Macron refused to call Russian actions in Ukraine "genocide" in a television interview with public broadcaster France 2.
Asked if he, like President Joe Biden, would use the term "genocide" to refer to the killing of Ukrainians by the Russian military, Macron said: "Today I would be careful with those terms because these two peoples [Russians and Ukrainians] are brothers."
"I want to keep trying as much as possible to stop this war and rebuild peace. I'm not sure escalating rhetoric will serve that cause," he added.
"What we can say for sure is that the situation is unacceptable and that it is about war crimes. We are experiencing war crimes that are unprecedented on our soil, our European soil."
The French president, who is currently running for re-election, also highlighted France's cooperation with Ukraine in investigating alleged war crimes.
Biden calls atrocities in Ukraine "genocide" for the first time
"Russia has unilaterally started an extremely brutal war, now it has been established that the Russian military has committed war crimes and now we must find those responsible," Macron said.
A bit of context
: Biden said Tuesday that the atrocities being uncovered in Ukraine qualify as genocide, saying "it's becoming increasingly clear that (Russian President Vladimir) Putin is trying to eliminate even the idea of ​​being Ukrainian".
It was a dramatic rhetorical escalation in US opinion about what is happening on the ground in Ukraine, which Biden has previously deemed war crimes.
The US designation does not carry any legal ramifications, but it does carry significant weight at a time when Biden is trying to rally countries around a strategy of isolating and punishing Moscow.
Other world leaders, such as Britain's Boris Johnson and Poland's Andrzej Duda, have also used the word "genocide" to describe Russian actions in Ukraine.
15 mins ago
No evacuation routes open in Ukraine this Wednesday
By Maria Kostenko
Internally displaced persons arrive at a center for displaced persons in Zaporizhzhia, some 200 kilometers northwest of Mariupol, on April 6, 2022. (Photo by BULENT KILIC/AFP via Getty Images)
There will be no evacuation corridors for civilians in Ukraine this Wednesday, the country's Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said in a statement.
Vereshchuk blamed the Russian troops for creating a dangerous situation along the routes.
"Unfortunately, we don't open them today," he said.
"In the Zaporizhzhia region, the occupiers have blocked the evacuation buses, and in the Luhansk region, they are violating the ceasefire."
Vereshchuk said Russian forces "not only disregard the norms of international humanitarian law, but also fail to adequately control their people on the ground."
"All this creates such a level of danger on the routes that we are forced to refrain from opening the humanitarian corridors today," he said.
war in ukraine