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4 mins ago
The Russian invasion has caused "the most massive violations of human rights", according to the UN chief
By Xiaofei Xu
United Nations Secretary General AntĂłnio Guterres speaks during a meeting of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, Monday, February 27.
(Photo: Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone/AP)
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has unleashed "the most massive violations of human rights that we are experiencing [today]," United Nations Secretary General AntĂłnio Guterres declared on Monday.
"It has unleashed widespread death, destruction and displacement," Guterres continued.
"The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has documented dozens of cases of conflict-related sexual violence against men, women and girls," it added.
Guterres delivered this speech at the UN Human Rights Council meeting to mark the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Geneva.
He called on international governments to respect and reinvigorate the declaration, which he said is often "misused and abused."
Some context
: Russia's war crimes and human rights violations during the war in Ukraine add to a "litany of violations of international humanitarian law," Human Rights Watch said in January.
In the human rights group's annual report, it was claimed that the evidence of war crimes in Bucha, a suburb of Kyiv, was part of a pattern that "has been repeated countless times."
HRW's World Report 2023 also highlighted the bombing of a theater in Mariupol, despite signs warning that refugee children were there, as well as attacks on other non-military targets.
7 mins ago
Russian forces focus attacks on eastern Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian military
By Radina Gigova, Olga Voitovych
Damage after the attacks in Bakhmut, Ukraine, on February 24.
(Photo: Marek M. Berezowski/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
Russian forces are focusing their efforts on carrying out offensive operations in eastern Ukraine, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine stated on Monday.
Ukrainian forces repelled 81 Russian strikes in and around Kupyansk, Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Shakhtarsk in the past 24 hours, it said, adding that "the threat of Russian missile attacks remains high across Ukraine."
"The enemy is trying to destroy our country's critical infrastructure, continues to carry out attacks and artillery shelling against civilian facilities and civilian houses," the General Staff said.
"The enemy is constantly conducting aerial reconnaissance to adjust their attacks."
Two of the Russian attacks were carried out using Shahed-136 unmanned aerial vehicles against civilian infrastructure, the General Staff said.
Both drones were shot down.
Russian forces also fired more than 50 rounds from multiple launch rocket systems at civilian infrastructure in the southern Donetsk region and Kherson region, the General Staff said.
"There are civilians killed and injured, civilian buildings destroyed and civilian infrastructure damaged," he added.
Russian strikes have killed at least one person and wounded two others in the Kherson region in the past 24 hours, according to the regional military administration.
"They fired from multiple rocket launchers, mortars, artillery, tanks, UAVs and infantry fighting vehicles," he said.
9 mins ago
At least two dead in a Russian drone attack on a Ukrainian city 320 km from Kyiv
By Olga Voitovych
At least two people were killed and four others injured on Monday in a Russian drone attack on the Ukrainian town of Khmelnytskyi, local authorities have reported.
In a Telegram post, Mayor Oleksandr Symchyshyn said one of the dead was a rescue worker from Ukraine's State Emergency Service who "died in the line of duty" in the city, located about 322 kilometers southwest of Kyiv.
"Another massive terrorist attack against the Khmelnytskyi community. This time the enemy used a UAV. At the moment, there are 1 dead and 4 injured. Several buildings were damaged. The fires are being extinguished," Symchyshyn said.
Later, Serhiy Hamaliy, head of the military administration of the Khmelnytskyi region, said another person had been killed as a result of the attack.
"Unfortunately, there is one more death in the hospital," Hamaliy said in a Telegram message.
"Doctors were unable to save another rescuer's life."
Ukrainian authorities earlier said that 11 of the 14 Shahed drones launched by Russia were shot down on Monday, with most destroyed near the capital, according to preliminary estimates.
12 mins ago
Ukraine shoots down 11 Iranian-made attack drones as Russia targets Kyiv
By Olga Voitovych
Ukrainian forces scan the sky over Kyiv, Ukraine on February 27 with a searchlight for drones.
(Photo: Gleb Garanich/Reuters)
Ukraine activated its air defenses early Monday after Russia launched strikes with Iranian-made drones, the Ukrainian military said in a Telegram message.
Ukrainian authorities said 11 of the 14 Shahed drones launched by Russia were shot down, with most destroyed near Kyiv, according to preliminary estimates.
"The drone strike was actually carried out in two waves, prolonged as much as possible... That's why the night air alert in Kyiv lasted a long 5 1/2 hours," the Kyiv city military administration said in a statement. release.
According to Serhii Popko, head of the Kyiv city military administration, no casualties or attacks on infrastructure have been reported so far.
14 mins ago
Zelensky dismisses the commander of the Ukrainian joint forces
By Kostan Nechyporenko
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky attends a news conference on the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
(Photo: Gleb Garanich/Reuters)
The commander of the Ukrainian joint forces operation has been removed from his post, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced in a decree on Sunday.
Major General Eduard Mykhailovich Moskalov had been appointed to the post last March, when Lieutenant General Oleksandr Pavliuk was appointed head of the Kyiv regional military administration.
Zelensky gave no explanation for Moskalov's removal, but it is the latest in a long series of changes at the top of his administration.
Ukrainian authorities have carried out a series of searches and crackdowns on corruption across the country, which have been followed by a series of high-level dismissals.
It is not yet clear whether Moskalov's firing is related to the recent corruption purge.
war in ukraine