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Tag: Dmytro Kuleba

  • Russian troops accused of raping Ukrainian women

    Russian troops accused of raping Ukrainian women

    Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, has accused the Russian troops of sexually assaulting Ukrainian women.

    This was as the International Criminal Court (ICC) studies whether to prosecute alleged war crimes in Ukraine.

    However, the UN Human Rights Council on Friday overwhelmingly voted to launch a top-level investigation into violations committed following Russia’s invasion.

    Thirty-two members of the 47-seat council voted to establish the highest-level probe possible into alleged rights violations.

     

    They already started to rape our women

    Ukraine’s foreign minister told a briefing at Chatham House: “We have numerous cases of, unfortunately, when Russian soldiers rape women in the Ukrainian cities.”

     

    He backed a call for the creation of a special tribunal to punish Moscow’s aggression as Russia’s hostility escalates beyond bombing.

     

    Kuleba said international law “is the only tool of civilisation that is available to us to make sure that in the end, eventually, all those who made this war possible will be brought to justice”.

    He said: “We are fighting against the enemy who is much stronger than us. But the international law is on our side, and hopefully… it will make its own contribution to help us prevail.”

     

    Svetlana Zorina, 27, from the Russian-controlled city of Kherson, also accused the invading Russian forces of sexually assaulting women.

    Zorina said people living in the Black Sea port city can only “sit at home and take care of ourselves because we are scared. They already started to rape our women.

    “There was information from people that I personally know that a 17-year-old girl – it happened to her and then they killed her. We are terrified and scared but we are not going to give up.”

    Zorina said leaving the house had now become too “dangerous”.

    “They started to rape our women so now it’s very dangerous to go outside, especially when it’s dark. I heard about a few cases from people I know, unfortunately,” she added.

    It comes as human rights organizations last week warned sexual violence against Ukrainian women would likely increase as a result of the conflict.

    Freedom from Torture director, Steve Crawshaw, said: “We saw torture when Moscow was seeking to impose with dramatic force in Chechnya.

    “The pattern of torture became absolutely notorious. And rape was definitely part of that. Again and again in the context of conflict, we see torture used as a form of punishment and violation.

     

    “It is mindless violence with terrible consequences for those who suffer it. In the context of war, women are often targeted as a form of brutal dehumanising, with rape, including gang rape, routinely used as a weapon of war.”

    British PM, Gordon Brown, former judges and law experts have called for the creation of a special tribunal.

    In a statement, they said Putin’s “decision to launch attacks on Ukraine poses a grave challenge to the post-1945 international order”.

    They said: “He has sought to replace the rule of law and principles of self-determination for all peoples by the use of force.

    “The whole world needs to be made aware of the act of aggression he has instigated and the atrocities he has ordered.

    “We will leave no stone unturned in bringing to an end the terrible events we are now seeing, thereby ensuring that those who have unleashed such horrors are subject to personal accountability under the criminal law, so that justice can be done.”

    Ukraine has also brought a case against Russia before the International Court of Justice – the only court that can rule on conflicts between states.

  • India evicts 470 students from Ukraine

    India evicts 470 students from Ukraine

    While the Nigerian government asks its citizens in Ukraine to remain calm, India has carried out a round of evacuation of its nationals stranded in the country.

    External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar, spoke to his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba on Friday evening and discussed the difficulties faced by the Indian students in the midst of the conflict.

    “Discussed predicament of Indian nationals, including students. Appreciate his support for their safe return,” he said after the phone call.

    Russian President, Vladimir Putin, in the early hours of Thursday, had ordered an invasion of Ukraine.

    The invasion was marked by shelling and rocket attacks on several Ukrainian major cities, including the capital, Kyiv, leading to dozens of deaths.

    It was gathered that the first batch of Indian students left Chernivtsi in a bus for the Ukraine-Romania border.

    The Embassy of India in Kyiv announced that the evacuation was being organized with the joint effort of the Indian embassies in Romania, Hungary and Poland.

    Preparations are also being made on the Poland-Ukraine border to allow Indian students to enter Poland for their onward journey to India

    According to the Embassy, “today afternoon more than 470 students will exit Ukraine and enter Romania through the Porubne-Siret border.

    “We are moving Indians located at the border to neighboring countries for onward evacuation.

    “Efforts are underway to relocate Indians coming from the hinterland,” the Embassy of India in Ukraine said in a social media message.

    “Preparations are also being made on the Poland-Ukraine border to allow Indian students to enter Poland for their onward journey to India.”

    While evacuation has been undertaken following a telephone conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, widespread military action across Ukraine is currently underway, especially in major urban centers such as Kyiv, Kharkiv and others that also hold large Indian communities.

    5,600 Nigerians in Ukraine

    There are approximately 18,000 Indians present in Ukraine and many have sought shelter in the underground bunkers to stay safe as Russia is carrying out bombing raids across the country.

    No evacuation of Nigerians in Ukraine until the airports in the European country are reopened

    The Federal Government on Friday said there can be no evacuation of Nigerians in Ukraine until the airports in the European country, which is under attack by Russia, are reopened.

    According to the Nigerian Foreign Affairs Ministry, there are no fewer than 5,600 Nigerians in Ukraine, the majority of who are students.

    Ukraine is a choice destination for many Nigerian students, especially those in medical-related fields because it is cheaper compared with other western countries.

    The National Association of Nigerian Students in Ukraine had sent out a Save Our Soul message to the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), seeking immediate evacuation from Ukraine.

    On Friday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, said the Federal Government was concerned about the safety of the 5,600 Nigerians in Ukraine.

    Onyeama disclosed that during his meeting with the Russian envoy, he discussed the possibility of Nigeria getting her citizens out of Ukraine but the Russian envoy told him there might be risk involved.

    According to him, Shebarshin, however, said Russia was mindful of the civilians from foreign countries and would take all the necessary measures to ensure their security.

    “He was a lot more sanguine, optimistic that no harm will come to them, but we cannot take any risks,” the minister quoted Shebarshin to have said.

    However, Onyeama said he made it clear to the Russian envoy that the Federal Government of Nigeria would not condone the violation of the territorial integrity of a United Nations member state with which Nigeria has diplomatic relations.

    Onyema said he told Shebarshin that Nigeria was urging Russia to revert to the status quo before the military action on Ukraine and to prioritize diplomacy and dialogue.

    “This is really the position of the government. And also, we have 5,600 Nigerians in Ukraine and we are very concerned about what we are hearing and what we are seeing, regarding missiles and bombs about the safety of our Nigerian citizens over there, that we would like to be able to evacuate them.

    “This would be communicated to his headquarters and that obviously, they consider Nigeria a friendly country and Nigerians; and that they would do nothing to harm Nigerians and assured me that their action is targeted at military installations and that they are not about to start attacking civilian areas and so forth,” Onyeama said.