António Guterres, the UN Secretary-General, has pledged $20 million in humanitarian aid to Ukraine, adding that protecting civilians must be “Priority Number One” in assisting the people.
Guterres also urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to return his troops to Russia, warning him not to start what could be the most devastating war since the turn of the century.
According to reports, President Putin took military action in Ukraine on Thursday.
Putin had laid down three requirements for ending the conflict, instructing Kyiv to abandon its NATO membership bid, partially demilitarize Crimea, and accept Russia’s sovereignty over the Black Sea peninsula that Moscow took from Ukraine in 2014.
Ukraine, on the other hand, has rejected Putin’s demands.
“Today, I’m announcing that we will immediately release $20 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund to fulfill urgent requirements,” Guterres said in a news conference in New York on Thursday.
The UN and its humanitarian partners, according to Guterres, are “committed to staying and delivering, to support people in Ukraine in their moment of need.”
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Russian military actions inside Ukraine’s sovereign territory, he claims, are “on a scale that Europe hasn’t seen in decades” and “directly clash with the United Nations Charter.”
Despite a persistent UN-led and worldwide diplomatic effort to prevent military action in Ukraine, President Putin went ahead and did so, setting off a chain of reactions, beginning with the UN chief criticizing the decision and pleading for peace.
“In their international dealings, all Members shall refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the United Nations’ aims,” Guterres said, quoting the Charter.
The UN chief warned that using force against another country is “a betrayal of the principles that every government has vowed to preserve,” and that this includes the current military effort.
“It’s incorrect. It’s a violation of the Charter. This is inexcusable. “However, it is not irreversible,” stressed Guterres.
As the number of persons killed rises and pictures of dread, anguish, and terror spread across Ukraine, Guterres emphasized that “people — every day innocent people – always pay the highest price.”
“It is not too late to save this generation from the evil of war,” Guterres said, citing the Charter. “We need peace.”
What happened was termed as the “saddest moment” in UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-tenure. moon’s
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“I must amend my address and say: In the name of humanity, bring your troops back to Russia,” Guterres remarked in response to this development.
“Don’t unleash what may be the most disastrous conflict since the turn of the century in the name of mankind,” Guterres pleaded with Putin.
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