Russia-Ukraine War News LIVE: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding the situation in Ukraine. He also urged India to extend political support in the United Nations Security Council. “Spoke with Prime Minister @narendramodi. Informed of the course of Ukraine repulsing Russian aggression. More than 100,000 invaders are on our land. They insidiously fire on residential buildings. Urged India to give us political support in UN Security Council. Stop the aggressor together!” he said in a tweet.
Ukraine's health minister said Saturday that 198 civilians, including three children, have been killed so far by Russian forces attacking the pro-Western country.
"Unfortunately, according to operative data, at the hands of the invaders we have 198 dead, including 3 children, 1,115 wounded, including 33 children," Health Minister Viktor Lyashko wrote on Facebook.
Ukrainian soldiers repulsed a Russian attack in the capital, the military said early Saturday, only hours after President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Moscow would attempt to take Kyiv before dawn in the conflict that is now escalating every hour.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin unleashed a full-scale invasion on Thursday that has killed dozens of people, forced more than 50,000 to flee Ukraine in just 48 hours and sparked fears of a new Cold War in Europe.
India is 'deeply disturbed' by recent turn of developments in Ukraine, said India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations. Urging that all efforts be made for the immediate cessation of violence and hostilities, he said no solution could ever be arrived at the cost of human lives.
Speaking at the UNSC meeting on Ukraine, Tirumurti said India was also deeply concerned about the welfare and security of the Indian community, including a large number of Indian students in Ukraine. “Contemporary global order has been built on UN Charter, international law and respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states. We agreed to the Russian Federation's President's proposal. Currently, the parties are debating the location and timing of the negotiation process during these hours. The sooner negotiations begin, the better the chances of returning to normalcy," he said.
Russia, as expected, vetoed a UN Security Council resolution on Friday that deplored “in the strongest terms” the country’s “aggression” against Ukraine and demanded the immediate withdrawal of its troops. Eleven of the council's 15 members voted for the motion, which was co-written by the United States and Albania. China, India and the United Arab Emirates abstained.
The resolution was always doomed to fail because of Moscow's veto power as a permanent member of the council. However the debate offered member nations an opportunity to voice condemnation of President Vladimir Putin's decision to launch a full-scale offensive against Russia's neighbor.
“Let me make one thing clear,” US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said after the vote. “Russia, you can veto this resolution, but you cannot veto our voices, you cannot veto the truth, you cannot veto our principles, you cannot veto the Ukrainian people.”
The wording of the draft text put before the Security Council was watered down in the hours before the vote to gain more support. The word “condemns” was replaced by “deplores” and a reference to Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, which allows members to take military action to restore peace, was deleted.
The resolution reaffirmed the sovereignty of Ukraine and called for Russia to "immediately cease its use of force against Ukraine." Ultimately, more than 70 countries co-sponsored the resolution.
“Make no mistake, Russia is isolated. It has no support for the invasion of Ukraine," said Britain's ambassador to the UN, Barbara Woodward. Before the vote, Thomas-Greenfield described Russia's attack as “so bold, so brazen, that it threatens our international system as we know it.
"We have a solemn obligation to not look away… At the very minimum, we have an obligation to object," she said. “Vote yes if you believe Russia should be held to account for its actions. Vote no or abstain if you do not uphold the charter and align yourselves with the aggressive and unprovoked actions of Russia.”
Moscow's UN envoy, Vassily Nebenzia, denounced the resolution as "anti-Russian and anti-Ukrainian." “It is difficult for us to compete with the US in terms of the number of invasions carried out. You are in no position to moralize," he said.
Ukrainian Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya led the council chamber in a moment of silence, asking members to "pray for peace." He also told Nebenzia to "pray for salvation." “Russia is keen on continuing it’s Nazi-style course of action,” said Kyslytsya, whose speech was widely applauded by members.
Earlier, he had posed with a Ukrainian flag and European ambassadors under Picasso's Guernica tapestry which hangs outside the entrance to the council chamber. Explaining his country's abstention, Chinese Ambassador Zhang Jun referenced NATO expansion, saying "Russia's legitimate security aspirations should be given attention and addressed properly."
After the vote, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said: "Soldiers need to return to their barracks."
“Leaders need to turn to the path of dialogue and peace,” he pleaded.
Russia, which currently holds the rotating Security Council presidency, will likely face another vote on a similar resolution before the wider UN General Assembly which is formed of all 193 member countries.
Moscow does not have a veto there and the resolution could be passed by a substantial margin, although it would be non-binding.
The General Assembly held a similar vote in 2014 condemning Russia's seizure of Crimea, which obtained 100 votes in support.
Moscow had earlier vetoed a Security Council resolution condemning its actions in Crimea. Thirteen countries supported it with China abstaining.
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