UKRAINE LIVE UPDATES | Sorry, Ukraine, the UN hasn't united nations in a while
| Author | TIMESLIVE |
| Published date | 28 February 2022 |
| Publication title | TimesLIVE (Johannesburg, South Africa) |
The UN has been spectacularly absent in most of the recent violent conflicts between countries, showing the global organisation established after World War 2 to prevent such conflicts has lost its credibility, relevance and authority.
The UN was established in 1945 by 51 countries to maintain international peace and security.
Russia's allout war against Ukraine shows how the UN, supposed to be the global arbitrator in conflict between countries, has become obsolete. . It has been left to individual country leaders, the EU, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) and the G20 to desperately try to end the hostilities.
February 28 2022 — 06:10
JUSTICE MALALA | This is not a video game, RET brigade. We will all suffer
Russia's invasion of Ukraine is unfolding in real time, on television screens and social media across the globe.
We witnessed Russia's leader, Vladimir Putin, humiliating colleagues and threatening dire consequences for anyone who stands against his actions. We saw the youthful Ukrainian leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, stand alongside his people against the invasion, daring the mighty Russia to walk away.
The world is glued to its screens as if there will be winners and losers, and we, the audience, will then go off to make ourselves a sandwich. We are so wrong. In war, poor people always lose. They lose their lives, they lose sons and daughters, they lose homes and their meagre possessions. Russia's invasion of Ukraine is the start of something longlasting and horrible. It is not a video game.
February 28 2022 — 06:00
GEORGE PHILIPAS | For its own good, SA must take the regional lead against Russia
In the cacophony of diplomatic noise that followed the Russian invasion of Ukraine, SA's swift statement released by the department of international relations and cooperation (Dirco) hours after the start of the invasion and calling out Russia directly went largely unnoticed.
Unique among Brics, its underlying tone was notably different in its directness. The change in tone was even noticed by the Russian embassy which, in its usual cold, curt and cutting fashion, responded on social media with the simple sentence: "Kindly refrain from interfering."
To what extent this will mark a turning point in relations between the two remains to be seen. But for some, a change of tact hasn't come fast enough. For Russia's engagement with Africa, and in particular, its disinformation campaigns and its "mercenariesforminingconcessions" model that preys on weak and largely undemocratic African states, is seen by many as a direct threat to the longterm stability of the continent and even SA.
February 27 2022 — 22:00
World Court: Ukraine has filed suit against Russia, citing false genocide claims
The highest U.N. court on Sunday confirmed that Ukraine has filed a suit against Russia, saying Russia's claim it invaded Ukraine to prevent a genocide is false and asking judges to order "provisional measures" to protect Ukraine.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky had said earlier on Sunday he had filed the suit at the International Court of Justice, also known as the world court.
In a statement, the court confirmed it has received Ukraine's complaint. It did not say when the case would be heard.
Reuters
February 27 2022 — 21:50
FIFA bans matches in Russia, no flag or anthem for team
No international soccer matches will be played in Russia and the Russian flag and anthem will be banned from any of their matches abroad, governing body FIFA said on Sunday.
It said the national team would not compete as Russia but as the Football Union of Russia (RFU) and any games would be held with no fans on "neutral territory", as part of its sanctions following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Reuters
February 27 2022 — 21:43
Russian forces appear to shift to siege warfare in Ukraine U.S. official
Russia, frustrated by early battlefield setbacks in Ukraine, could be shifting its strategy to siege warfare just as President Vladimir Putin raises the risk of a catastrophic miscalculation by putting nuclear forces on heightened alert, a senior U.S. defense official said on Sunday.
Putin gave the order to his nuclear forces as Washington assesses that Russian troops have made limited progress in their fourdayold invasion due to stiff Ukrainian resistance and planning failures that have left some units without fuel or other supplies, U.S. officials said.
The United States assesses that Russia has fired more than 350 missiles at Ukrainian targets so far, some hitting civilian infrastructure, the senior U.S. defense official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Still, it had so far mainly focused on military targets.Citing a Russian offensive on the Ukrainian city of Chernihiv, north of Kyiv, the official cited early indications that Russia might be adopting siege tactics.
"It appears that they are adopting a siege mentality, which any student of military tactics and strategy will tell you, when you adopt siege tactics, it increases the likelihood of collateral damage," the official said.
Reuters
February 27 2022 — 21:38
Russian convoy of ground forces, fuel, tanks moving toward Kyiv Maxar
Satellite imagery taken on Sunday showed a large deployment of Russian ground troops moving in the direction of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv from approximately 40 miles (64 km) away, a private U.S. company said.
The images released by Maxar Technologies Maxar showed a deployment comprised of hundreds of military vehicles and extending more than 3.25 miles (5 km), Maxar said.
The images released by Maxar, which has been tracking the buildup of Russian forces for weeks, could not be independently verified by Reuters.
Reuters
February 27 2022 — 21:30
U.S. blasts Putin nuclear order as 'unacceptable,' considers further sanctions
The United States and NATO on Sunday condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin's order to put his nuclear forces on high alert as dangerous and unacceptable, while the White House said it has not ruled out imposing new sanctions on Russia's energy sector.
In issuing the order to prepare Russia's nuclear weapons for increased readiness for launch, Putin cited "aggressive statements" from NATO allies and widespread sanctions imposed by Western nations.
The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Linda ThomasGreenfield, told CBS's "Face the Nation" program that Putin's actions have escalated the conflict and were "unacceptable."
Reuters
February 27 2022 — 20:57
Belgium to send machine guns and grenade launches to help Ukraine, Zelenskiy says
Ukraine will receive 3,000 machine guns and 200 antitank grenade launchers from Belgium, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a tweet on Sunday.
Ukraine has called on Western allies for weaponry and financial support as it fights to repel a largescale Russian invasion.
Reuters
February 27 2022 — 20:20
White House calls on China to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine
The White House called on China to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Sunday as Moscow's onslaught against its neighbor continued and Russian President Vladimir Putin put nuclear forces on high alert.
"This is not a time to stand on the sidelines. This is a time to be vocal and condemn the actions of President Putin and Russia invading a sovereign country," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in an interview with MSNBC.
Reuters
February 27 2022 — 20:00
BP to exit stake in Russia's Rosneft and take up to R378bn charge
BP said on Sunday it would exit its 19.75% stake in Russian oil giant Rosneft after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, amid growing pressure from the British government.
The decision to abandon the Rosneft holding will result in charges of up to $25 billion (R378bn) at the end of the first quarter, BP said in a statement.
BP acquired its Rosneft shareholding in 2013 as part of the $12.5 billion (R189bn) sale of a stake in TNKBP.
BP Chief Executive Bernard Looney and his predecessor Bob Dudley will both step down from the Rosneft board.
"Like so many, I have been deeply shocked and saddened by the situation unfolding in Ukraine and my heart goes out to everyone affected. It has caused us to fundamentally rethink bp's position with Rosneft," Looney said.
Reuters
February 27 2022 — 19:40
Sweden to send military aid to Ukraine, but Hungary will stay out of the conflict
Sweden will send military aid to Ukraine, including antitank weapons, helmets and body armour, Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said on Sunday.
"Sweden is now proposing direct support for Ukraine's armed forces. It includes 135,000 field rations, 5,000 helmets, 5,000 body shields and 5,000 antitank weapons" Andersson told a news conference.
Hungary's interest is to stay out of the military conflict between Ukraine and Russia, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Sunday, reiterating that Hungary would not send weapons to neighbouring Ukraine but would help all refugees from there.
Orban told state television that his government would focus on Hungary's interests and make decisions that "allow us to stay out of this conflict and also that there should not be sanctions for which we have to pay the price in the end, even if we stay out of the conflict".
Reuters
February 27 2022 — 19:25
Putin Races the Clock as Fast Military Advance 'Frustrated'
Russia's plans for Ukraine face rapidly rising costs due to delays caused by tougherthanexpected resistance from forces on the ground, even as its military retains overwhelming advantages.
A person familiar with Russian planning said the military would have hoped for faster progress.
The Kremlin has declined to comment on details of the military operation, and its Defense Ministry says the campaign has been successful.
A senior U.S. defense official said on Saturday the U.S. had indications Moscow had become frustrated by slow progress, caused by an unexpectedly strong Ukrainian defense and failure to achieve complete air dominance.
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