UN chief Antonio Guterres in Ukraine

KYIV, April 28: UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres announced his arrival in Kyiv on Wednesday following talks in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin amid the ongoing war with Ukraine.

"I have arrived in Ukraine after visiting Moscow. We will continue our work to expand humanitarian support and secure the evacuation of civilians from conflict zones. The sooner this war ends, the better -- for the sake of Ukraine, Russia, and the world," he wrote on his official Twitter account

In Moscow, Guterres yet again called for both Russia and Ukraine to work together to set up "safe and effective" humanitarian corridors in war-torn Ukraine. In turn, Putin told him he hoped that negotiations could end the conflict which saw Russian troops invading Ukraine on February 24.

"Despite the fact that the military operation is ongoing, we still hope that we will be able to reach agreements on the diplomatic track," Putin said in televised remarks.

Talks had been taking place in Turkey but stalled after the discovery of civilian bodies in areas near Kyiv previously occupied by Russian forces.

Security Council 'Failed To End Russia-Ukraine War': UN Chief

KYIV, April 28: The Security Council failed to go far enough in its efforts to "prevent and end" Russia's war in Ukraine, the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres admitted Thursday while visiting Kyiv.

"Let me be very clear: the Security Council failed to do everything in its power to prevent and end this war. And this is the source of great disappointment, frustration and anger," he said at a joint news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

UN Suspends Russia From Human Rights Council, India abstains

UNITED NATIONS, April 7: The United Nations General Assembly today suspended Russia from Human Rights Council after killings in Ukraine's Bucha.

Evidence of civilian killings in Bucha and other towns around Kyiv -- which Ukraine has blamed on Russian troops, allegations denied by Moscow -- have shocked the world and triggered calls for new sanctions on Moscow.

93 countries voted in favour of the draft resolution, 24 countries voted against it, 58 countries abstained.

India abstained on the resolution with regard to the suspension of the Russian Federation from the Human Rights Council adopted in the UN General Assembly today.

India's Permanent Representative to UN, TS Tirumurti, said "it's in our collective interest to work constructively, both inside UN and outside, towards seeking an early resolution to the conflict."

He said impact of the crisis has also been felt beyond the region with increasing food and energy costs, especially for many developing countries.

Ambassador Tirumurti said "We continue to remain deeply concerned at the worsening situation and reiterate our call for end to all hostilities. When innocent human lives are at stake, diplomacy must prevail as the only viable option."

Ukraine said it was "grateful" for the decision to suspend Russia from the UN Human Rights Council, saying "war criminals" should not be represented in the body.

"War criminals have no place in UN bodies aimed at protecting human rights," Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Twitter.

"Grateful to all member states which supported the relevant UNGA (United Nations General Assembly) resolution and chose the right side of history."

Act Immediately Or Dissolve Yourself: Zelensky To UN On Russian Attacks

UNITED NATIONS, April 5: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky challenged the UN to "act immediately" or "dissolve yourself altogether" during a blistering address in which he showed a harrowing video of dead bodies he said were victims of Russian atrocities.

Likening Russia's actions in Ukrainian cities such as Bucha to violence carried out by "terrorists" such as the Islamic State group, Zelensky called on the 15-member council -- which aims to ensure international peace and security -- to expel Russia "so it cannot block decisions about its own aggression, its own war."

Russia, as one of the five permanent members of the Security Council, has a veto, which it has repeatedly wielded to block resolutions and negotiations on the global stage.

"If there is no alternative and no option, then the next option would be dissolve yourself altogether," Zelensky said.

The United Nations could be "simply closed," he said. "Ladies and gentlemen, are you ready to close the UN? And the time of international law is gone? If your answer is no, then you need to act immediately."

Bearded and dressed in his now trademark military green T-shirt, Mr Zelensky gave a chilling rendition of the atrocities he said were carried out by Russian troops against civilians in Bucha, a town outside the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, and aired the graphic video showing dead bodies, including several children.

"They were killed in their apartments, houses, blowing up grenades, civilians were crushed by tanks while sitting in their cars in the middle of the road, just for their pleasure. They cut off limbs... slashed their throats," he said.

"Women were raped and killed in front of their children, their tongues were pulled out only because the aggressors did not hear what they wanted to hear from them. So this is no different from other terrorists such as Daesh who occupied some territory, and here it is done by a member of the United Nations Security Council," he said, using another acronym for ISIS.

Moscow's Ambassador to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia dismissed allegations that Russian troops have carried out atrocities in Ukraine in a speech at the Security Council on Tuesday, saying there was no evidence from witnesses.

Directly addressing Zelensky, Vassily Nebenzia said Moscow places "on your conscience the ungrounded accusations against the Russian military, which are not confirmed by any eye witnesses."

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres opened the meeting by warning of the global fallout from the conflict, with soaring food, energy and fertilizer prices affecting up to 1.2 billion people in 74 countries.
"The war in Ukraine must stop -- now," Mr Guterres told the Council, after calling it "one of the greatest challenges ever to the international order."

Ukraine Civilian Killings Disturbing, Need Independent Probe: India

UNITED NATIONS, April 5: India today expressed concern at the reports of civilian killings in Ukraine's Bucha and supported the call for an independent investigation.

In the strongest statement in the UN Security Council so far, India's ambassador TS Tirumurti said, "The recent reports of civilian killings in Bucha deeply disturbing. We unequivocally condemn these killings and support call for an independent investigation". India also reiterated its call for immediate cessation of violence and end to hostilities.

Images of mass graves and bodies of civilians who were apparently executed in public places, emerging from the Russia-occupied town has evoked outrage across the world, triggering calls for more sanctions against Russia and vows of action at the International Criminal Court.

Asserting that India continues to remain "deeply concerned at the deteriorating situation", Tirumurti said, "The impact of the crisis is being felt beyond the region with increasing food and energy costs, especially for many developing countries".

"When innocent human lives are at stake, diplomacy must prevail as the only viable option," he added.

The images from Bucha are among the most shocking to emerge from Ukraine since the Russian invasion started in February, leading western nations to accuse the Russian troops of war crimes.

Britain, France, Germany, the United States and NATO have voiced horror at the images, where bodies of civilians – apparently bound and shot -- were found on roads.

Calling Russian President Vladimir Putin "a war criminal" and dubbing the killings "war crime," US President Joe Biden has told reporters there should be "a war crimes trial".

UN chief 'deeply shocked' by images of bodies in Bucha

UNITED NATIONS, April 3: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was "deeply shocked" by images from the discovery of mass graves in Bucha, near the Ukrainian capital, and called for an independent investigation, his spokesman said Sunday.

"I am deeply shocked by the images of civilians killed in Bucha, Ukraine. It is essential that an independent investigation leads to effective accountability," Guterres said after Ukrainian officials said hundreds of bodies had been found, prompting accusations of war crimes against Russian troops.

More than half a million people have returned to Ukraine since the start of Russia's invasion in February, the Ukrainian interior ministry said on Sunday.

"During the past week, 144,000 people left Ukraine and 88,000 arrived. In total... around 537,000 of our compatriots have returned to Ukraine," the ministry said, citing data from the national border service.

The High Commissioner for Refugees on Saturday said 4,176,401 Ukrainians have left their country since Russia launched its invasion on February 24.

Tens of thousands have been leaving Ukraine daily since the start of the war in what has become Europe's worst refugee crisis since World War II.

The UN's International Organisation for Migration said around 205,000 non-Ukrainians have also fled the country.

In total, more than 10 million people have either left their homes, either to neighbouring countries or being displaced within Ukraine.

Before the war, 37 million people lived in territories controlled by Kyiv. That figure does not include the Crimean peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014 or two eastern regions controlled by pro-Moscow separatists.