The Black Sea port of Kherson has become the first major Ukrainian target to fall under the de facto control of Russian forces, as the United Nations says more than a million people have fled the country since the invasion began a week ago.
As the International Criminal Court says it has begun gathering evidence of possible war crimes in Ukraine, Kherson Mayor Igor Kolikhayev said in a Facebook post early Thursday that Russian troops control the city hall and that residents must observe the imposed curfew. which he called “armed visitors”.
Against the background of contradictory reports on the fate of the strategically important city, Kolikhayev said that he had not given “no promises” to the Russian forces and that he was only interested in the normal life of our city! I was just asking [them] not to shoot at people. “
Other restrictions imposed on the city include curfew from 8pm to 6am, with only cars carrying food, medicine and other essentials allowed into the city.
Russia’s attack on the city has left bodies scattered on the city’s streets, power outages, limited water and some food, the New York Times reported, Kolikhaev said in a separate interview. A group of about 10 armed Russian officers entered the town hall and informed him that they planned to set up a military administration, the mayor added.
Gennady Lahuta, head of the regional administration, wrote in the Telegram news service late Wednesday that the city had been taken over by Russian troops. “The [Russian] the occupiers are in all parts of the city and are very dangerous, “he said, according to AFP.
Russian artillery and missiles continued to bomb other major cities, including the capital Kyiv and Kharkiv’s second-largest city, where a Ukrainian member of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s (OSCE) observation mission was killed in the bombing.
Fierce fighting is still believed to be taking place in the southeastern port of Mariupol, where Ukrainian forces are surrounded by Russian forces. “We can’t even take the wounded from the streets, from the apartments, because the shelling doesn’t stop,” the mayor said, adding that the Russian attacks were repulsed “with dignity.”
Hundreds of civilians have been killed, according to UN estimates, although he fears the actual number is much higher. The Ukrainian government said on Wednesday that nearly 6,000 Russian soldiers had been killed. Moscow said the figure was 498.
When the conflict entered its second week, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said there had been an “emigration” of more than one million people from Ukraine to neighboring countries, or about 2% of the 44 million population.
Grandi called for “weapons to be silenced” so that humanitarian aid could reach millions more in the country, and warned that the flood of people fleeing the war was far from over and could eventually reach 4 million.
Another dramatic development is that the United Kingdom and 37 other countries officially reported atrocities committed in Ukraine to the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Wednesday, the largest such referral in the court’s history.
According to ICC rules, such referrals from Member States mean that court prosecutor Karim Khan has already managed to start gathering evidence for the investigation without waiting for the approval of ICC judges.
In a statement, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said: “Putin’s military machine is indiscriminately targeting civilians and infiltrating Ukrainian cities. There is an urgent need for an investigation by the International Criminal Court into Russia’s barbaric actions, and it is right that those responsible be brought to justice. The United Kingdom will work closely with the Allies to ensure that justice is restored. “
In New York, an extraordinary session of the UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to deplore Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and called for the immediate withdrawal of its forces. Of the 193 Member States, 141 voted in favor, 35 abstained and five – Russia, Belarus, Syria, North Korea and Eritrea – voted against.
The resolution condemned Russia’s aggression against Ukraine “most strongly” and called for “the Russian Federation to immediately cease the use of force against Ukraine” and “immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all its military forces.”
The resolution is not legally binding, but is an expression of the views of UN members aimed at increasing pressure on Moscow and its ally Belarus.
The OSCE named the murdered member of its surveillance team, Marina Fenina, who died in Kharkov while collecting supplies for her family.
The city has come under heavy fire from Russian forces in recent days, with police and university buildings bombed and government offices destroyed.
“In Kharkiv and other cities and towns in Ukraine, rockets, shells and rockets hit residential buildings and urban centers, killing and injuring innocent civilians – women, men and children,” the OSCE said.
“We strongly condemn the intensified shelling in urban areas,” he added, reiterating his call on the Russian Federation to end hostilities immediately.
International efforts to isolate Russia and cripple its economy also continued when the World Bank said on Wednesday it had suspended all programs in Russia and Belarus with immediate effect.
Russian oligarchs were also pressured as German authorities reportedly detained a $ 600 million superyacht belonging to Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov at a shipyard in Hamburg. This happened after Roman Abramovich announced the English football club Chelsea for sale, almost 20 years after he took control.
The second round of talks between Ukraine and Russia is set to begin on Thursday, Russian negotiators said, adding that a ceasefire is “on the agenda”. However, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Moscow’s demands were unacceptable and Russia should stop bombing cities if there was any progress.
The war has once again caused chaos in the financial markets, as the price of Brent crude oil jumped to over 117 dollars per barrel on Thursday, marking a 20% increase this week. A number of other commodities, such as aluminum, iron ore and wheat, have risen again, raising fears that the global economy will be pushed off course due to high inflation.