World
UN reports at least 240 civilian casualties, 64 deaths in Ukraine
At least 64 civilians have been killed and more than 160,000 are on the move after Russian troops entered Ukraine this week, a United Nations relief agency said.
“As of 5:00 p.m. on 26 February, (UN human rights office) OHCHR reports at least 240 civilian casualties, including at least 64 dead,” the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a status report.
It added the actual figures were likely to be “considerably higher”.
Damage to civilian infrastructure has left hundreds of thousands of people without electricity or water. Hundreds of homes had been damaged or destroyed, while bridges and roads hit by shelling had left some communities cut off from markets, it said.
It cited the UN refugee agency as saying more than 160,000 people had been internally displaced and more than 116,000 forced to flee into neighbouring countries.
“UN agencies and humanitarian partners have been forced to suspend operations due to the deteriorating security situation,” OCHA said.
“The UN and its partners maintain their presence across the country and remain committed to staying on the ground and responding to growing humanitarian needs and protection risks once the situation permits.”
World
Trump says he is talking to Russia and China about denuclearization
Trump’s comments come months after the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty expired earlier this year.
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday Washington is holding talks with Moscow and Beijing aimed at denuclearizing the countries with the biggest stockpiles of nuclear weapons.
Russia has the most stored nuclear warheads followed by the United States and China, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. The US outpaces Russia on its number of deployed warheads.
During an interview with Newsmax, Trump said he expects China to “catch up” with the US within the next five years.
“The whole thing is a shame, because I’d love to denuclearize if possible, but we’re actually talking to Russia about that, and we’re talking to China about that denuclearization,” Trump told the outlet.
Newsmax reported that Trump had spoken with Chinese President Xi Jinping about denuclearization.
Trump’s comments come months after the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty expired earlier this year.
The New START treaty signed in 2010 allowed one single extension, which was agreed by former President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin for five years. Any new extension would require an executive decision to voluntarily extend the limits of the treaty.
World
Ukraine’s Zelenskiy says it is ‘painful’ when Trump chooses a different side
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in an interview on Wednesday that it was “painful” when Donald Trump took another side in Ukraine’s ongoing war with Russia, after the US President said Zelenskiy should be replaced.
Zelenskiy told Piers Morgan Uncensored: “It’s painful when President Trump chooses one side, not our side.”
He also said that he was OK with Trump being in the middle of Ukraine and Russia, but added: “If you are in the middle, you have to stay in the middle.”
Asked if he felt betrayed by Trump, who at the weekend called for Ukraine to get a new president having agreed to lift sanctions on Russian diesel exports, Zelenskiy replied: “Really, yes … but it’s a little bit more complicated than just my emotions or my feelings.”
“It’s a pity we are losing (a) strong partner,” he added.
Zelenskiy also said: “We are not selling our country … it’s not about business for us, it’s just our life and this is our country.”
World
Yemen hospitals overwhelmed by surge in war casualties, Red Cross warns
Hospitals across Yemen are struggling to cope with a sharp rise in war casualties as intensified fighting along multiple front lines strains its already fragile health system, the Red Cross said on Wednesday.
Front-line hospitals in areas including Marib, Taiz and Yemen’s Red Sea coast were seeing unprecedented numbers of weapon-wounded patients, with some facilities admitting more than 700 casualties in a single week, according to the humanitarian agency, Reuters reported.
More than 200,000 people have been displaced from their homes since fighting in the country began in recent weeks, sparked by renewed fighting between the Iran-backed Houthi group and Saudi-backed government forces in Yemen, according to the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration.
“Trauma care staff are under enormous pressure,” ICRC health coordinator Feras Abusamra said in a statement. Only a small proportion of Yemen’s functioning health facilities are capable of providing comprehensive trauma care, he said, while hospitals face large numbers of wounded people amid shortages of surgical supplies, anesthesia, oxygen and medicines.
Yemen’s health services, battered by more than a decade of conflict, economic crisis, displacement and disease outbreaks, may have limited capacity to absorb a new surge in mass casualties if fighting intensifies further, the ICRC warned.
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