UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres visited Ukrainian cities on Thursday where Russian forces have been accused of committing war crimes, condemning a “bad” war that he said imposed a “high price” on civilians. In Kyiv, he also met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky – two days after UN Secretary-General Vladimir Putin met with Russian President Vladimir Putin – and pledged to “step up our efforts in general” to provide humanitarian aid to the Ukrainians. “When I see these damaged buildings, I have to say what I feel. “I imagined my family in one of those houses that are now destroyed and black,” the secretary-general told reporters in Borodyanka, one of the three war-torn cities he visited. “I see my granddaughters running in panic, part of the family is eventually killed.” “War is an absurdity in the 21st century,” Guterres said. “War is bad.” in Borodyanka, where Washington Post reporters saw scenes of utter devastation caused by Russian airstrikes, Guterres spoke to the district governor, who told him that although residents were returning, some were still searching for bodies in homes. When he returned to Kyiv from a visit to devastated suburbs, the secretary-general was “visibly affected – he was personally affected by it,” Chris Janowski, the UN’s representative for Ukraine, told UN News. “Where there is war, the highest price is paid by civilians,” Guterres told Irpin, northwest of Kiev. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. “They paid the highest price for a war for which they have not contributed at all.” Commenting at a press conference with Zelensky, the UN Secretary-General reiterated that the Russian invasion was a violation of its territorial integrity and the United Nations Charter. He visited Ukraine, he said, to focus on ways in which the United Nations could “extend support to the people of Ukraine, save lives, alleviate pain and help find the path to peace.” . Guterres called on the United Nations Security Council, which is tasked with ensuring security and international peace, to “fail[ing] to do everything in his power to prevent and end this war. “This is a source of great frustration, frustration and anger.” However, he said many at the United Nations were working to help Ukraine. Guterres said the United Nations was extending cash assistance to distribute $ 100 million a month, reaching 1.3 million by May. “It is not a typical UN humanitarian operation in a developing country, with many governance problems and many difficulties,” he said. “Ukraine is a country with a government and a system of support for its citizens, so the role of the UN is not to replace this system, it is to support the government to support the people of Ukraine.” He reiterated his call for an end to the war, saying that although efforts to end the fighting had failed, “we will not give up.” “In many ways, we are at zero on the world we need to build – a world of respect for international law, the United Nations Charter and the power of multilateralism, a world that protects civilians, a world that promotes human rights. “A world where leaders live up to the values they have promised to uphold.” In his overnight speech, Zelensky said five Russian missiles were fired at Kyiv “immediately after the end” of talks in the capital with Guterres. “This says a lot about Russia’s true attitude towards world institutions, about the Russian leadership’s efforts to humiliate the UN and everything that the organization represents,” Zelensky said. “We need a strong response.” Two days ago, Guterres met with Putin in Moscow to reiterate the UN position on the situation in Ukraine. The purpose of both visits was to discuss immediate measures to stop the fighting and ensure the safety of all, said UN spokeswoman Eri Kaneko. Putin agreed “in principle” after Tuesday’s meeting to allow the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross to be involved in evacuating civilians from the Azovstal iron and steel plant in the besieged city of Mariupol. After meeting with Zelensky, Guterres said there were “intense discussions to move this proposal forward.” When asked by a journalist for more information about the talks with Putin on Mariupol, Guterres replied sternly: “What do you want? Do you want people to be saved or do you want me to say something that will be an obstacle to this rescue? For now, I can only tell you that we are doing what we can to make it happen … I am not going to make any comment that would undermine this possibility – because my first and only priority is the people who are suffering. ” In Bucha, the story of the body of a man left on a Russian murder field During a trip to Ukrainian cities, Guterres visited an orthodox church in Bukha, where photographs showing mass graves and corpses lying on the side of the road following the withdrawal of Russian forces from the city sparked calls for a war crimes investigation. He said the visit made him “feel how important it is [to have] thorough research and accountability “. “I am glad that the International Criminal Court has understood the situation and that the prosecution was already here,” he said. “I urge the Russian Federation to cooperate with the International Criminal Court. “But when we talk about war crimes, we can not forget that the worst of the crimes is the war itself.” Outside the UN headquarters in New York on Wednesday night, International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Karim Hahn said it was time for action. “International law cannot be a passive spectator. It can not be sedentary. He must act with perseverance and protect and insist on responsibility “. Khan launched an investigation into possible war crimes and crimes against humanity on March 2.
