UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for a pause in hostilities in Ukraine to ensure the safe passage of civilians from Mariupol, Kharkiv and Sumy, as well as all other places covered by the conflict.
In Twitter on Sunday, he said that such a pause would also ensure the delivery of vital humanitarian supplies for those who remain.
According to the UN, civilian casualties from February 24, when Russia launched a war against Ukraine, to March 5 inclusive amounted to 1,123 civilians, including 364 dead, including 25 children.
“It is absolutely essential to establish a pause in the fighting in Ukraine to allow for the safe passage of civilians from Mariupol, Kharkiv and Sumy, as well as all other places caught in conflict, and to ensure life-saving humanitarian supplies can move in for those who remain,” the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said.
In addition, the war started by Russia has led to the fact that the number of refugees from Ukraine has exceeded 1.5 million people, the UN said on Sunday.
The border guards let 2,450 vehicles and containers with humanitarian cargo into the country since the beginning of the war, the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine reports.
“Some of them also go to the needs of people who, as a result of the war and shelling, were forced to leave their hometowns and villages and temporarily live in the western regions,” the report says.
Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal says that the payment of UAH 6,500 for those who have lost their jobs due to the war will begin next week.
“I appeal to the Ukrainians! The war came as a shock to all of us. Many have lost their homes, jobs, savings, but remained to defend Ukraine. Today the state will support you. On behalf of the President of Ukraine, the updated ePidtrymka program will start working next week. As part of this program, every employee, every private entrepreneur whose job was taken away by the war will be able to receive UAH 6,500,” Shmyhal said in his address on Sunday afternoon.
According to him, the program will work by analogy with payments for vaccination, that is, through the Diia application.
“The Ministry of Digital Transformation will inform about the details of how to issue assistance,” the prime minister added.
U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has said that the United States will continue to provide assistance to Ukraine.
The United States has provided constant support to Ukraine, including with the aim of strengthening its defense capabilities. Only recently, this assistance has amounted to about $1 billion, Blinken said on Sunday at a joint press conference with Moldovan President Maia Sandu in Chisinau.
He said that the United States will continue to provide assistance, including by planes through Poland.
At the same time, he again called for peace and did not say that the United States needed to maintain diplomatic relations with the Russian Federation.
He described the situation in Ukraine as the biggest challenge faced by the region, including Moldova, over the past 30 years.
He said that the United States will provide assistance to all countries that are the first to face this challenge, having a common border with Ukraine. The United States will allocate $2.75 billion for this, including assistance to countries supporting Ukrainian refugees, Blinken said.
Blinken arrived late the evening before on a visit to Moldova. On Sunday, he held meetings with the President, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of Moldova.
Ukraine insists that a special monitoring mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) should establish round-the-clock control and analysis of the situation at all domestic nuclear facilities, in particular, Chornobyl and Zaporizhia, as well as other Ukrainian operating nuclear power plants.
As reported on the website of the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine on Sunday, this is stated in a joint appeal of Energy Minister Herman Haluschenko and heads of the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate Oleh Korikov and the state-owned enterprise Energoatom Petro Kotin dated March 5, sent to OSCE Secretary General Helga Maria Schmid.
According to Haluschenko, the letter contains detailed information about the criminal and threatening actions of the Russian army near and at the nuclear facilities of Ukraine themselves. This refers primarily to the seizure of Chornobyl and Zaporizhia nuclear power plants and, at the same time, the terror of personnel and residents near the cities.
The authors of the appeal called on the OSCE to immediately begin work to establish and document all the facts of the crimes of the Russian troops that threaten the safe operation of nuclear facilities and could lead to an environmental catastrophe on a global scale, the report says.
Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal says that the state has already begun placing state orders for enterprises to meet critical needs.
“What, for its part, is the government doing to ensure a speedy transition to a ‘war footing’? Firstly, financial support for the functioning of the country. We are negotiating with all international organizations and countries on financial assistance. Of the latest decisions, the European Investment Bank will redirect EUR 639 million from other projects to the state budget of Ukraine,” Shmyhal said in his address on Sunday afternoon.
Also, according to him, the Ministry of Finance has already held the first issue of war bonds and will soon have a second issue.
“Everyone who is ready to lend to Ukraine, our military, our doctors, and critical infrastructure workers, can do this by purchasing war bonds,” he said.
Shmyhal also noted that the government has already authorized the relevant ministries to open four accounts with the National Bank, to which funds from individuals, organizations, companies, and international financial organizations will be credited to the fund for the restoration of Ukraine.
“Secondly. The economy of martial law implies a clear planning of needs. The state has already begun to place state orders for enterprises to meet critical needs. It’s not just about weapons. It’s about food, medicine, fuel and other important goods,” the prime minister added.
Among other things, he said that the government had already decided to limit the export of a number of socially important goods and raw materials from which they are produced.
