G7 agrees to set up network to coordinate investigations into war crimes in Ukraine
The G7 group agreed on Tuesday to set up a network to coordinate investigations into war crimes, as part of a push to prosecute suspected atrocities in Ukraine.
“Judicial examination of the atrocities committed in Ukraine will take years, perhaps even decades. But we will be well prepared * and we will persist for as long as it takes,” German justice minister Marco Buschmann said in a statement, Reuters reports.
It came after a meeting of G7 justice ministers in Berlin, also attended by special prosecutors of the international criminal court, Germany’s federal prosecutor and Ukrainian justice minister Denys Maliuska.
In a joint declaration, the ministers said G7 countries would ensure there is a central national contact point in each state for the prosecution of international crimes.
Buschmann told reporters this would ensure that information on evidence and legal requirements can be shared among states and international organisations.
He added that statements from victims of sexual assault should be recorded in such a way that is admissible in court so that victims would only have to give their statement once.
Air raid alerts were issued across all Ukraine, including the capital, Kyiv, on Tuesday after warnings by officials that Russia was preparing a new wave of missile attacks. There were no immediate reports of any new strikes, and Kyiv sounded the all clear after about 10 minutes of air raid warnings.
Ukraine’s state energy operator, Ukrenegro, has said it is still struggling to restore full power nearly a week after Russian missile strikes damaged energy facilities across the country. The power deficit was running at 30% as off 11am local time (09:00 GMT) on Tuesday, Ukrenegro said in a statement, a slight rise from yesterday after emergency shutdowns at several power plants and an increase in consumption as winter sets in.
Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, said Moscow had been left with “no other choice” but to cancel nuclear weapons talks with the US, state-run news agencies reported. He said it was unlikely any meeting would take place this year.
Ukraine has detained a deputy head of newly liberated Kherson’s city council on suspicion of aiding and abetting Russian occupation forces, Ukraine’s state prosecutor has said. The official, who was not named in the statement, cooperated with the occupation authorities and helped with the functioning of public services under the Russians, according to the prosecutor.
Nato’s secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, has said the alliance will not pull back in its support for Ukraine, calling on partners to pledge more winter aid for Kyiv as it braces itself for more cold and darkness due to Russian attacks on infrastructure. Nato foreign ministers meeting in Bucharest are focusing on ramping up military assistance for Ukraine such as air defence systems and ammunition, even as diplomats acknowledge supply and capacity issues, but also discuss non-lethal aid.
Pope Francis has sparked fury in Russia over an interview in which he suggested that Chechen and Buryat members of its armed forces showed more cruelty in Ukraine than ethnic Russian soldiers. He said soldiers from Buryatia, where Buddhism is a major religion, and the Muslim-majority Chechnya republic, were “the cruellest” while fighting in Ukraine.
The head of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has confirmed that a Zambian national who died in Ukraine had been fighting for his group. Lemekhani Nathan Nyirenda, 23, “died a hero” fighting with Russian forces, Prigozhin said on Telegram. The admission by Prigozhin, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, comes two weeks after Zambia demanded an urgent explanation from Moscow over the death of its citizen.
China’s president, Xi Jinping, has said Beijing is ready to “forge a closer partnership” with Moscow to “maintain international energy security”. “China is willing to work with Russia to forge a closer energy partnership, promote clean and green energy development and jointly maintain international energy security and the stability of industry supply chains,” Xi was cited by state-owned broadcaster CCTV as writing.
Russians are trying to “turn into horror” Ukraine’s days and nights with mass missile and drone attacks, Zelenska says.
More than 20 million Ukrainians were left without electricity, water and heat as a result of Russian missile strikes, she says, some for more than 30 hours.
Ukraine’s first lady says Russia has used “systematic violence” in many occupied towns and villages in Ukraine.
Thousands of crimes by Russian forces have been identified, she says, including sexual violence. She says:
The youngest girl who was raped by the Russian occupiers was four years old. The oldest survivor was 85. These are the victims.
Ukraine's first lady addresses UK parliament: 'I come to you for justice'
Ukraine’s first lady, Olena Zelenska, is addressing British MPs and peers in Westminster now. She begins by comparing the experience of Ukrainians with that of the British during the Blitz in world war two.
She says the British survived the air raids, which were “identical to those that Russia uses now to put us on our knees”.
We’re hearing sirens every day. They are identical to those which were heard by British generations.
You did not surrender and we will not surrender. But victory is not the only thing we need. We need justice. I come to you for justice.
Ukraine’s first lady, Olena Zelenska, is expected to address British MPs and peers in parliament shortly.
The wife of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is in London to raise awareness of violence against women and girls in conflict, as well as to appeal to Britain and the west to continue delivering vital aid to Ukraine.
Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska arrives at Downing Street to meet Akshata Murthy, wife of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, on Monday. Photograph: Leon Neal/Getty Images
Ukraine detains Kherson official suspected of aiding Russian occupiers
Ukraine has detained a deputy head of newly liberated Kherson’s city council on suspicion of aiding and abetting Russian occupation forces that seized control of the city in March, Ukraine’s state prosecutor has said.
Reuters reported that the Kherson official, who was not named in the statement, cooperated with the occupation authorities and helped with the functioning of public services under the Russians, according to the prosecutor.
The official, who could not be reached for comment, faces up to 12 years in prison under the allegations if prosecuted and found guilty. The official was in custody, but could post bail, the prosecutor said.
Ukraine proclaimed the liberation of Kherson on 11 November after Russian forces who invaded Ukraine in February pulled out of the city in the south of the country and crossed to the other side of the Dnipro River.
Pope Francis has sparked fury in Russia over an interview in which he suggested that non-Christian members of its armed forces showed more cruelty in Ukraine than ethnic Russian soldiers.
In an interview with the Catholic magazine America published Monday, the pope said that soldiers from the Buddhist region of Buryatia and the Muslim-majority Chechnya republic were “the cruellest” while fighting in Ukraine.
“Generally, the cruellest are perhaps those who are of Russia but are not of the Russian tradition, such as the Chechens, the Buryats and so on,” he said.
Russia has disproportionately relied on ethnic minorities to provide its main fighting force in Ukraine.
Russia’s deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov has said that the New START treat on nuclear arms control between Russia and the United States remained effective, the RIA Novosti news agency reported.
That was despite a lack of mutual inspections and Russia’s last-minute decision to call off talks of a joint commission this week, Ryabkov added.
However, he also signalled to the United States that increasing US involvement in the Ukrainian conflict brings growing risks, according to Russian state news agency TASS.
Ryabkov said there was no dialogue between Russia and the United States over Ukraine as the two sides had “radically different positions.”
The head of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has confirmed that a Zambian national who died in Ukraine had been fighting for his group.
The admission by Prigozhin, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, comes two weeks after Zambia demanded an urgent explanation from Moscow over the death of its citizen.
Lemekhani Nathan Nyirenda, 23, “died a hero” fighting with Russian forces, Prigozhin said on Telegram.
He said:
Lemekhani Nathan Nyirenda on September 22 was one of the first to break into enemy trenches, showing courage and bravery.
Nyirenda father said he had been serving a nine-year jail sentence on the outskirts of Moscow for a drug offence when he was “conscripted” to fight, Reuters reports. His family said it was unclear how he was recruited or by whom.
Prigozhin said he “remembered this guy well” and had met Nyirenda on his recruitment drive across Russia’s prisons. He claimed the Zambian willingly agreed to go and fight for Wagner.
Prigozhin and other Wagner representatives have toured Russian prisons offering amnesty in return for signing up to fight for Russia in Ukraine.
It has not been possible to independently verify the circumstances of Nyirenda’s death or Prigozhin’s assertion that he had joined Wagner voluntarily.
Ukraine’s state energy operator, Ukrenegro, has said it is still struggling to restore full power nearly a week after Russian missile strikes damaged energy facilities across the country.
The power deficit was running at 30% as off 11am local time (09:00 GMT), Ukrenegro said in a statement.
The figure represents a slight rise from yesterday after emergency shutdowns at several power plants and an increase in consumption as winter sets in.
The statement by Ukrenegro added:
We emphasise that the general deficit in the energy system is a consequence of seven waves of Russian missile attacks on the country’s energy infrastructure.
