Nato sees no Russian pull-back in Ukraine
UN warns of Ukraine refugee 'humanitarian crisis'
Published: 03:03 PM,Mar 31,2022 | EDITED : 07:03 PM,Mar 31,2022
Ukrainian youth comfort each other as they wait to get on a bus at Palanca-Maiaky-Udobne border crossing point between Moldova and Ukraine. - AFP
BRUSSELS: Nato is not seeing a pull-back of Russian forces in Ukraine and expects 'additional offensive actions,' the alliance's chief Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday.
'According to our intelligence, Russian units are not withdrawing but repositioning. Russia is trying to regroup, resupply and reinforce its offensive in the Donbas region' in eastern Ukraine, Stoltenberg told a media conference.
'At the same time, Russia maintains pressure on Kyiv and other cities. So, we can expect additional actions, bringing even more suffering.'
The Nato assessment contradicted a pledge by Russian negotiators, made after talks in Turkey this week, to 'radically' reduce Moscow's military activity in northern Ukraine, including near the capital Kyiv.
'We have heard the recent statements that Russia will scale down military operations around Kyiv and in northern Ukraine. But Russia has repeatedly lied about its intentions. So we can only judge Russia on its actions, not on its words,' Stoltenberg said.
'It is obvious that we have seen little willingness from the Russian side to find a political solution,' he said.
'We see continued shelling of cities and we see that Russia is re-positioning some of the troops, moving some of them around, most likely to reinforce their efforts in the Donbas region.'
Stoltenberg added: 'There is a close link between what is going on on the battlefield and what is going on around the negotiating table, and they do allow us to provide support Ukraine, to also strengthen their position at the negotiating table.'
Meanwhile, the United Nations said the refugee exodus from Ukraine was a 'massive humanitarian crisis' that was growing by the second, after another 40,000 fled the country in 24 hours.
The flow of people fleeing across the western borders to escape the Russian assault on Ukraine has settled at around 40,000 a day over the past week.
UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, said 4,059,105 Ukrainians had fled across the country's borders since the February 24 war -- a figure up 39,818 on Wednesday's numbers, which saw the four million mark surpassed.
'We are confronted with the realities of a massive humanitarian crisis that is growing by the second,' UNHCR said, noting also the millions displaced withing Ukraine and the 13 million estimated to be stranded in affected areas or unable to leave.
Women and children account for 90 per cent of those who have fled. Half of those are children. Ukrainian men aged 18 to 60 are eligible for military call-up and cannot leave.
Unicef, the UN children's agency, says more than half of the country's estimated 7.5 million children have been displaced -- 2.5 million internally and two million abroad.
'As the number of children fleeing their homes continues to climb, we must remember that every single one of them needs protection, education, safety and support,' said Unicef head Catherine Russell.
The UN's International Organization for Migration (IOM) said that in addition to Ukrainian refugees, more than 204,000 non-Ukrainians living, studying or working in the country have also left.
UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said it was vital to extend a welcome 'to all who have fled, without discrimination'. And as of March 16, some 6.48 million people were estimated to be internally displaced within Ukraine, an IOM survey showed.
'They are more than statistics. They are people whose lives have been upended by the war,' the IOM said.
Before the Russian invasion five weeks ago, Ukraine had a population of 37 million in the regions under government control, excluding Russia-annexed Crimea and the pro-Russian separatist regions in the east. - Agencies
'According to our intelligence, Russian units are not withdrawing but repositioning. Russia is trying to regroup, resupply and reinforce its offensive in the Donbas region' in eastern Ukraine, Stoltenberg told a media conference.
'At the same time, Russia maintains pressure on Kyiv and other cities. So, we can expect additional actions, bringing even more suffering.'
The Nato assessment contradicted a pledge by Russian negotiators, made after talks in Turkey this week, to 'radically' reduce Moscow's military activity in northern Ukraine, including near the capital Kyiv.
'We have heard the recent statements that Russia will scale down military operations around Kyiv and in northern Ukraine. But Russia has repeatedly lied about its intentions. So we can only judge Russia on its actions, not on its words,' Stoltenberg said.
'It is obvious that we have seen little willingness from the Russian side to find a political solution,' he said.
'We see continued shelling of cities and we see that Russia is re-positioning some of the troops, moving some of them around, most likely to reinforce their efforts in the Donbas region.'
Stoltenberg added: 'There is a close link between what is going on on the battlefield and what is going on around the negotiating table, and they do allow us to provide support Ukraine, to also strengthen their position at the negotiating table.'
Meanwhile, the United Nations said the refugee exodus from Ukraine was a 'massive humanitarian crisis' that was growing by the second, after another 40,000 fled the country in 24 hours.
The flow of people fleeing across the western borders to escape the Russian assault on Ukraine has settled at around 40,000 a day over the past week.
UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, said 4,059,105 Ukrainians had fled across the country's borders since the February 24 war -- a figure up 39,818 on Wednesday's numbers, which saw the four million mark surpassed.
'We are confronted with the realities of a massive humanitarian crisis that is growing by the second,' UNHCR said, noting also the millions displaced withing Ukraine and the 13 million estimated to be stranded in affected areas or unable to leave.
Women and children account for 90 per cent of those who have fled. Half of those are children. Ukrainian men aged 18 to 60 are eligible for military call-up and cannot leave.
Unicef, the UN children's agency, says more than half of the country's estimated 7.5 million children have been displaced -- 2.5 million internally and two million abroad.
'As the number of children fleeing their homes continues to climb, we must remember that every single one of them needs protection, education, safety and support,' said Unicef head Catherine Russell.
The UN's International Organization for Migration (IOM) said that in addition to Ukrainian refugees, more than 204,000 non-Ukrainians living, studying or working in the country have also left.
UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said it was vital to extend a welcome 'to all who have fled, without discrimination'. And as of March 16, some 6.48 million people were estimated to be internally displaced within Ukraine, an IOM survey showed.
'They are more than statistics. They are people whose lives have been upended by the war,' the IOM said.
Before the Russian invasion five weeks ago, Ukraine had a population of 37 million in the regions under government control, excluding Russia-annexed Crimea and the pro-Russian separatist regions in the east. - Agencies