UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres discussed in a telephone conversation with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba the current humanitarian situation in Ukraine, the press office of the UN chief said in a statement.
“They discussed the security and human rights situation in Ukraine,” the statement reads.
“The Secretary-General briefed Foreign Minister Kuleba on the objectives of the mission of Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths to Moscow and Kiev and reiterated the commitment of the United Nations for a humanitarian ceasefire in Ukraine and enhanced humanitarian support to the Ukrainian people,” the statement added.
UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths held a meeting on April 4 in Moscow with Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin and they discussed the situation in Ukraine.
The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement later that Fomin “noted successful joint work with representatives of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs accredited at the Russian Defense Ministry in Moscow. The ministry’s coordination headquarters for humanitarian response in Ukraine regularly refers documents with objective information on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine to UN employees.”
Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine
President Vladimir Putin announced on February 24 that in response to a request by the heads of the Donbass republics he had made a decision to carry out a special military operation in Ukraine in order to protect people “who have been suffering from abuse and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years.”
The Russian leader stressed that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories and the operation was aimed at demilitarizing and denazifying Ukraine.
When clarifying the developments unfolding, the Russian Defense Ministry reassured that Russian troops are not targeting Ukrainian cities, but are limited to surgically striking and incapacitating Ukrainian military infrastructure. There are no threats whatsoever to the civilian population.
