Day: April 4, 2022

As the number of Ukrainian refugees is rapidly rising across Europe and has passed 4 million, neighboring Poland has so far hosted more than 2 million of those who fled the war.

Arriving in major cities in Poland either by trains, buses or other means of transport since the start of the war in Ukraine on Feb. 24, most of them are registered and hosted at refugee hubs.

One of the biggest of those hubs in Europe is located in Warsaw, the massive Ptak Warsaw Expo Centre with a full capacity of 20,000.

The refugee hub, which is named as Ptak Humanitarian Aid Centre, serves as the first accommodation for thousands of Ukrainians who either would like to stay in Poland or go to other European countries.

The center, which serves as a connection point for refugees, has so far hosted 40,000 people, with 25,000 of those relocating somewhere else in Europe, Ayse Abaci, the Expo’s international relations and fair development specialist, told Anadolu Agency.

She said refugees are collected from Poland-Ukraine border and provided a safe environment at the hub until they leave for other countries or a suitable home in Poland is found for them.

“So our center is under the name of Ptak Humanitarian Aid Centre, and it started shortly after the war erupted in Ukraine,” Abaci said.

She said: “The idea behind our organization here is that this is a refugee hub, where refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine are coming here taken from the border cities and staying here for three four days until they are relocated in another European country or found a more stable environment, a home that can accommodate them in Poland.”

People who arrive at the center can leave for Germany and Spain by coaches provided for them. There is also an information point for those who would like to go to the UK.

Kazimerz Cwikla, the vice-president of Ptak Warsaw Expo, who also spoke to Anadolu Agency, said most of those who left Poland preferred to go to Germany.

Italy, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and Estonia are the other major destinations for Ukrainian refugees, according to officials.

“We’re working very hard during this this time, more than 50,000 refugees from Ukraine passed through our humanitarian aid center,” Cwikla said.

The number of Ukrainian refugees who fled from war so far now stands at 4,215,047 according to UNHRC figures. There are currently over 2 million Ukrainian refugees in Poland.

Source: Anadolu Agency

US President Joe Biden on Monday called for his Russian counterpart to face a war crimes trial after apparent evidence of mass atrocities by Russian forces emerged from the Ukrainian city of Bucha, near the capital Kyiv.

Biden called what is being uncovered in Bucha, a city Russian troops recently withdrew from, “outrageous.”

President Vladimir Putin “is a war criminal” who “should be held accountable,” Biden told reporters. He continued to maintain that the US and international community must gather additional evidence to support war crimes allegations ahead of any legal proceeding.

“This guy is brutal,” Biden said of Putin. “What’s happening in Bucha is outrageous, and everyone’s seen it.”

Biden said he believes what he has seen falls short of constituting genocide, but is nonetheless a war crime. He further vowed to impose additional sanctions on the Kremlin.

The bodies of at least 410 civilians were recovered in the city of Bucha on Sunday, according to Ukraine’s prosecutor-general. Russia has denied that its troops killed civilians while withdrawing from towns near Kyiv.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for an independent investigation into the mass killings, and for “effective accountability” to be established.

Ukraine has called on international organizations to send experts to the country as soon as possible to collect evidence of war crimes committed by Russian troops.

On Saturday, Mikhail Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said the bodies of people with their hands tied and shot dead by Russian troops “lie in the streets” in Bucha.

The Russian war against Ukraine, which started on Feb. 24, has been met with international outrage, with the European Union, US, and UK among others implementing sweeping financial sanctions on Moscow.

At least 1,430 civilians have been killed in Ukraine and 2,097 injured, according to UN estimates, with the true figure feared to be far higher.

More than 4.1 million Ukrainians have also fled to other countries, with millions more internally displaced, according to the UN refugee agency.

Source: Anadolu Agency

The footage of dead civilians left behind after the Russian pullout from the Ukrainian city of Bucha constitutes a “fake news attack,” Moscow argued on Monday.

The footage of slain civilians was staged, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said during a meeting with UN Deputy Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths.

“The other day, another fake attack was mounted in the city of Bucha in the Kyiv region after the Russian military left it in accordance with plans and achieved agreements.

“Several days later, a staged setting was organized there, which is now being promoted through all channels and social networks by Ukraine’s representatives and their Western patrons,” he said.

The Russian military left the city on March 30, and on March 31 the city’s mayor solemnly announced that everything was all right, said Lavrov. Then several days later, suddenly a performance was organized on the streets of the city in order to further anti-Russian goals, he added.

Similar attempts were seen in the coastal city of Mariupol but were quickly disproved, he argued.

Humanitarian aid

“Of course, today the international community is focused on the situation in and around Ukraine. We have been in contact with your office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs for a long time and we see how this interaction helps solve humanitarian problems faced by people in eastern Ukraine, first of all, but also in other parts of it,” Lavrov told Griffiths.

Lavrov slammed the politicization of humanitarian issues and stressed that humanitarian aid must be provided to all people who find themselves in a difficult situation.

“We do this in the most active way for the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics,” he said, referring to two breakaway enclaves in Donbas, eastern Ukraine, recognized only by Russia.

He added that Russia also cooperates “with our international partners, including the UN, as well as with the International Committee of the Red Cross to organize humanitarian convoys to cities such as Sumy, Kharkiv, and Mariupol.”

Moscow views the situation in Bucha as a provocation, threatening international peace and security, and will demand that the UK, which chairs the UN Security Council, hold an urgent meeting on the issue, Lavrov said.

“The chair country of the Security Council this month – the United Kingdom – has not yet been able to confirm to us yesterday the possibility of holding such a meeting, but we will require the chair country to perform its functions,” he vowed.

The Russia-Ukraine war, which started on Feb. 24, has drawn international outrage, with the EU, US, and Britain, among others, implementing tough financial sanctions on Moscow.

At least 1,417 civilians have been killed in Ukraine and 2,038 injured, according to UN estimates, with the true figure feared to be far higher.

More than 4.17 million Ukrainians have fled to other countries, with millions more internally displaced, according to the UN refugee agency.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Lithuania on Monday downgraded its diplomatic relations with Russia and expelled Moscow’s ambassador.

The government has also decided to close the Russian Consulate in the port city of Klaipeda, according to a statement by the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry.

“Lithuania is lowering the level of diplomatic representation with Russia, this way expressing its full solidarity with Ukraine and the Ukrainian people, who are suffering from Russia’s unprecedented aggression,” said Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabriel Landsbergis.

“Lithuania condemns in the strongest possible terms the atrocities committed by the Russian armed forces in various occupied Ukrainian cities, including the horrific massacres in Bucha and other Ukrainian cities, which will undoubtedly be added to the list of atrocities committed on European territory,” he added.

The Lithuanian ambassador in Moscow has been recalled and will “return to Lithuania in the near future,” read the statement.

Lithuania supports all measures aimed at ensuring that Moscow and its forces are “held accountable for violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in Ukraine,” it added.

“All war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the Russian armed forces in Ukraine will not be forgotten,” Landsbergis said.

The Russia-Ukraine war, which started on Feb. 24, has drawn international outrage, with Western countries and their allies implementing tough financial sanctions on Moscow.

At least 1,430 civilians have been killed in Ukraine and 2,097 injured, according to UN estimates, with the true figure feared to be much higher.

More than 4.21 million Ukrainians have also fled to neighboring countries, with millions more internally displaced, according to the UN refugee agency.

Source: Anadolu Agency

The death toll in Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro state from heavy rains that triggered flash floods and landslides rose to 15, local media outlets said late Sunday.

Eight people died in Angra dos Reis municipality and six others in the city of Paraty on March 31 and April 1, according to Brazil’s official news agency Agencia Brasil. Another person died in the city of Mesquita.

Fire crews said search and rescue efforts are continuing for five missing people in Angra dos Reis and one in Paraty.

Rio de Janeiro state is experiencing one of the most frequent years of natural disasters due to heavy rains.

In mid-February, as many as 233 people died due to floods and landslides caused by heavy rains in Petropolis, a mountainous region of Rio de Janeiro.

Source: Anadolu Agency