War in Ukraine: New UN Security Council meeting on humanitarian crisis

The United Nations Security Council will meet once again urgently on Monday (7/3, 22:00 Greek time, 15:00 New York time) to discuss the humanitarian crisis it has caused in Ukraine the invasion of the Russian armed forcesat the request of the US and Albania, diplomatic sources said in the early hours of Saturday (5/3).

Following the public meeting of the UN Security Council, closed-door consultations will be held at the request of Mexico and France, which are drafting a decision with content still being drafted, a diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity told AFP.

The draft French-Mexican resolution, originally initiated by the French presidency with a view to a vote last Tuesday, which did not take place, will call for a halt to hostilities, unhindered distribution of humanitarian aid and the protection of civilians.

The draft resolution met with objections, especially from the United States, which said it would not support it unless it explicitly blamed Russia for the humanitarian crisis, another diplomatic source said, also on condition of anonymity.

According to several sources, France finally decided, after the criticism of the Americans and Europeans, not to insist on putting the text to a vote as soon as possible.

Any draft resolution accusing Russia is practically doomed to failure, as Moscow has the right to veto US decisions.

For Mexico, although the Russian veto is certain, it is important that Russia’s international isolation in this military adventure be seen again, with a text that will be supported by as many as fifteen Member States as possible.

The day before yesterday, Ukraine and Russia agreed to set up “humanitarian corridors” so that civilians could leave the war zones. The same issue was discussed by Russian President Vladimir Putin with German Chancellor Olaf Solz. Whether, to what extent and how these “corridors” will become a reality remains to be seen.

Ukrainians, however, say nine regions need such “corridors.” These are Sumy, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Nikolaev, Zaporizhia, Kherson, Luhansk and Donetsk.