At UNSC, Russia accuses Ukraine of 'human rights violations' in Donbass region

Russia on Monday accused Ukrainian forces of 'opening fire' on civilians in the Donbass region urging the world to take note of the human rights violations by Ukraine. Addressing the Organization for Security and Co-ordination in Europe (OSCE), Russia slammed the UN for backing a mediation between the two nations, stating that the international organisation had 'already picked a side'. Alleging that Kyiv 'had done everything' to destroy the Minsk agreement, Russia claimed that the main threat to Ukrainian civilians was by Ukrainians themselves.

"The UN in recent days have repeatedly drawn attention to the topic of mediation. What kind of mediation is it when you have already picked a side? Ukrainian bombs struck the heart of Donetsk killing many. People have been living there under constant shelling. Acts of Ukrainian armed forces in the Donbass region is being ignored and most of the people are the ones who died in DPR (Donetsk) and LPR (Luhansk). It was them (Ukrainians) who opened fires on the vehicles. The OSCE has become a glaring example, the mission should not ignore the violations of human rights," said Russia at the UNSC.

"(It) should also look upon the neo-nazism and the bias against the Russian-speaking population, Kyiv did everything they could to destroy the Minsk agreement. Currently, the main threat to the Ukrainians is by the Ukrainian nationals. In these circumstances, our priority is to keep the civilians safe. The safe evacuation of civilians is our priority," it added. 

Russia-Ukraine pause talks till March 15

A 'technical pause' has been assumed in the Russia-Ukraine talks on Monday, which have been halted till tomorrow. According to Ukraine President's advisor Mykhailo Podoliyak, a pause has been taken in the negotiations until tomorrow for 'additional work in the working subgroups and clarification of individual definitions'.

The 4th round of peace talks commenced between Russia and Ukraine on Monday, being held virtually for the first time. The latest negotiations are being held on peace, ceasefire, immediate withdrawal of troops and security guarantees. Notably, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has proposed a direct meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin as part of the negotiation process.  

Meanwhile, as the Russia-Ukraine war enters the 19th day, Israel has announced that it will mediate the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.