Live blog: UN urges members to make 'every effort' for peace in Ukraine

Thursday, August 17, 2023

2335 GMT – The UN’s High Representative for Disarmament Affairs has issued a statement condemning attacks against civilians in Ukraine and called on member states to make "every effort" for peace.

"The United Nations strongly condemns attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure and calls for their immediate cessation," Nakamitsu Izumi said in an address at the UN Security Council, which gathered at Russia's request to discuss the situation in Ukraine.

"The continued and intensified attacks against critical infrastructure and services, including energy infrastructure, health and educational facilities, ports, roads and bridges are alarming," Izumi said.

Mines and explosive remnants of war have resulted in widespread land contamination, rendering land unusable for agriculture while impeding the movements of people.

"It is imperative to put an end to this brutal war," she said.

"I appeal to all Member States to make every effort for peace. The United Nations stands ready to support all genuine efforts to bring a just and sustainable peace to Ukraine, in line with the UN Charter, international law and the relevant General Assembly resolutions," she added.

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1802 GMT — NATO reaffirms commitment to Ukraine's territorial integrity

The head of NATO said that the alliance remains committed to the territorial integrity of Ukraine, Norwegian media reported.

The remarks by Jens Stoltenberg were in response to comments by his chief of staff, Stian Jensen, who said Ukraine may eventually cede territory to Russia as part of a deal to end the conflict, public broadcaster NRK noted.

"His (Jensen's) message, which is also my main message, which is also NATO's main message, is, first of all, that NATO's policy has not changed. We support Ukraine,” he said.

"If we want peace, military support for Ukraine is the solution.” "It is the Ukrainians themselves who must decide when they are willing to sit down at the negotiating table," he said.​​​​​​​

1841 GMT — Moscow court arrests American national for 'espionage'

A Moscow court has arrested US citizen of Russian origin Gene Spector on suspicion of espionage, Russian news agencies reported.

The agencies provided no details of the charges, but according to RIA, in 2022 Spector was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison for his role in bribing the assistant of ex-Russian Deputy PM Arkadiy Dvorkovich.

The court session was held behind closed doors as the case materials are classified, Interfax reported.

1715 GMT — Ukraine tells military-age citizens to 'overcome their fear' in recruitment campaign

Ukraine's defence ministry urged military-age citizens to update their data at army enlistment offices and "overcome their fear" in a campaign launched as a summer counter-offensive grinds through its third month.

The campaign, which draws on slickly-produced videos and photo testimonials of prominent soldiers describing their fears, aims to break down a major obstacle in army recruitment, Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said.

"We're all living people and we all overcome this fear in order to win," she said, noting that military-age citizens are duty-bound to keep their personal data at draft offices up-to-date.

The campaign comes with Ukraine likely facing tougher challenges in recruiting as the war with Russia, now in a brutally attritional phase, nears the 18-month mark.

1705 GMT — Putin not pushing Belarus to enter war with Ukraine, says Lukashenko

Russian President Vladimir Putin is not trying to push Belarus into joining the war in Ukraine, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said in an online interview.

"To involve Belarus ... what will that give? Nothing," said Lukashenko, one of Putin's closest allies, whose country borders Ukraine, Russia and three NATO countries including Poland.

"If you Ukrainians do not cross our border, we will never participate in this war. In this hot war. But we will always help Russia - they are our allies," he said in the interview with Diana Panchenko, a pro-Russian Ukrainian journalist.

Lukashenko also said he believed Putin had already achieved his goals in what Russia calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine, and said the two sides should sit at the negotiating table and be ready to discuss all the issues, including the future of Crimea and other Ukrainian territories Moscow claims.

1635 GMT — Ukraine port ship reaches Türkiye despite Russian blockade

A civilian cargo vessel sailing from Ukraine reached Turkish waters in defiance of a Moscow blockade that saw another ship come under attack from Russian military personnel.

The Hong Kong-flagged Joseph Schulte left the port of Odessa on Wednesday - the first vessel to directly challenge Russia's new bid to seal Ukraine's access to the Black Sea.

Marine traffic sites showed it entering Turkish territory after moving along a western route that avoided international waters in favour of those controlled by NATO members Romania and Bulgaria.

A German company that co-owns the container vessel said it would "probably" reach its destination in Istanbul later Thursday.

1530 GMT — Ukraine receives new air defence systems from Berlin

Ukraine said that it had received new IRIS-T anti-aircraft systems from Germany, as it looks to bolster air defences in the face of increasing Russian missile strikes.

"Many thanks to our partners for IRIS-T. Our sky will be more protected," said Andriy Yermak, head of Ukraine's presidential office in a post on social media.

Germany confirmed Thursday that it had supplied two IRIS-T anti-aircraft systems to Ukraine, which has repeatedly asked its Western allies for military support.

1113 GMT — France's Sarkozy blasted for call to compromise with Russia

France's former president Nicolas Sarkozy has stirred outrage in Kiev and Paris by suggesting Russia's offensive on Ukraine could be ended with new referendums in occupied territories.

"The Ukrainians... will want to reconquer what has been unjustly taken from them. But if they can't manage it completely, the choice will be between a frozen conflict... or taking the high road out with referendums strictly overseen by the international community," Sarkozy told conservative newspaper Le Figaro.

Speaking particularly about the Crimean peninsula, which Russia have annexed illegally in 2014, the former French leader said that "any return to the way things were before is an illusion".

"An incontestable referendum... will be needed to solidify the current state of affairs," he added.

The ex-president insisted that Russian leader Vladimir Putin was "not irrational" and could be reached with the right kind of diplomacy from Europe, harking back to Moscow's 2008 attack of Georgia when Sarkozy said he "convinced (Putin) to withdraw his tanks".

1104 GMT — Ship from Ukraine port nears Türkiye despite Russian blockade

A civilian cargo vessel sailing from Ukraine in defiance of a Russian blockage was hugging the coast of Bulgaria on Thursday on its way to Türkiye, marine traffic monitors said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the ship was using a "new humanitarian corridor" that Kiev established after Russia last month scuppered a landmark agreement allowing Ukraine to export grain and foodstuffs across the Black Sea.

1059 GMT — Ukraine alone decides when conditions right for peace talks- NATO's Stoltenberg

It is up to Ukraine to decide when the conditions are right to join any negotiations following the Russian offensive, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday, emphasising the alliance's unchanged stance after comments this week by a senior colleague.

"It is the Ukrainians, and only the Ukrainians, who can decide when there are conditions in place for negotiations, and who can decide at the negotiating table what is an acceptable solution," Stoltenberg said.

Speaking at a conference in the Norwegian town of Arendal, he added that NATO's role was to support Ukraine.

1029 GMT — Russia claims it carried out successful offensive in Donetsk region

Russia's defence ministry said on Thursday its forces had succeeded with an offensive in Ukraine's Donetsk region, Russian news agencies reported.

The RIA news agency cited the ministry as saying that Ukraine had lost four Stryker armoured vehicles, the first time Russia has claimed to hit the U.S.-supplied vehicles.

0637 GMT — US sanctions entities tied to Russia, North Korea arms deals

The United States has announced that it is slapping sanctions against three entities accused of seeking to facilitate arms deals between North Korea and Russia as Washington tightened its restrictions on support for Moscow's offensive in Ukraine.

The US Treasury Department said in a statement that Russia was continuing to use up munitions and lose heavy equipment in Ukraine, forcing it to turn to its small pool of allies, including North Korea, for support.

The department said it had "imposed sanctions on three entities tied to a sanctions evasion network attempting to support arms deals between Russia and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea".

"This action is part of the continuing U.S. strategy to identify, expose, and disrupt third-country actors seeking to support Russia's brutal war against Ukraine," it added.

0612 GMT — EU funding for Russia and Belarus reallocated towards Ukraine and Moldova

The EU transferred 135 million euros ($147 million) initially allocated for programmes with Russia and Belarus towards strengthening the cooperation with Ukraine and Moldova, it said in a statement on Wednesday afternoon.

"The decision (...) is the result of the brutal war of Russia against Ukraine", EU Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, Elisa Ferreira, said.

The EU also decided that regions in Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Poland which were supposed to participate in cooperation programmes with Russia and Belarus, may participate in other existing programmes.

0530 GMT — Ukraine claims success on its southeastern front

Ukrainian forces have claimed success on the southeastern front, where they liberated one settlement the previous day.

"In the direction south of Urozhaine they (Ukrainian troops) had success," military spokesman Andriy Kovaliov told the national television on Thursday.

Earlier, Ukraine announced the recapture of the village of Urozhaine from Russian troops in the southeast.

Urozhaine, on the edge of Donetsk region, is the first village Kiev says it has retaken since July 27, a sign of the challenge Ukraine faces advancing through heavily mined Russian defensive lines without powerful air support.

For our live updates from Wednesday (August 16), click here.