Page 5 - aruba-today-20220331
P. 5

A5
                                                                                         WORLD NEWS Thursday 31 March 2022
            Number of Ukraine refugees passes worst-case U.N. estimate



            By  BASSAM  HATOUM  and                                                                                             not  working,  so  how  can
            JAMEY KEATEN                                                                                                        we call it peace talks if they
            Associated Press                                                                                                    are shooting and bombing
            MEDYKA,  Poland  (AP)  —                                                                                            our  cites  during  and  after
            The number of people who                                                                                            the talks?” Kovalyova said.
            have fled Ukraine since Rus-                                                                                        “There  is  no  trust  in  Russia,
            sian troops invaded has sur-                                                                                        but  also  I  hope  for  peace
            passed 4 million, the United                                                                                        and calm, but unfortunate-
            Nations  reported  Wednes-                                                                                          ly this is the situation.”
            day as shelling continued in                                                                                        The  U.N.  refugee  agency,
            places where Moscow had                                                                                             UNHCR,  said  Wednesday
            vowed  to  ease  its  military                                                                                      that  more  than  4  million
            operations.                                                                                                         people  have  left  Ukraine
            “I do not know if we can still                                                                                      since  Russia  launched  its
            believe the Russians,” refu-                                                                                        invasion  on  Feb.  24  and
            gee  Nikolay  Nazarov,  23,                                                                                         sparked  Europe’s  largest
            said as he crossed Ukraine’s                                                                                        refugee  crisis  since  World
            border into Poland with his                                                                                         War  II.  That  number  ex-
            wheelchair-bound father.                                                                                            ceeds  the  worst-case  pre-
            Despite Russia’s announce-                                                                                          dictions  made  at  the  start
            ment  during  talks  on  Tues-  Refugees, mostly women and children, wait in a crowd for transportation after fleeing from the   of the war.
            day  that  its  forces  would   Ukraine and arriving at the border crossing in Medyka, Poland, on March 7, 2022.    Half  of  the  refugees  from
            ease  their  assault  near                                                                         Associated Press  Ukraine  are  children,  ac-
            Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, and                                                                                        cording to UNHCR and the
            elsewhere,  Nazarov  said  reducing  military  activity  8-year-old  son  a  month  ter in Romania’s central city  U.N. children’s agency UNI-
            he  expects  “more  escala-  near Kyiv and in Chernihiv,  ago. She says they will only  of  Brasov,  where  she  says  CEF.
            tion”  in  the  country’s  east,  a besieged northern city.  return  when  “bombs  stop  they  will  stay  until  the  war  “I  think  it’s  a  tragic  mile-
            including  the  city  he  and  “We can call those signals  exploding  in  my  city”  and  is  over.  “It’s  still  very  scary,  stone,”  Alex  Mundt,  the
            his father fled. “That is why  that we hear at the nego-  “when Russian troops com-    every day we get messag-     UNHCR  senior  emergency
            we  cannot  go  back  to  tiations  positive,”  Zelen-    pletely leave our territory.”  es from home that there is  coordinator in Poland, said.
            Kharkiv,”  he  said.  “We  are  skyy  said  in  his  address  to  Elena  Litvinova,  a  33-year-  shooting and bombing.”  “It  means  that  in  less  than
            afraid  of  a  new  phase  of  the  Ukrainian  people.  “But  old accountant from Myko-  Olha  Kovalyova,  who  ar-  a  month  or  in  just  about
            war in eastern Ukraine.”     those  signals  don’t  silence  laiv, is also skeptical of Rus-  rived in Poland with her two  a  month,  4  million  people
            Nazarov,  like  other  refu-  the  explosions  of  Russian  sia’s promises and will only  children,  said  she  didn’t  have  been  uprooted  from
            gees  interviewed  by  The  shells.”  For  Diana  Konstan-  head  home  with  her  two  trust   Moscow   because  their homes, from their fam-
            Associated  Press,  echoed  tynova,  a  45-year-old  ac-  young  children  when  “our  it  had  failed  to  fulfill  ear-  ilies,  their  communities,  in
            the  opinion  of  Ukrainian  countant  from  Vinnytsia  president says that the war  lier  promises  made  in  the  what  is  the  fastest  exodus
            President  Volodymyr  Zel-   in  south  Ukraine,  Russia’s  is over.”                  framework  of  2014  and  of  refugees  moving  in  re-
            enskyy.  In  his  nightly  video  promise  to  scale  back  its  “During  the  negotiations,  2015 agreements aimed at  cent history.”
            address, Zelenskyy said that  attacks  is  not  a  signal  she  the city administration and  ending  fighting  between  More  than  2.3  million  refu-
            given  what  was  happen-    can safely return home.      children’s educational insti-  Russia-backed  separatists  gees from Ukraine entered
            ing  on  the  ground,  there  “I do not believe in a truce,”  tutions  where  my  children  and Ukrainian forces in the  Poland,  but  some  have
            was  no  reason  to  believe  said  Konstantynova,  who  studied  were  destroyed,”  eastern Donbas region.         since  traveled  on  to  other
            Russia’s  statement  about  fled  to  Romania  with  her  she said at a refugee cen-   “The  Minsk  agreement  is  countries. q

             Defense seeks acquittal of Russian suspect in MH17 downing



            By MIKE CORDER               sile Brigade that was driven  Ukrainian  has been arrest-
            Associated Press             to the launch location “by  ed, so they are being tried
            THE  HAGUE,  Netherlands  orders  of  and  under  guid-   in their absence.
            (AP) — A lawyer for a Rus-   ance  of  the  suspects.”  All  Prosecutors  in  December
            sian on trial in a Dutch court  298  passengers  and  crew  sought  life  sentences  for
            for  his  alleged  role  in  the  were killed.            all  four  suspects.  Judges
            2014  downing  of  Malaysia  “Our  client    this  much  is  are  expected  to  deliver
            Airlines  flight  MH17  argued  clear    is  not  the  one  who  verdicts by the end of the
            Wednesday  that  prosecu-    pressed the button, not the  year.
            tors failed to prove he was  one  who  ordered  the  but-  The  flight  was  shot  down
            involved.                    ton to be pressed, not the  amid the conflict between
            Defendant  Oleg  Pulatov’s  one  who  authorized  the  pro-Russian      rebels   and
            legal team has attempted  button  to  be  pressed  and  Ukrainian  forces  in  eastern
            to cast doubt on the pros-   not the one who provided  Ukraine in 2014. Last month
            ecutors’  case,  accusing  the weapon,” said defense  Moscow  launched  a  full-
            them  of  tunnel  vision  and  lawyer  Sabine  ten  Doess-  scale  invasion  of  Ukraine
            not  adequately  investigat-  chate.                      that  has  become  bogged    Judges  and  lawyers  view  the  reconstructed  wreckage  of
            ing other possible scenarios  Pulatov  is  the  only  one  of  down into a war of attrition   Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, at the Gilze-Rijen military Airbase,
            for  the  shooting  down  of  four  suspects  indicted  in  that  forced  more  than  4   southern Netherlands, on May 26, 2021.
            MH17 on July 17, 2014, over  the downing of the Amster-   million refugees to flee the                                          Associated Press
            eastern Ukraine.             dam-to-Kuala Lumpur flight  country  and  triggered  a
            Prosecutors say the Boeing  being represented by law-     war crimes investigation at  Dutch  and  Australian  gov-  Organization  seeking  to
            777  was  hit  by  a  Buk  mis-  yers at the trial that began  the  International  Criminal  ernments launched a legal  hold Moscow accountable
            sile  belonging  to  the  Rus-  two years ago. None of the  Court.                     case  against  Russia  at  the  for  its  alleged  role  in  the
            sian  53rd  Anti  Aircraft  Mis-  men  three  Russians  and  a  Earlier  this  month,  the  International  Civil  Aviation  downing of MH17.q
   1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10