04.03.2022, New York.
Ukrainian nationalists hold thousands of foreign citizens as hostages, said Vasily Nebenzya, Russian Permanent Representative to the UN, on March 4 at the UN Security Council meeting.
“The number of foreign citizens who are forcibly held by Ukrainian nationalists is shocking. In the city of Kharkov, 3,189 citizens of India are held, up to 2,700 Vietnamese citizens, and 202 citizens of China. In the city of Sumy, 576 citizens of India are held, along with 101 from Ghana, and 121 from China. In the city of Chernigov, nine citizens of Indonesia are being held hostage,” said Nebenzya.
The diplomat reminded that earlier in the city of Kharkov, Ukrainian nationalists fired at Chinese citizens who wanted to leave Ukraine and cross over to Russian territory. Nebenzya said that the Russian military is taking all necessary measures to evacuate the civilian population from the combat zone.
On March 3, the second round of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine took place in Belovezhskaya Pushcha. Vladimir Medinsky, Russian Presidential Aide, who heads the Moscow delegation, said that the parties discussed three blocks of issues – military, international humanitarian, and “the conflict’s future political settlement.” The head of the delegation had particularly stressed that the main outcome of the meeting is a tentative agreement to set up safe routes for civilians leaving the combat zones.
On February 24, Russia launched a special military operation to defend the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics and proceeded to the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine. Russian Armed Forces used precision weapons to strike Ukrainian military infrastructure facilities in order to neutralize the response of the Ukrainian army. Ukrainian military warehouses, military airfields, command and control posts were destroyed.
Russian President Vladimir Putin in his video address stressed that civilian objects are not the targets of the Russian military, and nothing threatens the civilian population of Ukraine. The Russian president called on the servicemen in the Ukrainian army to lay down their arms and go home. Putin stressed that Russia does not intend to carry out the occupation of Ukrainian territory.
Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency
