© HRMMU/Anastasiia Honcharuk
Russian attacks on thermal power plants like this one in Ukraine last year have caused immense suffering to vulnerable communities, UN humanitarians have warned.
UN NEWS
UN chief António Guterres on Thursday hailed positive announcements from the White House, Kremlin and Kyiv aimed at stopping crippling attacks on energy infrastructure in Ukraine and Russia, linked to Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbour.
“Any ceasefire is welcome because it saves lives, but it is essential that a ceasefire paves the way for a just peace in Ukraine,” the UN Secretary-General said in Brussels, where he also addressed the massive Israeli escalation in Gaza and urged the world not to give up on slowing climate change.
A “just peace” in Ukraine “is a peace that respects the UN Charter, international law and Security Council resolutions, namely about the territorial integrity of Ukraine”, the UN chief stressed, after meeting leaders of the 27 member states of the European Union, during a working lunch as part of a European Summit in Brussels.
His comments followed an earlier statement in which he welcomed further declarations by President Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine seeking to extend the ceasefire to the Black Sea – a crucial trade route for food and fertilizer exports to the wider world.
“Reaching an agreement on safe and free navigation in the Black Sea, with security commitments and in line with the UN Charter and international law would be a crucial contribution to global food security and supply chains,” the Secretary-General said, in a statement issued by his spokesperson’s office.
“It would reflect the importance of trade routes from both Ukraine and the Russian Federation to global markets.”
Key shipping lane
The UN has been heavily invested in ensuring that Ukrainian grain exports via the Black Sea can happen safely, along with the transport of Russian food and fertilizer, to halt spiralling food prices worldwide and stave off famine in vulnerable countries.
The UN-brokered Black Sea Initiative was agreed by Russia, Ukraine, Türkiye and the UN in Istanbul in July 2022. It allowed more than 30 million tonnes of grain and other foodstuffs to leave Ukraine’s ports and played an “indispensable role” in global food security, Mr. Guterres said at the time.
A parallel accord was also agreed between the UN and Moscow on grain and fertilizer exports from Russia, known as a Memorandum of Understanding.
In July 2023, the UN Secretary-General expressed his deep regret at Russia’s decision to terminate its involvement in the grain initiative.
“The Secretary-General has consistently supported the freedom of navigation in the Black Sea,” his statement continued, adding that he remains “closely engaged in the continued implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding with the Russian Federation on global food security”.
Gaza killings condemnation
Addressing journalists on the sidelines of high-level discussions at the European Council, Mr. Guterres said that he was “saddened and shocked because deaths and destruction are back in Gaza”, amid confirmation from the Israel Defense Forces that it had begun ground operations in the north of the enclave and “waves of attacks throughout the Strip”.
“The Palestinian people have already suffered too much,” the UN chief insisted, before renewing his appeal for the ceasefire to be respected, for unimpeded humanitarian access to all areas of Gaza and for the immediate and unconditional release of the hostages.
“It is absolutely essential to keep the door open for the only way to bring peace to the Middle East, which is to have a Palestinian state side-by-side with an Israeli state,” he continued.