Ukraine

A year after kicking Russia out of the Council of Europe (CoE), the leaders of the 46-nation pan-continental rights body gather Tuesday in Iceland to show a united face against Moscow. … It is only the fourth such meeting to be held in the CoE's seven-decade history.

[…] As regards EUAM Ukraine, the Council appointed Rolf M. Hay Pereira Holmboe as Head of Mission from 1 June 2023 to 31 May 2024. Rolf Holmboe currently serves as Denmark’s ambassador to Mali, after being posted in Pakistan, Lebanon and Syria.

Russia’s forced transfer of Ukrainian children amounts to genocide, the Council of Europe said Thursday (27 April) in a resolution adopted by its parliamentary assembly. Calling for the safe return of the children to Ukraine, the parliament said “the documented evidence of this practice matches with the international definition of genocide”.

China said that it would send representatives to Ukraine and hold talks with all parties. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the conversation with his Chinese counterpart "long and meaningful."

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg defiantly declared Thursday that Ukraine’s “rightful place” is in the military alliance and pledged more support for the country on his first visit to Kyiv since Russia’s invasion just over a year ago.

The Council today decided to add the Wagner Group and RIA FAN to the list of those subject to EU restrictive measures for actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine. … RIA FAN is part of the Patriot Media Group, a Russian media organisation whose Board of Trustees is headed by Yevgeniy Prigozhin. The news agency is involved in pro-government propaganda and disinformation on Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.

Child casualties in Ukraine have hit a “tragic milestone”, the head of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Monday, as the UN human rights office (OHCHR) released its latest report on rising numbers of deaths and injuries in the country since Russia launched a full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Russia has committed wide-ranging war crimes in Ukraine such as willful killings, torture and the deportation of children, a U.N.-mandated investigative body said in a report published on Thursday.

The UN chief on Monday confirmed the UN would “do everything possible to preserve the integrity” of the Black Sea Grain Initiative – the deal agreed between Ukraine and Russia last July that is due to expire in just a few days.

In UN debates over Russia’s war in Ukraine, Western countries are still pledging to back Kyiv militarily, while non-Western states are more inclined to call for a negotiated peace. Thus far, however, the latter’s proposals for reaching that goal have been short on detail.