While representatives from 40 nations gather in Saudi Arabia to discuss peace in Ukraine, the fighting between Moscow and Kiev intensifies.
Following a strike by Kyiv on a Russian tanker in the Black Sea, Russian and Ukrainian troops intensified their attacks, damaging a blood transfusion centre, a university, and an aviation complex in Ukraine.
Attacks occurred late on Saturday, while senior government representatives from 40 nations, including China, India, and the United States, were in Saudi Arabia to discuss ways to put an end to the conflict in Ukraine.
The two-day meeting is not anticipated to result in a final statement.
While Moscow-installed officials charged Kiev with using cluster munitions to destroy a university in the Russian-controlled Donetsk region, Ukrainian officials put the responsibility on Russia for the attack on the blood centre in the eastern town of Kupiansk late on Saturday.
The attack on Kupiansk in the Kharkiv region was referred to as a “war crime” by the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who also stated that “there are dead and wounded.”
He didn’t specify how many people were murdered or hurt.
He added that the attack was carried out by Russian forces using a “guided aerial bomb” and that firefighters were putting out a fire at the location.
“This war crime says everything about Russian aggression,” he continued.
A university building in the vicinity was on fire as a result of Ukrainian bombardment, according to the governor of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, who was installed by Moscow hours after Zelenskyy’s report.
He claimed that according to early information, the contentious cluster munitions were to blame for the fire.
Earlier on Friday, Ukraine attacked the Russian port of Novorossiysk.
Without Russia’s involvement, a two-day summit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to find a peaceful resolution to the war began, though the Kremlin has stated it will monitor the negotiations.
The gathering is a part of Ukraine’s diplomatic effort to win over countries in the Global South who have been reluctant to endorse one side in a conflict that has hurt the world economy.
Zelenskyy said it would be crucial to undertake bilateral conversations outside of the Jeddah meeting in order to reach consensus on the fundamentals for a summit of world leaders he plans to convene on the subject later in the year.
Speaking on Saturday, he admitted that there were differences between the participating nations but insisted that the rule-based system of international law needed to be reinstated.
“It is very important because in such matters as food security, the fate of millions of people in Africa, Asia, and other parts of the world directly depends on how fast the world will be implementing the Peace Formula,” he stated.
“I thank Saudi Arabia for providing this forum for negotiations.”
There won’t be a unified statement following the meeting, a European Union official told Reuters, but the Saudis will offer a strategy for continued negotiations. To address topics including international food security, nuclear safety, and prisoner releases, working groups can be established.
According to the person, there was “agreement that respect for territorial integrity and [the] sovereignty of Ukraine needs to be at the heart of any peace settlement.” The official hailed the negotiations as constructive.
China dispatched Special Envoy for Eurasian Affairs Li Hui to the meeting in place of the country, which did not participate in a previous round of negotiations in Copenhagen, while India sent National Security Advisor Shri Ajit Doval.
Since the start of the crisis, China and India have maintained strong economic connections with Russia and have rebuffed attempts to hold Moscow accountable for the fighting. Additionally, both nations have increased their purchases of Russian oil.
Sydney Mufamadi, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s security advisor, represented South Africa among the other BRICS nations, which also includes Russia, China, and India. Celso Amorim, Brazil’s top foreign policy advisor, also joined via video link.
SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES AND AL JAZEERA
