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Rishi Sunak today vowed to “call out” Russia on its war in Ukraine when he comes face-to-face with a member of Vladimir Putin’s inner circle for the first time as prime minister. With the Russian president himself skipping the G20 summit in the Indonesian resort of Bali, Mr Sunak will deliver his damning message to Putin’s foreign minister and chief apologist Sergei Lavrov as they face the conference table. The clash comes as Mr Putin’s war plans fall deeper into disarray after the Russian retreat from Kherson, the only regional capital captured during the nine-month invasion. Ukrainian police returned to the southern city on Saturday, along with state television and radio services, after Russian troops withdrew. About 200 officers set up checkpoints and began the work of documenting evidence of possible war crimes The Ukrainian military said it was overseeing stabilization measures, including demining and the disposal of unexploded ordnance, to make the city safe. However, one official described conditions in Kherson after months of occupation as a “humanitarian disaster”, with shortages of food, water and medicine. “The occupiers and collaborators did everything possible so that those people who remained in the city suffered as much as possible in those days, weeks, months of waiting,” said Roman Holovnya, adviser to the mayor of Kherson. “Water supplies are practically non-existent.” Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said withdrawing from Kherson amounted to “another strategic failure” for Putin. “In February, Russia failed to achieve any of its primary objectives except Kherson,” Wallace said. “Now with this tradition as well, the common people of Russia must surely ask themselves: ‘Why was it all?’ Russia still occupies about 70 percent of Kherson province, and its troops are now dug in to extended defensive lines on the left bank of the Dnipro River. President Volodymyr Zelensky suggested that some Russian soldiers could remain in the city, disguised in civilian clothes. Having shed some light on his approach to foreign policy before becoming prime minister last month, the annual gathering of world leaders opening in Bali on Tuesday gives Mr Sunak a chance to introduce himself on the world stage. But he faces a struggle to position himself as the leader of the international coalition against the invasion in the same degree as Boris Johnson, who went to great lengths to place himself at the center of the global backlash by building a personal relationship with Mr Zelensky. . The crisis in Ukraine will inevitably dominate the two-day gathering at the expense of an official agenda focused on energy, food and digital issues. With Mr Lavrov poised to wield Moscow’s veto over any proposed deal between G20 nations, diplomats accept it will be all but impossible to issue the usual communique at the end of the summit setting out common goals and commitments. Preparing to depart for Bali, Mr Sunak said the annual meeting of presidents, prime ministers and princes could not be “business as usual” while Russian troops were on Ukrainian soil.
Ukraine is working to stabilize Kherson after Russia’s withdrawal Show all 6
1/6 Ukraine is working to stabilize Kherson after Russia’s withdrawal
Ukraine is working to stabilize Kherson after Russia’s withdrawal
Russian Ukrainian War
Russian Ukrainian War Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Ukraine is working to stabilize Kherson after Russia’s withdrawal
Russian Ukrainian War
Russian Ukrainian War Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Ukraine is working to stabilize Kherson after Russia’s withdrawal
Russian Ukrainian War
Russian Ukrainian War
Ukraine is working to stabilize Kherson after Russia’s withdrawal
Russian Ukrainian War
Russian Ukrainian War
Ukraine is working to stabilize Kherson after Russia’s withdrawal
Russia Ukraine
Russia Ukraine Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Ukraine is working to stabilize Kherson after Russia’s withdrawal
Russia Ukraine
Russia Ukraine Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved He called for “coordinated and decisive action” by G20 members to address the economic turmoil caused by the nine-month invasion, creating a “stable international platform” to curb inflation and return to growth. Thursday’s autumn statement, in which chancellor Jeremy Hunt is expected to outline plans to plug a £60bn gap in the UK’s finances, will be part of that drive to return to financial normality, he said. “Putin’s war has wreaked havoc around the world, destroying lives and throwing the international economy into turmoil,” Mr Sunak said. “This G20 summit will not be normal. We will call out the Putin regime and reveal its utter contempt for the kind of international cooperation and respect for sovereignty that forums like the G20 represent. “In clear contrast to Putin’s agitation, the UK and our allies will work together to make meaningful progress in solving the economic challenges we face and improving the lives of our people.” The prime minister’s official spokesman said Mr Sunak would use the opportunity presented by the summit to “ensure the Russian government reckons with the devastation they are wreaking on Ukraine, their country and the world”. The Bali summit comes a week before a November 19 deadline for a deal to allow Ukrainian grain shipments to be exported via the Black Sea. With Moscow delaying renewal of the deal, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba accused Russia of “playing hunger games with the world.” Police are lined up in preparation for the G20 summit in Indonesia (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.) The United Nations says 10 million tonnes of grain and other food have been exported from Ukraine under the initiative agreed in July, helping to avert a global food crisis. But Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin said on Saturday that progress on expanding the deal would not be possible without unhindered access for Russian food and fertilizer exports to world markets. Mr Kuleba said that in addition to standing in the way of the deal continuing, Russia was engaging in “quiet sabotage” by allowing its inspectors to drag their feet in allowing the missions. Not only should Russia “remain part of the initiative, but it should also instruct its inspectors to act in good faith and avoid any measure, any step that creates barriers and prevents the export of Ukrainian agricultural products to the world market. ” he said. “Russia must – must – stop playing hunger games with the world.” Mr. Kuleba carefully noted Ukraine’s victory in Kherson. “We are winning battles on the ground, but the war continues,” he said. “Every time we liberate a piece of our territory, when we enter a city that has been liberated by the Russian army, we find torture chambers and mass graves of civilians tortured and murdered by the Russian army during the occupation. “It is not easy to talk to such people. But I said that every war ends with diplomacy and Russia should approach the talks in good faith.”
