Russia's bombardment of Ukraine's infrastructure proves that President Vladimir Putin has no interest in opening talks to end the war, a senior US official said on Tuesday.
Russia has been launching attacks on Ukraine's electricity and heating infrastructure since October, in what Kyiv and its allies say is a deliberate attempt to freeze Ukrainians into submission.
The attacks are “evidence that he [Mr Putin] has no genuine interest in negotiation or meaningful diplomacy”, said Lisa Carty, the US ambassador to the UN Economic and Social Council.
“But he will not succeed, because Ukraine is fighting for its freedom and for the future of its children. And we will do everything in our power to keep hope alive in Ukraine.”
Russia's UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told the council that “we confirm our willingness to conduct negotiations” and that “the aim would be to eradicate the root causes that forced us to start our special military operation in Ukraine.”
But, he argued, the west isn’t interested “in a political diplomatic settlement,” pointing to NATO’s decision to expand weapons deliveries to Ukraine at its November 29 meeting.
Speaking alongside French President Emmanuel Macron last week, US President Joe Biden offered a diplomatic opening in the conflict, now in its tenth month.
“Let me choose my words very carefully,” Mr Biden said. “I'm prepared to speak with Mr Putin if, in fact, there is an interest in him deciding he's looking for a way to end the war. He hasn't done that yet.”
EU proposes special court to investigate Russia's actions in Ukraine - video
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov last week rejected Mr Biden’s condition for restarting negotiations and argued that the US refusal to recognise Russia’s annexation in late September of four territories in Ukraine “significantly complicates” the search for common ground for a possible discussion.
During a UN Security Council meeting on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine on Tuesday, France’s UN ambassador, Nicolas de Riviere, condemned Russia for violating international humanitarian law, including its attacks on civilian infrastructure.
Mr de Riviere said Moscow's actions amount to acts of terror and constitute war crimes.
“These acts are serious crimes, punishable by international law and they are part of grave violations established by this council's resolutions,” he said.
“France will continue to lend its full support to Ukrainian justice and to international jurisdictions, starting with the International Criminal Court.”
He added that his country will continue its support for Ukraine by organising an international conference on December 13 in Paris with the aim of responding to the urgent needs of the population as winter approaches and to set up a mechanism for co-ordinating aid.
Last month, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed forming a UN-backed special tribunal to try Russia for the crime of aggression in Ukraine.
France is the first major western country to publicly support the proposal.
Ukraine becomes dark patch in night satellite images — in pictures
Paris last week issued a press statement confirming that it had begun working with European and Ukrainian partners on the proposal to “establish a Special Tribunal on Russia’s Crime of Aggression against Ukraine”.
Moscow expressed “outraged” over France’s statement.
Russia’s attacks have significantly damaged Ukraine’s power grid, triggering massive power, telephone and internet cuts as well as a reduction in water supplies throughout the country. The situation has been particularly critical for Ukraine’s capital Kyiv.
The effects of the attacks on civilians have been compounded by the arrival of winter and below-freezing temperatures.
UN Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths said on Tuesday that the ability of civilians “to survive in Ukraine is under attack”.
“The scale of destruction of the electrical and heating infrastructure requires the international community’s enhanced support to the government of Ukraine beyond what humanitarians can provide,” he said.
Mr Griffiths added that more than 14 million Ukrainians have been displaced, including 6.5 million who have been internally displaced and about 7.8 million refugees.
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights reported that 17,023 civilians have been killed since February 2022, including 419 children.
The World Health Organisation said that there have been at least 715 attacks on healthcare personnel and facilities in the country.
Mr Griffiths noted that Russian missile attacks continue to impede humanitarian agencies from providing aid to civilians, particularly in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The years Ramadan fell in May
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
UAE SQUAD
Mohammed Naveed (captain), Mohamed Usman (vice captain), Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Imran Haider, Tahir Mughal, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed, Fahad Nawaz, Abdul Shakoor, Sultan Ahmed, CP Rizwan
Copa del Rey
Semi-final, first leg
Barcelona 1 (Malcom 57')
Real Madrid (Vazquez 6')
Second leg, February 27
World record transfers
1. Kylian Mbappe - to Real Madrid in 2017/18 - €180 million (Dh770.4m - if a deal goes through)
2. Paul Pogba - to Manchester United in 2016/17 - €105m
3. Gareth Bale - to Real Madrid in 2013/14 - €101m
4. Cristiano Ronaldo - to Real Madrid in 2009/10 - €94m
5. Gonzalo Higuain - to Juventus in 2016/17 - €90m
6. Neymar - to Barcelona in 2013/14 - €88.2m
7. Romelu Lukaku - to Manchester United in 2017/18 - €84.7m
8. Luis Suarez - to Barcelona in 2014/15 - €81.72m
9. Angel di Maria - to Manchester United in 2014/15 - €75m
10. James Rodriguez - to Real Madrid in 2014/15 - €75m
Bookshops: A Reader's History by Jorge Carrión (translated from the Spanish by Peter Bush),
Biblioasis
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
RESULTS
%3Cp%3E%0D%3Cstrong%3E1.45pm%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Green%20Oasis%20Trading%20%E2%80%93%20Maiden%20(PA)%20Dh50%2C000%20(Dirt)%201%2C400m%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EWinner%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Meeqat%2C%20Saif%20Al%20Balushi%20(jockey)%2C%20Khalifa%20Al%20Neyadi%20(trainer)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E2.15pm%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAl%20Shafar%20Investment%20%E2%80%93%20Maiden%20(TB)%20Dh60%2C000%20(D)%201%2C400m%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EWinner%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Flying%20Hunter%2C%20Ray%20Dawson%2C%20Ahmad%20bin%20Harmash%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E2.45pm%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EThe%20Union%2051%20Cup%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(TB)%20Dh84%2C000%20(D)%201%2C400m%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EWinner%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ibra%20Attack%2C%20Adrie%20de%20Vries%2C%20Ahmed%20Al%20Shemaili%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E3.15pm%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20ASCANA%20Thakaful%20%E2%80%93%20Maiden%20(TB)%20Dh60%2C000%20(D)%201%2C200m%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EWinner%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Onda%20Ruggente%2C%20Royston%20Ffrench%2C%20Salem%20bin%20Ghadayer%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E3.45pm%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ECommercial%20Bank%20of%20Dubai%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(TB)%20Dh76%2C000%20(D)%201%2C200m%0D%3Cbr%3EWinner%3A%20Dignity%20Joy%2C%20Antonio%20Fresu%2C%20Musabah%20Al%20Muhairi%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E4.15pm%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%20Real%20Estate%20Centre%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(TB)%20Dh76%2C000%20(D)%201%2C600m%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EWinner%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Tolmount%2C%20Xavier%20Ziani%2C%20Salem%20bin%20Ghadayer%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E4.45pm%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJebel%20Ali%20Racecourse%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(TB)%20Dh84%2C000%20(D)%201%2C950m%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EWinner%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERakeez%2C%20Tadhg%20O%E2%80%99Shea%2C%20Bhupat%20Seemar%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
US PGA Championship in numbers
1 Joost Luiten produced a memorable hole in one at the par-three fourth in the first round.
2 To date, the only two players to win the PGA Championship after winning the week before are Rory McIlroy (2014 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational) and Tiger Woods (2007, WGC-Bridgestone Invitational). Hideki Matsuyama or Chris Stroud could have made it three.
3 Number of seasons without a major for McIlroy, who finished in a tie for 22nd.
4 Louis Oosthuizen has now finished second in all four of the game's major championships.
5 In the fifth hole of the final round, McIlroy holed his longest putt of the week - from 16ft 8in - for birdie.
6 For the sixth successive year, play was disrupted by bad weather with a delay of one hour and 43 minutes on Friday.
7 Seven under par (64) was the best round of the week, shot by Matsuyama and Francesco Molinari on Day 2.
8 Number of shots taken by Jason Day on the 18th hole in round three after a risky recovery shot backfired.
9 Jon Rahm's age in months the last time Phil Mickelson missed the cut in the US PGA, in 1995.
10 Jimmy Walker's opening round as defending champion was a 10-over-par 81.
11 The par-four 11th coincidentally ranked as the 11th hardest hole overall with a scoring average of 4.192.
12 Paul Casey was a combined 12 under par for his first round in this year's majors.
13 The average world ranking of the last 13 PGA winners before this week was 25. Kevin Kisner began the week ranked 25th.
14 The world ranking of Justin Thomas before his victory.
15 Of the top 15 players after 54 holes, only Oosthuizen had previously won a major.
16 The par-four 16th marks the start of Quail Hollow's so-called "Green Mile" of finishing holes, some of the toughest in golf.
17 The first round scoring average of the last 17 major champions was 67.2. Kisner and Thorbjorn Olesen shot 67 on day one at Quail Hollow.
18 For the first time in 18 majors, the eventual winner was over par after round one (Thomas shot 73).
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Herc's Adventures
Developer: Big Ape Productions
Publisher: LucasArts
Console: PlayStation 1 & 5, Sega Saturn
Rating: 4/5
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
- Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
- Tourism industry knowledge.
- Professional ethics.
Company%20profile
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The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
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The specs
Price: From Dh529,000
Engine: 5-litre V8
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Power: 520hp
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The years Ramadan fell in May
Origin
Dan Brown
Doubleday
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Company: Instabug
Founded: 2013
Based: Egypt, Cairo
Sector: IT
Employees: 100
Stage: Series A
Investors: Flat6Labs, Accel, Y Combinator and angel investors
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
GAC GS8 Specs
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Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
