- Ukraine receives bodies of 909 soldiers killed in war with Russia
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has dismissed the call for ‘transitional administration’ in Ukraine by Russian President, Vladimir Putin as a joke of the century
He described the development as Putin’s latest ploy to delay a peace deal and unfortunately continue his ambitious expansionist attack on Ukraine and its people.
Expectedly, support has come the way of President Zelenskyy with the United Nations (UN) Secretary General, António Guterres, saying that Ukraine has a legitimate government that must be respected by all.
Recalled that the Russian leader, Putin had renewed his call for a “transitional administration” to be put in place in Ukraine to allow for new elections, essentially urging the toppling of Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
He had also vowed that the Russia’s army would “finish off” Ukrainian troops.
It was not clear how far Putin’s idea for a UN-led temporary administration was meant to be taken seriously given that the Kremlin clarified that he had not raised this idea in recent phone calls with United States (US) President Donald Trump.
Amid efforts at brokering the ceasefire deal, UN Rights Chief, Volker Turk had called for an end to the “horrific suffering” caused by attacks on civilians in Ukraine.
Turk told the UN Human Rights Council on Friday that “Recent weeks have seen intense activity around a possible ceasefire in Ukraine, which would be very welcome.
“Limited ceasefires that protect shipping lanes and infrastructure are a welcome step forward. What is most needed now is an end to the horrific suffering being inflicted daily in Ukraine.”
Donald Trump has pushed for a ceasefire since returning to office in January, “and yet, in parallel with these talks, fighting in Ukraine has intensified, and is killing and injuring even more civilians”, Turk said.
“Casualty figures in the first three months of this year were 30% higher than the same period last year.”
Ukraine Receives Bodies Of 909 Soldiers
In a related development, Ukraine said Friday it had received back the bodies of 909 of its soldiers killed during battles with Russia, in the largest such repatriation in more than three years of war.
The Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, a government agency, said it was “grateful for the assistance of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)”.
It was further disclosed that the remains had been returned from the Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions.
