It is day 497 of the war in Ukraine. Follow developments in Ukraine and Russia here in this live blog.
UN rapporteur: the human rights situation in Belarus is “disastrous”
The human rights situation in Belarus is “catastrophic and worsening,” said Anaïs Marin, the UN special rapporteur for the country. According to her, the regime of Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko is deliberately purging society of the “last dissenting voices,” Marin warned on Tuesday at the UN Human Rights Council.
In his annual report, Marin said more than 1,500 people are detained for political reasons. Since 2020, an average of 17 people are arrested “arbitrarily” per day. 2020 was also the year Minsk took a “totalitarian turn” according to Marin, exemplified by that year’s crackdown on peaceful protesters. And: “human rights violations fuel a climate of fear among the victims and their families”.
Killed and wounded in an attack on the eastern Ukrainian city of Makijivka
In the Russian-controlled city of Makijivka in eastern Ukraine, at least 36 people were injured by the impact of several bullets. Among the wounded are two children, Denis Pushilin, appointed head of the Donetsk region by Moscow, told Telegram. According to Russian news agency Interfax, one person was killed in the attacks.
According to Pushilin, residential buildings, a hospital, schools and a kindergarten were damaged. Russian military blogs claim that American HIMARS missiles were used in the bombing.
The Ukrainian military showed Telegram footage of a massive explosion in the city, claiming it was an attack on a Russian military base. According to the Ukrainians, the explosion was so powerful because a fuel or ammunition depot was hit during the shelling.
Moscow and Kiev accuse each other of planning to attack the nuclear power plant
Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of planning an attack on the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine. Such an attack could lead to radioactive pollution that could spread across much of Europe.
An official at Russia’s nuclear agency Rosenergoatom warned on state television that the Ukrainian military could try to attack the facility with missiles and drones as early as Wednesday evening. Not only would Kiev plan to shoot down the nuclear power plant, but it would also like to drop a bomb containing nuclear waste.
This live blog is based on reports from our correspondents and editors BNR, The Guardian, ANP, Al Jazeera, Reuters, Associated Press, CNN, BBC, CNBC, Sky News and Agence France-Presse. BNR also uses online reports from news agencies Tass, RIA Novosti and Interfax (Russia) and Belta (Belarus). Since the reporting of these agencies is not verifiable and cannot be qualified as independent, in these cases the source of the report is explicitly stated.
Source: BNR
Sharon Rock is an author and journalist who writes for 24 News Globe. She has a passion for learning about different cultures and understanding the complexities of the world. With a talent for explaining complex global issues in an accessible and engaging way, Sharon has become a respected voice in the field of world news journalism.
