Russian ambassador interrupts minute’s silence for Ukraine and says ‘all lives are priceless’
Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations has interrupted a minute’s silence for Ukraine as members of the Security Council stood up to honour the “victims of aggression” in the war.
Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba addressed those gathered in New York before calling for the silence to be observed as a mark of respect for Ukrainians who had died.
But as representatives got to their feet, Russia’s ambassador Vasily Nebenzya repeatedly tapped his microphone.
After being given the floor to make a statement, Mr Nebenzya said: “We are getting up on our feet to remember all victims of what has happened in Ukraine, starting in 2014.
“All of those who perished, all lives are priceless.”
Zelenskyy describes his toughest moment during conflict – follow live war updates
Mr Nebenzya was likely referring to the Russian lives which have been lost while fighting in Ukraine since Moscow’s forces invaded and annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014.
The tense moment came before Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy spoke in a news conference to mark the one year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Meanwhile, in what would be a huge moment, Mr Zelenskyy has said he plans to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
He did not say when such a meeting could take place.
“I plan to meet Xi Jinping and believe this will be beneficial for our countries and for security in the world,” he said.
China has close ties with Russia, but has aimed to present itself as a potential peace broker in recent days – and today set out a 12-point “peace plan”.
Mr Zelenskyy told the news conference in Kyiv that China has “started talking about Ukraine” and that “this is not bad”.
He added that a statement from China suggested the country respected Ukraine’s “territorial integrity”.
The president’s comments come as Western powers fear China will begin supplying Russia with weapons.
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Chinese arms could fuel the war?
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said he supports Mr Zelenskyy’s calls for “China to engage with Ukraine” over the Russian war.
In Kyiv, Sky’s security and defence editor Deborah Haynes asked Mr Zelenskyy if Ukraine can achieve victory on the battlefield or whether they will have to negotiate and possibly compromise with Russia to bring about an end to the war.
The Ukrainian president replied: “Everybody has seen that they kill people, they torture people, and they are not even trying to hide their attacks.
“They are talking about nuclear matters. They decided to take Iranian drones and kill civilians, and those civilians did not have guns in their hands, they had their children in their hands.”
Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba, second from left, led the minute’s silence before it was interrupted. Pic: AP
He added: “Do you think we Ukrainians can sit and negotiate with all of this? We call this phenomenon Russianism.
“We need to start from scratch, we need to go back to what was violated. Our right to live on our land needs to be respected.
“Leave our territory, withdraw, stop shelling us, stop killing civilians, stop destroying our infrastructure, our energy sector, portable water.
“Stop airstrikes on the city, stop killing dogs, cats, animals. Stop burning the forest.”
He added that only when Russia “stops doing all of that” can it be considered how the war might end diplomatically.
Mr Zelenskyy also told those gathered that victory over Russia was “inevitable” if all of Ukraine’s partners did their “homework”.
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The Ukrainian president also said he wants Latin America, Africa, China and India to participate in helping to bring about peace in Ukraine.
“These countries are also very important,” he said, adding he would like to organise a summit with the Latin American countries and Ukraine.
Mr Zelenskyy was earlier asked about Russian war crimes and whether those accused could be tried in Ukraine.
He said a special tribunal and mechanism is needed for Russia to get real “accountability” for its actions during the conflict.
“It’s huge work, and we are working on it,” Mr Zelenskyy said.
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Journalist asks Zelenskyy for a selfie
The Ukrainian leader was also asked about the moment of the war he found most difficult.
The room went silent as he replied.
“I think Bucha,” he said. “The moment we de-occupied Bucha. It was horrible. What we’ve seen… the devil is not somewhere below us – he’s among us.”
The town of Bucha, in the Kyiv region, was the site of a massacre of Ukrainian civilians and prisoners of war.
Ukrainian authorities say the bodies of 458 people were found in a mass grave after Russian troops departed.
Mr Zelenskyy was also asked what he thought his biggest mistake was and if anyone from his country had disappointed him.
“I’d like to start with the ones who disappointed me,” he said.
“All those who left on 24 February… all those who left Kyiv, all those who were leaving cities and towns… all those who were supposed to fight for this country, who were supposed to take care of the security of this country.”
Read more:
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‘It’s not life, it’s hell’: Sky’s Alex Rossi reports from the Donbas region
On the question of his own mistake, Mr Zelenskyy said he did not know.
“I’m working from early morning to late night, I’m a living person and no matter how some might think of that, I make choices, I am convinced I’m making mistakes from time to time.”
Meanwhile, a journalist from Azerbaijan took a selfie with Mr Zelenskyy in the middle of a news conference.
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The reporter asked Mr Zelenskyy a question before saying his son had asked him to get a photo with him.
Mr Zelenskyy appeared happy to do so and smiled for the snap.
The Ukrainian president then said: “We’ll start with what your son has asked, then get to the question you asked.”
World
Body pulled from mine after police cut off supplies to ‘smoke out’ thousands of illegal miners
A body has been recovered from a South African mine after police cut off basic supplies in an effort to force around 4,000 illegal miners to resurface.
The body has emerged from the closed gold mine in the northwest town of Stilfontein a day after South Africa’s government said it would not help the illegal miners.
Around 20 people have surfaced from the mineshaft this week as police wait nearby to arrest all those appearing from underground.
It comes a day after a cabinet minister said the government was trying to “smoke them [the miners] out”.
The move is part of the police’s “Close the Hole” operation, whereby officers cut off supplies of food, water and other basic necessities to get those who have entered illegally to come out.
Local reports suggest the supply routes were cut off at the mine around two months ago, with relatives of the miners seen in the area as the stand-off continues.
Relatives of miners and community members wait at the mine shaft. Pic: AP
A decomposed body was brought up on Thursday, with pathologists on the scene, police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe said.
It comes after South African cabinet minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni told reporters on Wednesday that the government would not send any help to the illegal miners, known in the country as zama zamas, because they are involved in a criminal act.
“We are not sending help to criminals. We are going to smoke them out. They will come out. Criminals are not to be helped; criminals are to be prosecuted. We didn’t send them there,” Ms Ntshavheni said.
An aerial view of a mineshaft. Pic: AP
Senior police and defence officials are expected to visit the area on Friday to “reinforce the government’s commitment to bringing this operation to a safe and lawful conclusion”, according to a media advisory from the police.
In the last few weeks, over 1,000 miners have surfaced at various mines in South Africa’s North West province, where police have cut off supplies.
Many of the miners were reported to be weak, hungry and sickly after going for weeks without basic supplies.
Illegal mining remains common in South Africa’s old gold-mining areas, with miners going into closed shafts to dig for any possible remaining deposits.
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Relatives of miners and community members wait near the mine shaft. Pic: AP
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The illegal miners are often from neighbouring countries, and police say the illegal operations involve larger syndicates that employ the miners.
Their presence in closed mines has also created problems with nearby communities, which complain that the illegal miners commit crimes ranging from robberies to rape.
Illegal mining groups are known to be heavily armed and disputes between rival groups sometimes result in fatal confrontations.
World
Ukrainian frontline commander warns: ‘The world is scared of Russia and losing is not only our problem’
In the courtyard of a farmhouse now home to soldiers of the Ukrainian army’s 47th mechanised brigade, I’m introduced to a weary-looking unit by their commander Captain Oleksandr “Sasha” Shyrshyn.
We are about 10km from the border with Russia, and beyond it lies the Kursk region Ukraine invaded in the summer – and where this battalion is now fighting.
The 47th is a crack fighting assault unit.
They’ve been brought to this area from the fierce battles in the country’s eastern Donbas region to bolster Ukrainian forces already here.
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The captain known by his men as ‘Genius’
In the summer, Ukraine launched an incursion into Russian territory, in Kursk
Captain Shyrshyn explains that among the many shortages the military has to deal with, the lack of infantry is becoming a critical problem.
Sasha is just 30 years old, but he is worldly-wise. He used to run an organisation helping children in the country’s east before donning his uniform and going to war.
He is famous in Ukraine and is regarded as one of the country’s top field commanders, who isn’t afraid to express his views on the war and how it’s being waged.
His nom de guerre is ‘Genius’, a nickname given to him by his men.
Captain Sasha Shyrshyn and Sky News chief correspondent Stuart Ramsay
‘Don’t worry, it’s not a minefield’
Sasha invited me to see one of the American Bradley fighting vehicles his unit uses.
We walk down a muddy lane before he says it’s best to go cross-country.
“We can go that way, don’t worry it’s not a minefield,” he jokes.
He leads us across a muddy field and into a forest where the vehicle is hidden from Russian surveillance drones that try to hunt both American vehicles and commanders.
Sasha shows me a picture of the house they had been staying in only days before – it was now completely destroyed after a missile strike.
Fortunately, neither he, nor any of his men, were there at the time.
“They target commanders,” he says with a smirk.
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‘The world is scared of Russia’
It takes me a moment or two to realise we are only a few steps away from the Bradley, dug in and well hidden beneath the trees.
The disguised American Bradley vehicle hidden in the forest
Sasha tells me the Bradley is the finest vehicle he has ever used.
A vehicle so good, he says, it’s keeping the Ukrainian army going in the face of Russia’s overwhelming numbers of soldiers.
He explains: “Almost all our work on the battlefield is cooperation infantry with the Bradley. So we use it for evacuations, for moving people from one place to another, as well as for fire-covering.
“This vehicle is very safe and has very good characteristics.”
The American Bradley fighting vehicle that Ukrainian soldiers have found vital in their efforts
Billions of dollars in military aid has been given to Ukraine by the United States, and this vehicle is one of the most valuable assets the US has provided.
Ukraine is running low on men to fight, and the weaponry it has is not enough, especially if it can’t fire long-range missiles into Russia itself – which it is currently not allowed to do.
If President-elect Donald Trump cuts the supply of military aid, the Ukrainians will lose – it’s that simple.
US President-elect Donald Trump has been clear he intends to change his nation’s policy on the war in Ukraine. Pic: Reuters
Sasha says: “We have a lack of weapons, we have a lack of artillery, we have a lack of infantry, and as the world doesn’t care about justice, and they don’t want to finish the war by our win, they are afraid of Russia.
“I’m sorry but they’re scared, they’re scared, and it’s not the right way.”
Like pretty much everyone in Ukraine, Sasha is waiting to see what the US election result will mean for his country.
He is sceptical about a deal with Russia.
“Our enemy only understands the language of power. And you cannot finish the war in 24 hours, or during the year without hard decisions, without a fight, so it’s impossible. It’s just talking without results,” he tells me.
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‘Losing will be not only our problem’
These men expect the fierce battles inside Kursk to intensify in the coming days.
Indeed, alongside the main supply route into Kursk, workers are already building new defensive positions – unfurling miles of razor wire and digging bunkers for the Ukrainian army if it finds itself in retreat.
Barbed wire rolled out in the Sumy region ahead of expected fighting
Tank traps in the Sumy region
Sasha and his men are realistic about support fatigue from the outside world but will keep fighting to the last if they have to.
“I understand this is only our problem, it’s only our issue, and we have to fight this battle, like we have to defend ourselves, it’s our responsibility,” Sasha said.
But he points out everyone should realise just how critical this moment in time is.
“If we look at it widely, we have to understand that us losing will be not only our problem, but it will be for all the world.”
Stuart Ramsay reports from northeastern Ukraine with camera operator Toby Nash, and producers Dominique Van Heerden, Azad Safarov, and Nick Davenport.
A weather warning has been issued for parts of Spain, as the country counts the cost of recent flooding.
The orange warnings are in place for parts of southwestern Spain – the area around Seville down towards Gibraltar.
Up to 8cm (3ins) of rain could fall within 12 hours, but the weekend looks much more settled in the country.
The latest warnings come just two weeks after flash flooding in Valencia and other parts of the country killed more than 200 people.
Malaga saw 14.2cm (5.6ins) of rainfall on Wednesday – Spain’s highest of the day – most of which fell in six hours.
All train services were halted in Malaga. Some flights have now resumed after the initial disruption.
Pic: Jamie Marchant
Emergency services in the province have moved 3,000 people from homes at risk of flooding close to the Guadalhorce River in the west of the city.
Jamie Marchant, 29, from Caerphilly in South Wales travelled to Malaga last Wednesday.
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He told Sky News that “debris” had been left behind by the recent rainfall in the region.
“Everyone is pitching in to clean up and some shops are opening as usual,” he added.
Orange warnings for the Valencia region in eastern Spain expired earlier on Thursday.
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The adverse weather could lead to total insured losses of more than €4bn (£3.33bn), according to credit rating agency Morningstar DBRS.
Much of the claims are expected to be covered by the Spanish government’s insurance pool, the agency said, but insurance premiums are likely to increase.
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