‘He doesn’t want to hear our condemnation’
FOREIGN Secretary James Cleverly has demanded justice for victims of war crimes in Ukraine at a meeting of world leaders.
He said there was “mounting evidence” of Russian atrocities against civilians in Ukraine.
His speech at the UN General Assembly was preceded by ranting from Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
In an extraordinary moment Mr Cleverly lashed out at his counterpart for ignoring international “condemnation” over the invasion after the Putin henchman walked out as he delivered his remarks.
Mr Cleverly said: “He has left the chamber. I am not surprised, I don’t think Mr Lavrov wants to hear the collective condemnation of this council but we saw through him then and we saw through him today.”
The event in New York has been overshadowed by Vladimir Putin’s nuclear threat and call-up of military reservists. Downing Street said the Russian president’s move was
a “clear admission” his invasion of Ukraine was failing. At a special meeting of the United Nations Security Council, Mr Cleverly called on President Putin to stop his attacks on the Ukrainian people and withdraw.
The Foreign Secretary said the “devastating consequences” of Moscow’s invasion are becoming clearer by the day.
Atrocities
He said: “We see mounting evidence of Russian atrocities against civilians including indiscriminate shelling and targeted attacks on over 200 medical facilities and 40 educational institutions and horrific acts of sexual violence.”
He said in parts of Ukraine under Kremlin control, civilians are subject to torture, arbitrary detention and forced deportation to Russia.
According to the UN there are more than 14,000 civilian casualties in the conflict so far with 17 million Ukrainians in humanitarian need. It has also left seven million people displaced inside Ukraine and more than seven million refugees in Europe.
Mr Cleverly said Putin’s war “has spread hardship and food insecurity across the globe” plunging millions of the world’s most vulnerable into hunger and famine.
“And once again, as we’ve seen here today, Russia has sought to deny responsibility,” he said. The Foreign Secretary also called on other countries to reject the “charade” of referendums Mr Putin has promised to hold in Russian-controlled regions in eastern and southern Ukraine.
“We know what Vladimir Putin is doing. He is planning to fabricate the outcome of those referenda, he is planning to use that to annex
sovereign Ukrainian territory, and he is planning to use it as a further pretext to escalate his aggression,” he said.
Boris Johnson yesterday urged the West to “double down” on its defence of Ukraine if Putin doubles down on his “aggression”.
The former Prime Minister also warned Ukrainians must not be encouraged to do a deal to “trade land for peace” to allow Russian gas to flow to Europe.
In his first major contribution since standing down as PM Mr Johnson said that despite Ukraine’s recent strategic successes Russia still controls almost 20 per cent of Ukrainian territory.
“It may well be time-consuming and costly to wiggle him out,” he told MPs during a Commons debate on the situation in Ukraine. “I have no doubt that in the hard winter months ahead with the price of energy continuing to inflict hardship on people in this country and around the world, there will continue to be some who draw the false conclusion that the Ukrainians must be encouraged to do a deal to trade land for peace to allow Russian gas to flow to Europe.” Mr Johnson added: “Any such deal would send a signal around the world that violence does pay off, that might is right, and that when the going gets tough, the great democracies will not have the stomach to stick up for freedom.”
Russian reservists were also warned they will “suffer horribly” in Ukraine following Putin’s mobilisation order. After being forced onto the back foot by recent Ukrainian advances, the Russian president has called up thousands of extra troops to join his faltering invasion effort.
Speaking in the House of Commons, Armed Forces minister James Heappey said that Putin’s action was an acknowledgement of Russia’s failure.
The partial mobilisation, which applies to 300,000 military reservists, has forced the Kremlin to conduct a brutal crackdown of protests against the move in Russian cities.
Mr Heappey, who noted how 25,000 Russians have already died during the Ukraine conflict, told MPs that Moscow was now condemning hundreds of thousands more troops to a miserable winter.
The minister added: “Russian conscripts are going to suffer horribly for the Kremlin’s hubris.
“They’re now going to send hundreds of thousands more with little training and no winter uniform into the teeth of the Ukrainian winter against an opponent that is well-motivated, well-equipped and succeeding.”