Zelenskyy defiant as troops close in on Kyiv
This week, the House of Commons applauded Ukraine’s president as he made an unprecedented address to MPs – as 1.5m of his fellow citizens fled into neighbouring countries
Monday, March 7 Fastest refugee crisis since 1945 as 1.5m flee Ukraine
MORE than one-and-a-half million people have fled Ukraine in the last 11 days, generating the fastest growing refugee crisis since the Second World War.
The UN confirmed the devastating total yesterday as a second attempt got under way to evacuate citizens from areas worst affected by Russian bombardment.
Officials had hoped a ceasefire would hold in the city of Mariupol in the south of Ukraine, but it failed for a second time yesterday afternoon.
A similar attempt had been made on Saturday to evacuate Mariupol and nearby Volnovakha, which also failed.
Ukrainian officials said they had hoped to guide people out of the area during a local ceasefire, between 10am and 9pm, but by yesterday afternoon the operation had to be halted. The Interior Ministry adviser Anton Gerashchenko said the planned evacuations were stopped because of an ongoing assault by Russian troops.
In a video address, Mr Gerashchenko said: “There can be no ‘green corridors’ because only the sick brain of the Russians decides when to start shooting and at whom.”
Talks between the two sides concluded on Friday, with both agreeing the need for humanitarian routes to help thousands of people stuck in the cities which have been under constant attack to leave.
Many have told stories of living without power, heating, water or food for days while others have died in the winter conditions.
Sarwar vow on prejudice over party’s OO candidate
THE Scottish Labour leader has insisted he has a “zero tolerance” policy on any form of hatred, after a former Orange Order world leader was picked as a party candidate.
Henry Dunbar, who was also Grand Master of the Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland, will be a Scottish Labour candidate for North Lanarkshire Council in May.
Yesterday, Mr Sarwar said he was not responsible for candidate selection when asked about the appointment, but insisted all Labour candidates would be expected to abide by party values “and that includes zero tolerance on all forms of prejudice or hate”.
Speaking on the final day of the Scottish Labour conference in Glasgow, Mr Sarwar said local party members “view him [Mr Dunbar] as an appropriate candidate in the election” before adding: “I repeat again – I have a zero tolerance approach to any form of prejudice or hate.
“And if there’s any evidence any candidate, or any member of our political party, has expressed hatred against anybody in our communities, I will root that out. I won’t stand for it.”
Tuesday, March 8 The West moves away from reliance on Russian energy
WESTERN nations are making the first significant moves to end reliance on Russian energy, which a former Scottish Secretary says is an ideal opportunity to step up investment in North Sea oil and gas.
Former Tory minister Michael Forsyth says there should be continued investment in North Sea oil and gas to ensure the UK is never over-reliant on overseas energy supplies.
The comments, made in the Lords yesterday, came as Boris Johnson hosted a meeting of his Dutch and Canadian counterparts at Downing
Street, where the trio agreed on a need for the world at large to move away from using Russian oil and gas.
Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau said Vladimir Putin was “no longer a reliable partner”, while Dutch PM Mark Rutte said it would be a “painful reality” as countries look to move away from Moscow for energy dependency and that it would “take time”.
The Prime Minister did not rule out a ban on imports from Russia, but added that such measures had to be taken “step by step”.
Funding fears for medical research as donations fall
MEDICAL research funded by charities supports more Scottish jobs than major sectors including hospitality, construction, fishing and the financial services, a new report has found.
Every £1 million spent generates £1.33m of gross value added (GVA) for the Scottish economy putting the sector fourth out of 97, behind education, social care and security.
Scottish charities contributed
£122m towards research in 2018, according to research by the Fraser of Allander Institute, enough to support more than 7,400 jobs.
However, with charity expenditure plunging by 44 per cent during the pandemic due to a drop in donations, concerns are being raised about future investment levels.
Scotland is considered a world leader in medical research but trails behind England in terms of funding for the sector, and a leading scientist says this could lead to the country also falling behind in medical advances.
We’ll fight in forests, fields and shores, vows Zelenskyy
UKRAINE’S president has made an unprecedented address to the House of Commons and evoked the spirit of Winston Churchill as his country enters its 14th day under siege by Russian forces.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy told MPs he would “fight to the end” as he appeared via video link last night from Kyiv. The president was greeted by a standing ovation from MPs, officials, members of the public and journalists before his address, in which he quoted Shakespeare.
Vadym Prystaiko, the Ukrainian ambassador to the UK, watched on from the gallery above as his country’s leader told MPs that 50 children had been killed in the conflict with Russia.
He added that Ukrainians needed help from the West, and restated his calls for the introduction of a no-fly zone to help civilians flee.
Mr Zelenskyy, in echoes of wartime prime minister Churchill, told MPs: “We will fight until the end, at sea, in the air. We will continue fighting for our land, whatever the cost. We will fight in the forest, in the fields, on the shores, in the streets.”
Speaking via a translator, the president said: “I am addressing all the people of the United Kingdom and all the people from the country with a big history. I am addressing you as a citizen, as a president, of also a big country, with a dream.
“I would like to tell you about the 13 days of war, the war that we didn’t start and we didn’t want. However we have to conduct this war, we do not want to lose what we have, what is ours, our country Ukraine.”
Travel vaccine row engulfs NHS Glasgow health board
THE delivery of free travel vaccines in Scotland’s largest health board has been plunged into chaos after a bitter row erupted between NHS bosses and the region’s pharmacists.
It comes after NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde awarded a contract worth around £700,000 to a private GP chain with only two clinics in Glasgow.
CityDoc is tasked with delivering NHS-funded travel vaccines in at least seven out of eight areas within Greater Glasgow and Clyde from April 1.
This covers compulsory inoculations against polio, typhoid, hepatitis A, and cholera.
Around 32,000 free travel vaccines are currently delivered across NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde annually by GPs but from April responsibility will shift Scotland-wide from general practice to health boards.