Global Courant
Human Rights Watch: Both Ukraine and Russia harm civilians with cluster bombs
An aerial view of the destruction of residential buildings on September 20, 2022 in Izium, Ukraine.
Paula Bronstein | Getty Images
Human Rights Watch on Wednesday accused both Russian and Ukrainian troops of causing civilian casualties through the use of cluster munitions.
The organization found that Ukrainian cluster bomb attacks on Russian-controlled areas in and around the eastern Ukrainian city of Izium in 2022 caused multiple casualties among Ukrainian civilians, while Russian forces have used “extensive” cluster munitions in Ukraine, killing and injuring many civilians touched.
“Cluster munitions used by Russia and Ukraine are now killing civilians and will continue to do so for many years to come,” said Mary Wareham, acting weapons director at Human Rights Watch.
“Both sides should stop using them immediately and not try to get their hands on any more of these indiscriminate weapons.”
The US government is considering a request from Ukraine for the transfer of stored cluster munitions. If President Joe Biden were to sign the handover, HRW said it would “inevitably cause long-term suffering for civilians and undermine the international disgrace of using it.”
—Elliot Smith
Russian missile attack on Lviv apartment building kills at least four, Ukrainian authorities say
A Russian missile strike hit a four-storey apartment building in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv overnight, killing at least four people and injuring at least 32, according to the Ukrainian interior ministry.
In a tweet on Thursday morning, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted video of the destruction, showing the top two floors of the long, curved building are missing or in ruins, and promised a “strong” response.
Lviv is Ukraine’s westernmost major city, just over 40 miles from the Polish border and over 600 miles from the conflict’s frontline. Many Ukrainians have moved there in search of safety since Russia’s invasion of the east began.
About 60 apartments and 50 cars were damaged, Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi said in a statement post on his Telegram channel. Rescuers are still searching the rubble for survivors and victims.
“This is the largest attack on Lviv’s civilian infrastructure since the start of the large-scale invasion,” Sadovyi said, according to a translation.
—Elliot Smith
No news on detained WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich, White House says
American journalist Evan Gershkovich (REAR), arrested on espionage charges, watches as he stands in a defendant’s cage for a hearing on an appeal against his extended detention at the Moscow City Court in Moscow on June 22, 2023.
Natalia Kolesnikova | AFP | Getty Images
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the Biden administration had no news to report on the release of detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in Russia.
“I wish I could stand in front of you guys and say we have news to share about Evan. Unfortunately, we don’t have any news to share,” Jean-Pierre told reporters at a briefing at the White House.
“What I can say is that Evan, along with Paul Whelan, who are both wrongfully detained, as you know, should be home. They should be home with their families. I just don’t have anything to share at the moment,” said she. added.
Gershkovich was arrested by Russian authorities on March 29 on charges of espionage. The Biden administration has denied that Gershkovich worked as a spy on behalf of the US government.
— Amanda Macias
‘We can’t relax,’ says IAEA chief of tensions at Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant
A view of the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in southern Ukraine on June 15, 2023.
Olga Maltseva | Afp | Getty Images
The director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency Rafael Grossi warned of rising tensions at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
“Nuclear power plants should not be attacked under any circumstances, nuclear power plants should not be used as a military base,” Grossi told reporters at a press conference in Japan.
“The IAEA is there to observe, to monitor this and to inform the global community if this happens. We have not seen any activity in our latest inspections, but we remain on high alert. As you know there is a counter-offensive to the hallway, there’s a lot of fighting,” he said, according to an NBC News report.
“I was there a few weeks ago and there is fighting, very close to the power station, so we can’t relax and we will be constantly informing and updating,” the chief of the nuclear watchdog added.
— Amanda Macias
Wed 5 July 20231:42 a.m. EDT
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