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Ukraine updates: Kyiv slams Russia language in G20 statement
Published 7 hours agoPublished 7 hours agolast updated 6 hours agolast updated 6 hours ago
Ukraine said the G20 statement was “nothing to be proud of.” The communique urged “all countries” to respect “territorial integrity,” but unlike last year, there was no demand that Russia withdraw. Follow DW for more.
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Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the G20 Summit in New Delhi
The G20 communique did not mention Russia by nameImage: Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service/TASS/dpa/picture alliance
Skip next section What you need to know
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Kyiv has expressed disappointment at how Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was referenced in the G20 communique released on Saturday.The issue was contentious because although the G20 includes staunch allies of Ukraine, it also includes Russia and some countries that have adopted neutral positions on the war.
In the statement, G20 leaders said that “there were different views and assessments of the situation.”
It urged all countries to respect “international law” and “territorial integrity,” but did not call on Russia to pull its troops out of Ukraine, as 2022’s statement had.
It also did not mention Russia by name.
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko said the G20 statement was “nothing to be proud of.”
“It is clear that the participation of the Ukrainian side [in the G20 meeting] would have allowed the participants to better understand the situation,” he wrote on Facebook.
Russian negotiator Svetlana Lukash told journalists in New Delhi that Moscow welcomed the “balanced” declaration.
She acknowledged that there had been “very difficult negotiations” over the language regarding Ukraine.
Here are the headlines concerning Russia’s war in Ukraine on Saturday, September 9:
Skip next section UN nuclear watchdog reports possible fighting near Zaporizhzhia plant
6 hours ago6 hours ago
UN nuclear watchdog reports possible fighting near Zaporizhzhia plant
The International Atomic Energy Agency said its experts deployed at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant reported hearing numerous explosions over the past week — possibly indicating an uptick in fighting in the area.
“I remain deeply concerned about the possible dangers facing the plant at this time of heightened military tension in the region,” IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi warned in a statement issued late on Friday.
He said the IAEA team had also been informed that staff numbers at the Russian-occupied nuclear power plant had been temporarily scaled back to minimum levels due to concerns about more military activity in the area.
“Whatever happens in a conflict zone, wherever it may be, everybody would stand to lose from a nuclear accident, and I urge that all necessary precautions must be taken to avoid it happening,” Grossi said.
Can Ukraine exploit the Zaporizhzhia breakthrough?
26:06
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Skip next section Kremlin sticks to conditions for renewal of Black Sea deal
6 hours ago6 hours ago
Kremlin sticks to conditions for renewal of Black Sea deal
Russia said on Saturday that its conditions for renewing the Black Sea grain deal had not changed.
It comes after UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres proposed setting up a subsidiary of Russia’s agricultural bank to facilitate transactions via the SWIFT global banking network.
“All our conditions are perfectly well known,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
“They do not need interpretation, they are absolutely concrete and all this is absolutely achievable.”
The European Union later condemned Russia’s decision not to compromise in order to renew the deal.
“Not only have you decided to pull out of this agreement on the Black Sea, but at the same time you are attacking the port infrastructure,” European Council President Charles Michel said at the G20 Summit in New Delhi.
“To add insult to injury, Russia is offering 1 million tons of grain to African countries in a parody of generosity,” he said, adding: “What cynicism and contempt for African countries.”
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Skip next section Japan in talks to help rebuild Ukraine
7 hours ago7 hours ago
Japan in talks to help rebuild Ukraine
Japan’s Foreign Minister Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi announced talks regarding security and reconstruction during a visit to Ukraine on Saturday.
Hayashi was accompanied by a delegation of Japanese business leaders including the CEO of technology giant Rakuten and the president of healthcare equipment maker Allm Inc.
“This is very important because we are actively working on the recovery of the Ukrainian economy and attracting new investments to Ukraine,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the delegation.
Yoshimasa Hayashi shaking hands with Volodymyr ZelenskyyYoshimasa Hayashi shaking hands with Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Japan’s Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi met with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Dmytro Kuleba in KyivImage: Ukrainian Presidential Press Office/AP Photo/picture alliance
Ukraine has already received $7.6 billion (€7 billion) in humanitarian aid from Japan, according to Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
Japan has also taken the rare steps of sending defensive equipment and offering refuge to those fleeing the conflict.
“I want Mr Hayashi and the entire Japanese people to know that the Ukrainian people remember and will never forget the humanitarian aid,” Kuleba said during a joint press conference.
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Skip next section Ukraine says G20 communique ‘nothing to be proud of’
8 hours ago8 hours ago
Ukraine says G20 communique ‘nothing to be proud of’
Kyiv has expressed disappointment at how Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was referenced in the G20 communique released on Saturday. The issue was contentious because although the G20 includes staunch allies of Ukraine, it also includes Russia and some countries that have adopted neutral positions on the war.
In the statement, G20 leaders said that “there were different views and assessments of the situation.”
It cited the United Nations charter, saying “all states must refrain from the threat or use of force to seek territorial acquisition against the territorial integrity and sovereignty or political independence of any state. The use or threat of use of nuclear weapons is inadmissible.”
However, it did not mention Russia by name.
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko said the G20 statement was “nothing to be proud of.”
“It is clear that the participation of the Ukrainian side [in the G20 meeting] would have allowed the participants to better understand the situation,” he wrote on Facebook.
However, Nikolenko nevertheless thanked Ukraine’s allies for pushing for stronger language during discussions.
“Ukraine is grateful to the partners who tried to include strong formulations in the text.”
Russian negotiator Svetlana Lukash told journalists in New Delhi that Moscow welcomed the “balanced” declaration.
She acknowledged that there had been “very difficult negotiations” over the language regarding Ukraine.
Meanwhile, the Untied States praised the statement for upholding the principle of territorial integrity and the sovereignty of states.
“From our perspective, it does a very good job,” US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also hailed the communique because, “in the end, Russia gave up its resistance to such a resolution, simply because everyone else had moved in this direction.”
When asked whether he shook hands with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Scholz replied that he did not.
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Skip next section Zelenskyy calls for further sanctions against Russia
18 hours ago18 hours ago
Zelenskyy calls for further sanctions against Russia
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on the international community to impose further sanctions on Russia rather than to give in to Moscow’s demands.
“Currently, we see a prolonged sanctions pause from our partners. And Russia’s overly active attempts to circumvent the sanctions,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address on Thursday.
“Three priorities: further sanctions against Russia’s energy sector, real restrictions on the supply of chips and microelectronics in general to terrorists, and further blocking of the Russian financial sector,” he said.
“This world’s sanctions offensive must resume,” Zelenskyy said. Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the European Union’s 27 member states, the US and others have adopted far-reaching sanctions aimed at weakening Russia’s economy and limiting its ability to wage war.
Russia Sanctions Busters
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Skip next section UN’s Guterres offers Russia sanctions relief for grain deal
18 hours ago18 hours ago
UN’s Guterres offers Russia sanctions relief for grain deal
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres reportedly contacted Russia to try to make concessions that would revive the Black Sea grain deal.
In July, Moscow ceased its participation in the deal, which established corridors in the Black Sea to export of tens of millions of tons of grain from Ukraine.
The agreement is viewed as critical for keeping food prices down for developing nations.
In an August 28 letter seen by DPA on Friday, Guterres proposed to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that a subsidiary of Russia’s agricultural bank could be established for certain SWIFT transactions.
Shortly after Russia began its invasion, the EU and other western countries cut off a series of Russian banks from the SWIFT system, a move that also hit its agricultural bank.
Russia on Saturday seemingly rejected the reported UN proposal, with Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Pesko saying Russia’s state agricultural bank itself needed to be reconnected to SWIFT, rather than a subsidiary.
