For Ukraine, Crimea is part of our people, our society.
After the deadly attack on the daughter of an ultra-nationalist ideologue close to the Kremlin, Moscow announced that there would be “no mercy” for the murderers and the masterminds. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke in Moscow on Tuesday of a “barbaric crime” against Daria Dugina. “There can be no mercy for the organizers, clients and performers,” he added. Lavrov assumed that in the case “the investigation will hopefully be completed soon”.(AFP)
Almost exactly six months to the day after the start of the war, the ball is rolling again in Ukraine. With the match between Shakhtar Donetsk and Metalist Kharkiv, the highest Ukrainian football league resumed play on Tuesday afternoon. The date was no coincidence, on the official flag day, the footballers were supposed to provide some distraction for the war-torn Ukrainians.
But there was no question of carefree fun – which was not necessarily due to the goalless draw between Donetsk and Kharkiv. The Russian war of aggression, which has put the country in a state of emergency since February 24, was also omnipresent at the start of the league. Before the kick-off of the first game at Kiev’s Olympiysky Stadium, both teams commemorated the victims of the war with a minute’s silence, and an injured war veteran was allowed to carry out the symbolic kick-off.
There was no cheering from the stands, for safety reasons all games will take place without spectators until further notice. Strict safety rules also apply to the professionals: In the event of an air alarm, the game is stopped immediately, and everyone involved then has to go to the shelter, which according to the concept must be in the immediate vicinity of the stadium. If it is not possible to restart the game, the result at the time of the alarm is included in the score.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyj is said to have personally campaigned for the resumption of the championship. “I spoke to Zelenskyy about the importance of distracting people with football,” said Andriy Pavelko, president of the Ukrainian Football Association UAF.
The Premjer-Liha will start without the two teams Desna Tschernihiw and Mariupol, whose infrastructure was massively destroyed by the war. Most of the games are scheduled to be played in Kyiv and western Ukrainian cities. Going abroad would have been the wrong sign and would have been “artificial”, said Pawelko, who spoke of a “historic mastery”. (dpa)
According to information from the UN Human Rights Office, trials against Ukrainian prisoners could start in the coming days in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, which was occupied by Russia. Bureau spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani, on Tuesday in Geneva, referred to media photos and videos of metal cages being built at the Mariupol Philharmonic Hall, which appear to be used to display Ukrainian prisoners of war.
Death sentences are to be feared, said Shamdasani. Reports received by the Office suggested that Ukrainian detainees were tortured. “We recall that international humanitarian law prohibits the establishment of courts exclusively for prisoners of war and that it is a war crime to willfully deny a prisoner of war the right to a fair and due process,” Shamdasani said. Fighters who have POW status cannot be tried under international law for their participation in hostilities, she said.
It is unclear how many prisoners are to be tried, what they are accused of and how the court should be composed. The UN Human Rights Office requested access to the detainees for independent visitors. According to Donetsk Oblast separatist leader Denis Pushilin, “investigations” have been completed in 80 cases. He spoke in this context of 23 arrested. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is responsible for this.
The ICRC says it has seen some POWs since the Russian attack began in February 2022, but not all. In many cases, access was denied or there were no security guarantees for the ICRC staff. The ICRC has been trying for weeks – so far in vain – to gain access to the survivors of the attack in Olenivka in the part of eastern Ukraine occupied by Russia. Around 50 Ukrainian prisoners of war were killed in a camp there at the end of July. Moscow and Kyiv blame each other for the attack. (dpa)
Chancellor Olaf Scholz has pledged continued support for Ukraine in the war against Russia. “The international community will never accept Russia’s illegal, imperialist annexation of Ukrainian territory,” said the SPD politician on Tuesday at a conference on the situation in Crimea, to which he was connected via video from Canada. Ukraine’s partners are united like never before. “I can assure you: Germany stands firmly by Ukraine’s side as long as Ukraine needs our support.”
Scholz also said that Germany and its partners would maintain the sanctions against Russia, provide financial help, supply weapons and also take part in reconstruction. “I am sure that Ukraine will overcome the dark shadow of war – because it is strong, courageous and united in its struggle for independence and sovereignty,” said the Chancellor. “And because she has friends in Europe and all over the world.”
With the Crimean Platform – an online summit – Ukraine wants to mobilize international support for the repatriation of the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, for the second time. (dpa)
