UN Secretary-General calls for four days of humanitarian truce in Ukraine

The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, requested this Tuesday (19) Russia And Ukraine The truce of their battles for four days coincided with the Orthodox Easter, that is, from next Thursday (21) until Sunday (24), when the conflict ends two months.

This truce, coordinated with the International Committee of the Red Cross, will work to evacuate civilians and provide humanitarian aid to the “most punished” population of eastern Ukraine, especially Mariupol, Kherson, Donetsk and Lugansk.

Guterres said that the “humanitarian pause,” he said, had been notified to the parties in detail, but he would not say if he had actually received a response from the governments involved.

The secretary-general said the UN humanitarian coordinator, Martin Griffiths, conveyed this proposal to the Council of Churches in Ukraine – which includes Catholics, Orthodox, Muslims and Jews – and secured their support, but did not refer to his contacts with Russia.

In addition, he commented that the escalation of the Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine represented “a denial of the Easter message, which is the celebration of new life.”

“Hundreds of thousands of lives are at risk,” he pleaded. “Shut up the guns.”

Gueterers noted that, at the moment, 12 million people need humanitarian aid in Ukraine, but he expected that number to rise soon to 15.7 million, representing 40% of the population who remained in the country despite the fighting.

When asked about the possibility of sending a mission to Ukraine and Russia itself, he refused to answer the question.