This is the astonishing moment dozens of diplomats from around the world today walked out during a speech by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at a Geneva disarmament conference in protest against Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Diplomats from countries including Britain, United States and France stood up and filed out of the room when Lavrov’s pre-recorded video message to the U.N. Human Rights Council began to play.
During his speech, the foreign minister blamed Ukraine for the war and claimed Kyiv has been seeking to acquire nuclear weapons – a ‘real danger’ that required a Russian response.
But Lavrov delivered his speech to a thin crowd after dozens of diplomats staged a walk-out to protest Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as they did at a parallel U.N. meeting in Geneva on Tuesday.
They stood in a circle outside the meeting for the duration of Lavrov’s speech, holding a Ukrainian flag. Lavrov was supposed to attend the session in person but the visit was cancelled at the last minute, with Moscow blaming ‘anti-Russian sanctions’ imposed by EU countries.
Diplomats from countries including Britain, United States and France stood up and filed out of the room when Lavrov’s pre-recorded video message to the U.N. Human Rights Council began to play
Lavrov delivered his speech to a thin crowd after dozens of diplomats staged a walk-out to protest Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as they did at a parallel U.N. meeting in Geneva on Tuesday
The diplomats stood in a circle outside the meeting for the duration of Lavrov’s speech, holding a Ukrainian flag, on Tuesday
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov addresses the 49th session of the UN Human Rights Council through a pre-recorded video message – but he delivered the speech to a sparse crowd after the walkout
‘Today the dangers that (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelenskiy’s regime pose for neighbouring countries and international security in general have increased substantially after the authorities set up in Kyiv have embarked upon dangerous games related to plans to acquire their own nuclear weapons,’ Lavrov told the Conference on Disarmament in a video address.
‘Ukraine still has Soviet nuclear technologies and the means of delivery of such weapons. We cannot fail to respond to this real danger,’ he said, also calling for Washington to rebase its nuclear weapons from Europe.
Russia invaded Ukraine on Thursday in what it called a special operation to demilitarise and ‘denazify’ the country – a justification dismissed by Kyiv and the West as propaganda.
Before diplomats walked out on Lavrov’s pre-recorded video message, a minute of silence was held for the victims of fighting in Ukraine.
The walkout was led by Ukrainian Ambassador Yevheniia Filipenko, who told the crowd gathered around the large Ukrainian flag outside the chamber: ‘Thank you very much for this wonderful show of support to Ukrainians who are fighting for their independence.’
‘Any invasion constitutes a violation of human rights… massive violations and civilian losses,’ French Ambassador Jerome Bonnafont said. ‘It is important that the Human Rights Council shows with this walkout that it is united with Ukraine and with the people of Ukraine.’
The fresh walkout came less than an hour after diplomats all but emptied a nearby room at the UN’s European headquarters in Geneva when Lavrov’s video speech aired to the Conference on Disarmament, a body created in 1979 to try to stem the Cold War arms race.
Outside that chamber, diplomats also gathered in front of a Ukrainian flag and applauded loudly.
The applause could be heard in the chamber where Lavrov’s speech continued, with only a handful of ambassadors from countries including Yemen, Syria, Venezuela and Tunisia there to hear it.
Before diplomats walked out on Lavrov’s pre-recorded video message, a minute of silence was held for the victims of fighting in Ukraine
Ambassadors and diplomats walk out while Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov (on screen) addresses the Geneva conference
Ambassadors and diplomats walk out while Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (on screen) addresses with a pre-recorded video message the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, Switzerland, on Tuesday
Delegates and ministers walk out of the Human Rights Council meeting during the video speech by Lavrov
Ambassadors and diplomats gather next to Ukraine’s ambassador Yevheniia Filipenko (centre) as she holds a Ukrainian flag after they walked out of the convention
The walkout was led by Ukrainian Ambassador Yevheniia Filipenko, who told the crowd gathered around the large Ukrainian flag outside the chamber: ‘Thank you very much for this wonderful show of support to Ukrainians who are fighting for their independence’
Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov addresses a largely empty room at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva on Tuesday
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has enlivened the deadlocked arms negotiating forum that has failed to reach a deal in decades despite holding over 1,600 plenary meetings.
At the same meeting on Tuesday, Ukraine’s foreign minister accused Russia of war crimes through its shelling of his country and the ambassador called for a special meeting to address Russian aggression and weapons of mass destruction.
A copy of the request seen by Reuters said the meeting would address the ‘the use of conventional weapons against the civilian population as well as nuclear and other WMD threats’ and called for concrete and specific actions.
It said the request was supported by ‘numerous other’ members of the 65-member body, without naming them. Russia’s delegate objected to the meeting.
Russia has become an international pariah since it launched a full-scale invasion six days ago, with its forces killing dozens on the streets of Ukraine’s cities and forcing hundreds of thousands to flee.
The morning meeting of the disarmament conference kicked off with a minute of silence for the victims in Ukraine.
‘Russian indiscriminate attacks on civilian and critical infrastructure are war crimes and violations of the Rome Statute,’ Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba told the meeting.
The Rome Statute is the treaty that established the International Criminal Court.
‘Russian aggression is a global threat,’ Kuleba warned. ‘The response too must be global.’
He said Ukraine had called for a special plenary meeting on the crisis at the Conference for Disarmament but it remained unclear whether this would go ahead.
Kyiv meanwhile succeeded on Monday to secure support for an urgent debate at the UN human rights council later this week. It will seek the creation of a high-level investigation into violations committed in the conflict, dating back to Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014.
In his speech at the Conference on Disarmament, Lavrov meanwhile blamed Kyiv for the crisis and said Ukraine was trying to assemble nuclear weapons.
‘I can assure you, Russia as a responsible member of the international community… is taking all necessary measures to prevent the emergence of nuclear weapons and related technologies in Ukraine,’ he said.
It comes as Kyiv claimed today that Belarusian troops have joined in the invasion of Ukraine, as a 40-mile Russian convoy bared down on the capital amid warnings that Putin will now use ‘medieval tactics’ to try and force a bloody victory after being handed a series of embarrassing defeats in the opening days of the war.
Vitaliy Kyrylov, a spokesman for Ukraine’s North Territorial Defense Forces, said that Minsk’s men had entered the city of Chernihiv, north-east Ukraine, on Tuesday morning. Dictator Alexander Lukashenko acknowledged sending ‘rapid deployment groups’ to the border ‘to stop any military action against Belarus’, without acknowledging that his men had joined the attack.
It came as a convoy of hundreds of Russian tanks, artillery pieces and trucks was pictured snaking its way towards Kyiv, leading to fears that its mission will be to surround the city, besiege it, and bomb it into submission as Russian forces did in Syria while fighting alongside Bashar al-Assad’s forces.
A convoy of Russian tanks, artillery pieces, fighting vehicles and support trucks now stretches all the way from Hostomel, on the outskirts of Kyiv, to the village of Prybirs’k some 40 miles away (part of the convoy is seen, right)
There are fears the purpose of the convoy (pictured) is to surround Kyiv, besiege it and bomb it into submission – mirroring tactics Russia used in Syria while fighting alongside the forces of Basahar al-Assad
A volunteer of Ukraine’s Territorial Defense Forces walks by a damaged armored vehicle at a checkpoint in Brovary, Kyiv
Vadym Prystaiko, Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK, said Russian forces may also try to spark a food crisis by cutting off supplies to major cities as pictures showed some store shelves already running empty in the capital. He said the military may have to step in to ensure everyone has access to food.
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg today said Putin had ‘shattered peace in Europe’ with an invasion ‘enabled by Belarus’ while vowing to support Kyiv and defend ‘every inch’ of allied territory should the Russian strongman’s sights wander outside Ukraine’s borders.
But, speaking during a visit to the Lask airbase in NATO member Poland, Mr Stoltenberg repeated that the alliance is ‘defensive’ and that no troops will be sent to assist Ukraine. ‘NATO is not going to be part of the conflict,’ he said.
Russia already appeared to be employing siege tactics elsewhere in Ukraine today as the city of Mariupol, in the south, came under ‘constant shelling’ by Russian forces using artillery, Grad rockets, and fighter jets targeting civilians areas such as schools and homes which had left many dead, including women and children.
Power to the city, which is in danger of being surrounded by Russian forces, has been cut – region head Pavlo Kyrylenko said Tuesday – but it remains under Ukrainian control.
Kherson, another key city located in southern Ukraine with a bridge over the Dnieper River, also came under bombardment by Russian forces today as missiles landed near civilian buildings on the outskirts and troops were pictured moving through the streets.
Kharkiv, in the east, continued to be bombed today with a large rocket landing in front of the civilian public administration building, leaving the interior heavily damaged. It came just a day after the city was hit by cluster bombs that landed near a shopping centre, killing at least 11 people and leaving dozens more wounded.
Ukraine’s ambassador to the UN later said that a thermobaric ‘vacuum bomb’ was also used on the country, though did not saying exactly when or where.
President Volodymyr Zelensky this morning branded the Kharkiv bombing a ‘terrorist’ attack and branded Russia a ‘terrorist state’ while repeating calls for a war crimes investigation. The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court at The Hauge has said that a probe will be established ‘as soon as possible’.
Sergey Shoigu, the Russian defence minister, said Tuesday morning that the invasion will continue until ‘objectives are met’ – which he said was to prevent Russia being threatened by the West.
Kyiv endured another night of bombing on Monday before satellite images revealed the huge column of tanks headed for the city, with Putin’s men trying to cut off the capital and bomb it into submission
As Kyiv prepares for a dramatic escalation in bloodshed, Kherson, Kharkiv and Mariupol all came under shelling attack by Russian forces as Putin looks to achieve victory by brute forces after more-sophisticated tactics failed
People walk by a damaged vehicle and an armored car at a checkpoint in Brovary, outside Kyiv
A man reacts inside a vehicle damaged by shelling, in Brovary, outside Kyiv
Members of an Ukrainian civil defense unit pass new assault rifles to the opposite side of a blown up bridge on Kyiv’s northern outskirts, where fighting with Russian forces has been taking place
In a grim sign of the carnage to come, he also warned that Ukraine’s army is using civilians as human shields in what looks to be an attempt to justify the deaths of innocents as they ramp up over the coming days.
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch both said that Russian forces appeared to have used widely banned cluster munitions, with Amnesty accusing them of attacking a preschool in northeastern Ukraine while civilians took shelter inside.
Oksana Markarova, Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States, told reporters after meeting with members of the U.S. Congress that Russia had used a thermobaric weapon, known as a vacuum bomb, in its invasion of her country.
‘They used the vacuum bomb today,’ Markarova said after a meeting with lawmakers. ‘…The devastation that Russia is trying to inflict on Ukraine is large.’
A vacuum bomb, or thermobaric weapon, sucks in oxygen from the surrounding air to generate a high-temperature explosion, typically producing a blast wave of a significantly longer duration than that of a conventional explosive and is capable of vaporizing human bodies.
There has been no official confirmation that thermobaric weapons have been used in the conflict in Ukraine. CNN reported that one of its teams had spotted a Russian thermobaric multiple rocket launcher near the Ukrainian border early on Saturday afternoon.
