UN chief calls for pausing fight in Ukraine for safe passage of civilians

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Sunday (local time) called for pausing fighting in Ukraine to allow the safe passage of civilians from Mariupol, Kharkiv and Sumy.

"It is absolutely essential to establish a pause in the fighting in Ukraine to allow for the safe passage of civilians from Mariupol, Kharkiv and Sumy, as well as all other places caught in the conflict, and to ensure life-saving humanitarian supplies can move in for those who remain," Guterres tweeted.

Earlier on Sunday, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) warned that the casualty figures it has reported to date are likely to be a considerable underestimate of the true numbers.

OHCHR also said that 1,123 civilian casualties in Ukraine have been verified where 364 were killed, including 25 children, and 759 injured.

Most of the casualties have been caused by the use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multi-launch rocket systems, and missile and airstrikes.

The third round of talks between Russia and Ukraine may take place on March 7, according to Sputnik News Agency.

Russian forces launched military operations in Ukraine on February 24, three days after Moscow recognized Ukraine's breakaway region Donetsk and Luhansk as independent republics followed by the announcement of a "special military operation" to "demilitarize" and "denazify" Ukraine.

( With inputs from ANI )

Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor