The World Blog by humble servant.

A Ukrainian mayor has reportedly suggested that protecting the graves of Nazi soldiers might be reason enough for Germany to be more supportive in helping Kiev fight off a Russian invasion. Chernihiv Mayor Vladislav Atroshenko appealed to German media outlets on Saturday, urging them to tell their country’s leaders of the special interest they should have in the attacks on his besieged city, according to Ukraine’s UNIAN news agency. After detailing such perils as civilian casualties and struggles to evacuate the wounded, he noted that German soldiers killed during World War II are buried in the city. “Our city is being wiped off the face of the earth,” Atroshenko told reporters. “Only the Nazis did this. In Chernihiv there is a cemetery of Germans who died here during the Second World War. We support it.” I want the Germans to hear this. Russia, which you continue to support, is bombing the graves of your grandfathers. By support, Atroshenko meant that Germany is continuing to buy...

merica’s leading diplomat has insisted President Joe Biden didn’t mean to suggest Washington aims to oust Vladimir Putin as Russia’s leader, standing by previous assertions that the US doesn’t have a regime-strange strategy in Moscow. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken made his comments at a press conference on Sunday in Jerusalem, hours after Biden raised eyebrows during an emotional speech in Warsaw about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Biden said of President Putin, “For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power.” An unidentified White House official quickly tried to clarify the US position, saying Biden’s point was that Putin can’t be allowed to exercise power over neighboring countries. On Sunday, Blinken continued the effort to walk back Biden’s comments. “I think the president, the White House, made the point last night that, quite simply, President Putin cannot be empowered to wage war or engage in aggression against Ukraine or anyone else,” Blinken told reporters. “As y...

The escalation of the conflict in Ukraine through words or actions should be avoided, French leader Emmanuel Macron has warned, after US President Joe Biden labeled his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, “a butcher,” who “cannot remain in power.” When asked to comment on the statements made by Biden on the final day of his visit to Poland on Saturday, Macron said that, personally speaking, he “wouldn’t use such words.” The French leader told the broadcaster France 3 that he was planning to talk to Putin about the situation in Ukraine in the next two days. He said his goal was “achieving first a ceasefire and then the total withdrawal of [Russian] troops by diplomatic means.” “If we want to do that, we can’t escalate, either in words or actions,” Macron stressed. Biden had earlier called Putin a “butcher” after visiting a stadium in Warsaw hosting Ukrainian refugees. In his speech later on that day, the US president proclaimed, “For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power.” ...

Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin warned against isolating Moscow, stating that Russia “must be heard one way or another.” The official made the remarks on Sunday, during the opening session of the Doha Forum. “If everybody burns bridges with Russia, then who’s going to talk to them, at the end of the day?” Kalin asked. At the same time, he urged international leaders to support Ukraine “by every means possible” so it can “defend” itself against the ongoing Russian offensive launched in late February. The Russian position must nonetheless be taken into consideration, he stressed. “The Russian case must be heard, one way or the other,” Kalin stated. NATO member Turkey has been striving to take a neutral stance in the ongoing conflict, and is purportedly seeking to act as a mediator between Moscow and Kiev. Unlike other members of the US-led bloc, Ankara has refused to impose economic sanctions against Russia and has kept open its diplomatic channels with both sides. Tur...

The US’ major non-NATO ally Qatar, along with Saudi Arabia, have shamed the West for paying disproportionately more attention to Ukraine than to conflicts in nations across the Middle East. “The humanitarian suffering that we have seen in Ukraine … has been the suffering of a lot of countries in this region for years, and nothing happened,” Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said during roundtable talks at the annual Doha Forum on Saturday. He reminded delegates of “the brutality against the Syrian people, or against the Palestinians, or against the Libyans, or against the Iraqis, or against the Afghans,” and said that, in his view, “we have never seen a global response to address those sufferings.” West will 'pay a price' for Russia clampdown – ex-army chief Read more West will 'pay a price' for Russia clampdown – ex-army chief The US and the EU have spearheaded the international campaign to back Ukraine during its ongoing conflict wit...

Russia has launched a probe after graphic video emerged online, purporting to show the torture of prisoners of war at the hands of Ukrainian servicemen. “The video circulating online shows captured soldiers being shot in the legs with medical assistance,” the country’s Investigative Committee said in a statement on Sunday. The head of the body, Alexander Bastrykin, has ordered “investigators to establish all the circumstances of the incident, collect and record evidence and identify all the persons involved in it to subsequently bring them to justice.” While it was not immediately clear where or when the disturbing videos were shot, some reports indicate the incident unfolded at a military compound located in the eastern Ukrainian region of Kharkov, which is used by “nationalist” units, the committee added. Under the Wolfsangel: The uncomfortable truth about radical ideologies in Ukraine Read more Under the Wolfsangel: The uncomfortable truth about radical ideologies in Ukraine Mul...