February 25, 2022 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 25.02.2022, 20:00

WAR IN UKRAINE -
Ukraine wants peace and is willing to hold talks with Russia, also with respect
to Ukraine’s neutrality status in connection with NATO, Mykhailo Podolyak,
advisor to the Ukrainian presidential office has told Reuters. President
Volodymyr Zelensky called for direct negotiations with his Russian counterpart,
Vladimir Putin, but the Kremlin announced it is willing to accept talks at the
level of the two countries’ defense and foreign ministries in Minsk. I want to
address the Russian president again. There is fighting all across Ukraine. Let
us sit down and negotiate in order to put an end to the killing, Zelensky said
in a televised address. On the ground, the Ukrainian army said it is fighting
Russian forces in the extended Kyiv region. The population was urged to take up
arms and use Molotov cocktails against the Russian occupation troops. Dozens of
civilians were injured in Mariupol, in southern Ukraine, which is also facing a
full-on Russian assault.

ROMANIA AND UKRAINE – Romania’s president,
Klaus Iohannis, on Friday attended a videoconference meeting of the Bucharest 9
Format, co-hosted with Poland’s president, Andrzej Duda. The president posted
on social media that he called for strengthening the deterrence and defense
posture on the eastern flank, especially in the Black Sea. B9 countries have
expressed solidarity with the Ukrainian people and democratic institutions. At
the same time, they continue to fully support the sovereignty and territorial
integrity of Ukraine, as well as its right to decide its own foreign policy.
The same goes for the Republic of Moldova and Georgia. At the end of the
NATO emergency summit, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg gave assurances that
NATO will defend each of its members, adding that the Alliance is deploying its
response forces. Secretary Stoltenberg went on to say that NATO is determined
to continue to assist Ukraine. On Friday, the Council
of Europe decided to suspend any participation of Russian diplomats and
delegates in its main bodies, effective immediate, in response to the armed
attack on Ukraine. The decision doesn’t apply to the European Court for Human
Rights, which will continue to provide protection to Russian citizens.

REFUGEES – Romania is ready
to receive a large number of refugees from neighboring Ukraine, Interior
Minister Lucian Bode said on Friday. Control measures have intensified and
additional shifts introduced, due to the high flow of Ukrainian migrants
crossing the border. Minister Bode said Romania has the technical, logistic and
human resources required to organize refugee camps, in response to the
humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. The location of the camps has already been
identified, and the Ministry is permanently coordinating with NGOs, the Red
Cross and UNICEF. Asylum seekers will benefit from free-of-charge medical
services for 90 days, and if they are granted refugee status they will have the
same rights as Romanian citizens. Bucharest General Mayor said he has prepared
some 25,000 beds for emergency accommodation, adding that the City Hall can
offer 5,000 daily meals via its soup kitchens.

MOLDOVA – The Moldovan
Parliament has voted the declaration of a state of emergency for 60 days in the
context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 88 out of the total of 101 MPs
voted in favor. The MPs belong to all parliamentary groups: the pro-Western
Action and Solidarity Party (PAS), the pro-Russian communist and socialist
left-wing and the Shor populist party. The state of emergency bans mass
demonstrations and allows authorities to banish undesirable persons. According
to Radio Chișinău, Ukrainian
citizens will be able to enter the territory of the Republic of Moldova using
their identification documents, without providing the COVID-19 certificate.
Underage children will be admitted based on their birth certificates,
identification documents or passports. Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilița said over
4,200 refugees from Ukraine have entered the Republic of Moldova on the first
day of the invasion. Most refugees are on their way to European Union states,
although 100 people have filed for asylum in the Republic of Moldova. According
to the 2014 census, Moldova is home to some 180 thousand Ukrainian ethnics
(accounting for 6.5% of the total population) and some 110 thousand Russian
ethnics (4%). (VP)