UNITED NATIONS – Russia blocked a UN Security Council statement on Saturday that would have criticised a pro-Russian Ukrainian rebel leader and condemned a recent upsurge in violence that has claimed dozens of lives in eastern Ukraine, council diplomats said.The latest failure of the council to weigh in on the war came as pro-Russian rebels launched an offensive against the strategic port of Mariupol in eastern Ukraine, prompting warnings from the European Union and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.Fighting has escalated in eastern Ukraine in recent days, and Russian President Vladimir Putin has blamed Kiev. The rebels have ruled out more …read more
Source: AsiaOne
