(VOVworld) – Russia on Tuesday published a new draft resolution on Ukraine, which focuses on the humanitarian crisis in south-eastern Ukraine, before submitting it to the UN Security Council.

People evacuate the village of Metallist in eastern Ukraine following a shell attack by the government forces on Monday. (Photo: Reuteurs)

The draft resolution condemns the shelling of residences, civil buildings, and humanitarian buses, using prohibited weapons and incendiary bomb in populated areas, and abducting journalists and European Union observers. It also calls for an end to the violence, setting up humanitarian corridors, and a cease-fire in support of resolving the crisis under the April 17 Geneva agreement and the roadmap of the Organisation for Co-operation and Security in Europe (OSCE). Vitaly Churkin, Russia’s Permanent Representative at the UN, said that the draft resolution could be approved if the US, the UK, and France did not try to defend the Kiev government.
Russian President Vladimir Putin made a call to his Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko on Tuesday to discuss the possibility of announcing a cease-fire after a second Russian journalist was killed in eastern Ukraine. Putin expressed his concern over the 2 Russian journalists’ deaths and emphasised the importance of ensuring safety for all journalists now in Ukraine. Poroshenko promised to carry out an investigation.