Council of Europe Summit Agrees to ‘Victim Registration Register’ in Ukraine Amid Recaptured Territory and Russian Missile Attacks

Council of Europe 46 Summit held
Agreed to establish ‘victim registration register’ in Ukraine
Russia claims destruction of Kiiw air defense system

Ukraine, ahead of a grand counterattack in the spring, recaptured some areas outside Bahmut, the most formidable eastern battleground.

According to Reuters, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hannah Malyaar told Telegram on the 16th (local time), “Ukrainian forces have recovered about 20 km2 of territory from the north to the south of the outskirts of Bakhmut in recent days.” They are advancing inward and are bombarding the village.” “Russia is increasing the use of airborne troops,” he added. On the 14th, Deputy Minister Malyaar announced on social media that “today, our forces captured about 10 enemy positions in the northern and southern Bahmut.”

This news came right after the heads of the Council of Europe (CoE), a European democracy and human rights monitoring organization, agreed to create a ‘damage register’ of wartime casualties and property damage in order to hold Russia accountable for the war. According to AFP, the leaders of 46 countries belonging to the Council of Europe discussed the war in Ukraine as a top priority at a summit held in Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland. Established after World War II, the Council of Europe is an international organization that works to protect democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. Russia was expelled from the Council of Europe after the outbreak of war.

Russian missile attacks are also continuing. In a statement, the Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that “the hypersonic missile ‘Kinjal’ was launched early this morning to destroy the US-made Patriot air defense system in Kiiu.” According to Reuters, two US government officials also admitted this. Ukraine said it had shot down 18 Russian missiles overnight, including six Kinzhal missiles. There have been eight missile attacks targeting Kiiu this month.

Ukraine discussed ending the war with China’s special representative for Eurasia affairs, Li Hui, who visited Kiiwu. Representative Li, who is China’s special envoy for mediation of the war in Ukraine, stayed in Kiiwu for two days from the 16th to listen to the Ukrainian peace plan.

However, China is likely to reiterate Russia’s position. This is because China has claimed to be neutral on the Ukraine issue, but in reality it has been in close contact with Russia. It was revealed that the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs had sent an official letter to the embassies of each country in Beijing on the 10th stating that “the outer walls of buildings must not be used for displaying political propaganda in order to avoid causing conflict between countries.”

Reporter Choi Young-kwon