The development comes amidst the continued efforts by Russia and Ukraine to reach a negotiated settlement through the talks being held in Belarus.
Following a request by six countries including the UK, US, France, Albania, Ireland, and Norway, an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has been called at 3:00 PM ET (7:30 PM IST) on Thursday to discuss the humanitarian situation in Ukraine.
"The UK and [Albania, France, Ireland, Norway, and the United States] have called for a Security Council meeting on #Ukraine. Russia is committing war crimes and targeting civilians. Russia's illegal war on Ukraine is a threat to us all," the UK's permanent mission to the UN had said on its Twitter page.
The development comes amidst the continued efforts by Russia and Ukraine to reach a negotiated settlement through the talks being held in Belarus.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said earlier today that the negotiations towards peace between Russia and Ukraine are in progress but fairly difficult, Sputnik News Agency reported.
"The negotiations are still in progress. The negotiations are fairly difficult, and the current conditions of negotiation, I would say it continues," Zelenskyy said on Wednesday when asked about the status of the peace talks.
While the fourth round of talks continued on Wednesday, a few details emerged suggesting that talks might be reaching some headway with a Ukrainian delegation member saying that the two sides are now willing to reach a compromise.
"The positions of the parties were very different and we have only now begun to reach some kind of compromise," Ukrainian delegation member Mykhailo Podolyak told the Ukraina 24 broadcaster, he added that Kyiv and Moscow will reach a peace agreement sooner or later, Sputnik News Agency reported.
1. Biden calls Putin a war criminal
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US President Joe Biden called Russian President Vladimir Putin a war criminal, prompting the Kremlin to say the comment was "unforgivable" as the war in Ukraine raged for a 21st day despite talk of compromise in peace negotiations.
2. UNSC vote
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The UN Security Council is due to vote on Friday on a Russian-drafted call for aid access and civilian protection, but diplomats say the measure is set to fail because it does not push for an end to the fighting or withdrawal of Russian troops.
This is a photo from Mykolaiv.
3. Chernihiv
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The US Embassy in Kyiv said Russian forces had shot and killed 10 people waiting in line for bread in Chernihiv. Russia said the report was a hoax.
This photo shows members of Ukrainian emergency services standing amid rubble in Chernihiv.
4. Shelling
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A woman with a child evacuates from a residential building damaged by shelling in Kyiv
5. Standing ovation
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Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky gets a standing ovation from members of the United States Congress when he spoke to them through a video link from Ukraine on Wednesday, March 16, 2022. Speaker Nancy Pelosi is at the podium.
6. Kyiv
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Firefighters work at residential buildings damaged by shelling in Kyiv
