UN Security Council adopts statement on Volnovakha despite Russian delegation pressure, source says

Wednesday, January 14, 2015 - 10:31 (EET) Section: Latest news

The UN Security Council strongly condemned the heinous terrorist shelling of passenger bus near Volnovakha in Donetsk region, killing civilians.
The corresponding statement was adopted by the Security Council on Tuesday evening, despite diplomatic resistance from the Russian delegation, an Ukrinform source close to the decision-making processes in the UN headquarters reports.
“The members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest terms the killing of 11 civilians and the injuring of 17 others, including women and children, in the wake of shelling of a passenger bus near Volnovakha, Donetsk region, on January 13, 2015,” reads the document.
In this regard, the Security Council members expressed their condolences to the families of the victims and stressed the need for “an objective investigation and prosecution of those responsible for this act”. The statement also emphasizes the need for strict observance of the Minsk agreements, reached on September 5 and September 19, 2014.
According to an Ukrinform source, the Ukrainian delegation with the assistance of the partners in the Security Council insisted on the adoption of the statement, condemning the shelling of civilians. Furthermore, the possible convening of an extraordinary session on Ukrainian issue given the recent developments is now being discussed on the Council’s sidelines, the source said.
Tuesday, January 13, at 14.25, the terrorists shelled the checkpoint of Ukrainian military near Volnovakha, Donetsk region. One of the shells exploded near a passenger bus with local people, killing ten civilians at the scene. Later, a man and a woman died of the received wounds. Thus, the death toll reached 12 people. More than a dozen wounded residents remain in hospital.
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