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A Russian-drafted call for aid access and civilian protection in Ukraine that does not mention Moscow's role in the crisis failed at the UN Security Council, with only Russia and China voting yes and the remaining 13 members abstaining.

Russia is seeking to blunt Western-led efforts at the United Nations to further isolate Moscow for invading Ukraine, with the Security Council and General Assembly gearing up to vote this week on competing measures on Ukraine's humanitarian crisis.

US President Joe Biden said Monday (21 March) that India was an exception among Washington's allies with its "shaky" response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

In the predominantly Russia-leaning public space in Serbia, an EU candidate country since 2012, aligning with the bloc is obviously not a popular political message ahead of the parliamentary, presidential, and Belgrade elections due on 3 April.

Ukraine rejected Russian calls to surrender the port city of Mariupol, where residents are besieged with little food, water and power in a humanitarian crisis that is increasing pressure on European leaders to toughen sanctions on Moscow.

A senior Chinese government official said on Saturday (19 March) that sanctions imposed by Western nations on Russia over Ukraine are increasingly "outrageous".

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić knows that “Russia has become completely useless for Serbia”, but he will keep up his pro-Putin rhetoric to please his electorate in the run-up to the elections on 3 April, says Orhan Dragaš, a security expert in Belgrade.

Britain is very disappointed with India's stance on Russia's invasion of Ukraine, trade minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan said on Thursday (17 March) ahead of the conclusion of a second round of trade talks.

Since 24 February, when Russia invaded Ukraine, Serbia can no longer afford to maintain a policy of simultaneous closeness both with the West and Russia, writes Orhan Dragaš.

The United Nations on Friday said it had no evidence Ukraine had a biological weapons program while Washington and its allies accused Russia of spreading the unproven claim as a possible prelude to launching its own biological or chemical attacks.

Given Belgrade’s loyalty to Moscow, it came as a surprise to many that Serbia supported a United Nations resolution on Wednesday (2 March) asking Russia to “immediately” withdraw from Ukraine.

Only four countries - Belarus, Eritrea, North Korea, Syria – of the 193 United Nations members supported Russia in a UN vote asking it to “immediately” withdraw from Ukraine, an illustration of the isolation of this country under Vladimir Putin.

World leaders on Thursday (24 February) swiftly condemned Russia's military attack on Ukraine, with Western capitals vowing to escalate sanctions against Moscow while the head of the United Nations demanded the conflict end immediately.

The US envoy to the UN said she hopes China will urge Russia to "do the right thing" on Ukraine, prompting her Chinese counterpart to quickly respond with a call for diplomacy and an end to "hyping up the tension."

Russia has a stake in crises around the world from Ukraine to Syria, Sudan and Mali -- and that is reflected in its active role at the UN Security Council, contrasting with the relative detachment of the US.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said on Thursday (13 January) that he would attend the opening of the Beijing Winter Olympics next month with the message that the event "must be an instrument of peace in the world."

The Biden administration on Wednesday (12 January) imposed its first sanctions over North Korea's weapons programs following a series of North Korean missile launches, including two since last week.

The European Union on Tuesday (11 January) condemned the latest North Korean missile launch, a spokesman for the EU's High Representative for Foreign Relations said in a statement, urging the country to "respond constructively" to US readiness for diplomacy.

The minister of trade of Kazakhstan, Bakhyt Sultanov, visited Kabul over the weekend, this being the second such high-level visit recently, after Erzhan Kazykhan, the special representative of Kazakhstan's president, also called held talks with the Taliban.

Sleeping on mattresses in a Belarusian warehouse, hundreds of Middle Eastern migrants are still clinging to the hope of a future in western Europe as the year draws to a close.

In an exclusive interview, Margulan Baimukhan, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to the EU, discussed tensions between major geopolitical players, Central Asian cooperation, and his country's traditions in promoting international understanding.

Raging seas, pitiless hours and now red tape. Refugee aid groups in Greece, some with years of experience in the field, say trying to get onto the government's mandatory NGO registry is nothing short of an uphill struggle.

Germany would not rule out transferring its military mission in Mali to another country if the danger is too great, Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht said Sunday (19 December).

The European Union has suspended its training mission for soldiers in Central African Republic (CAR) because of fears it could get tied up in violations of international law by Russian mercenaries, the mission said on Wednesday (15 December).