U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday said that though Russia’s war with Ukraine is “unwinnable” there was possible diplomatic progress in the situation that could end the conflict.
“From my outreach with various actors, elements of diplomatic progress are coming into view on several key issues,” he said, according to The Associated Press.
The secretary-general specifically said that “there is enough on the table to cease hostilities now.”
He added that the war was “getting more destructive and more unpredictable by the hour” nearly one month into the unprovoked, full-scale military invasion.
“Even if Mariupol falls, Ukraine cannot be conquered city by city, street by street, house by house,” Guterres added.
Since the invasion began on Feb. 24, roughly 10 million Ukrainians have been forced to leave their homes and are now internally displaced or living as refugees abroad.
Also on Tuesday, a World Health Organization representative said that at least 500,000 Ukrainian refugees have suffered mental health issues because of the conflict.
“The needs of the refugees are many … many health problems on arrival from Ukraine,” Paloma Cuchi, WHO’s Poland representative, said.
A WHO representative added that nearly 4 million Ukrainian refugees have left the country entirely.
“We did have a planning figure for 4 million. … Now we are fast approaching that figure,” the representative said. “At this stage … we don’t plan to put out a new planning figure. But of course, we’re ready to react and provide the resources that are needed for any … increase above that number in all the neighboring countries but also to support within Ukraine.”
