Russia has vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution demanding that Moscow stop its attack on Ukraine and withdraw all troops.

Friday’s vote was 11-1, with China, India and the United Arab Emirates abstaining. It showed significant but not total opposition to Russia’s invasion of its smaller, militarily weaker neighbor.

The United States and other supporters knew the resolution wouldn’t pass but argued it would highlight Russia’s international isolation. The resolution’s failure paves the way for backers to call for a swift vote on a similar measure in the U.N. General Assembly. There are no vetoes in the 193-member assembly. There’s no timetable as yet for a potential Assembly vote.

As Bloomberg reported, Ukraine's government announced on Friday that it was in talks with Russia regarding a time and location to carry out potential peace talks, as ground fighting in Ukraine continues with Russian forces closing in on Ukraine's capital city Kyiv.

Ukraine's Health Minister Viktor Lyashko says 57 Ukrainians have been killed as a result of the Russian invasion, and 169 more were wounded.

Lyashko added Thursday that Ukraine's authorities are repurposing the country's health care facilities to make room for those who need medical assistance because of the hostilities.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said that “innocent people are being killed” in Ukraine and appealed to the Poles to extend every possible assistance to the Ukrainians who have found themselves in need of help.

The U.N. Security Council is expected to vote Friday on a resolution condemning Russia in the strongest terms possible for attacking Ukraine and demanding the immediate withdrawal of all its forces — knowing that Russia will veto the legally binding measure, according to a senior U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.

Amid heightened tensions between Ukraine and Russia, lawmakers are looking at the potential implications of the next moves. 

The Pentagon announced it planned to send forces to Poland, Romania and Germany to bolster NATO's eastern flank, while more forces remain on standby. 

The U.S. Helsinki Commission, a commission independent of the federal government, met Wednesday to discuss the developing situation and hear insight into the implications beyond Ukraine and what messages potential U.S. actions send. 

"The Kremlin's threat menaces not only Ukraine, our partners in Georgia, and the wider region but also the long-cherished dream and long-standing bipartisan U.S. policy to work towards a Europe whole and free," said Sen. Ben Cardin, the commission's chairman. 

It comes as Congress debates sanctions on Russia. Ukraine's foreign minister said it's preparing for all possible scenarios, but that active diplomacy works. 

"It puts a lot of pressure on us but it is still insufficient for a large-scale military operation against Ukraine," said Dmytro Kuleba in a video released by the Ukranian Foreign Ministry. 

During the commission hearing, lawmakers heard expert testimony into Ukraine and Russia from high-profile witnesses. Experts told lawmakers unity seen surrounding the conflict may have surprised Putin. 

Former ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor explained it can't be assumed Putin’s bluffing since he’s invaded before, but that he’s looking at unity and the possibility of severe sanctions. Taylor said actions have appeared to deter an invasion for now, but reiterated strong steps until Putin withdraws military force.

Former U.S. National Security Council official Fiona Hill told lawmakers Russia may feel emboldened by developments in Eurasia, and look at the U.S.' role in addressing upheavals.

 

"We should continue to make clear to Moscow we are open to negotiation as Chairman Cardin has said … but not under the current coercive circumstances," said Hill. "We need to reframe this crisis for what it is as the administration has just done in the United Nations. This Is not a proxy conflict, this is not aggression by the United States or NATO, this is not a righteous effort to counter some great historic wrong as President Putin says. This is an act of post-colonial revisionism."

On the Hill, the move to send troops to Europe drew praise, as well as a split reaction between high-profile Republicans. 

Senator Lindsey Graham said he completely supports the decision, while Senator Josh Hawley called it a mistake, pushing for a focus on China instead. Senator Mitch McConnell praised it, but also called for more assistance to Ukraine and sanctions now. 

"Yesterday, I was glad to hear that U.S. forces are finally moving to reinforce our Eastern Flank allies. I urged President Biden to take this step nearly two months ago. I hope this belated action will lead other NATO allies to follow suit," McConnell said.

This story was originally published by Haley Bull of Newsy.

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says the coronavirus pandemic keeps unleashing "a tsunami of hate and xenophobia, scapegoating and scare-mongering."

The U.N. chief said anti-foreigner sentiment has surged online and in the streets, anti-Semitic conspiracy theories have spread, and COVID-19-related anti-Muslim attacks have occurred.

Guterres says migrants and refugees have been vilified as a source of the virus and then denied access to medical treatment.

He says older people, journalists, whistleblowers, health professionals, aid workers and human rights defenders are also being targeted.

Guterres appealed for an all-out effort to end hate speech globally."

Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk says he is willing to sell $6 billion worth of his company’s stock and donate the money to help end world hunger, but he must be shown how it would be done first.

He made the offer in response to a claim by David Beasley, the director of the United Nations’ World Food Programme.

Beasley called on billionaires across the globe to donate, saying $6 billion would help 42 million people around the world suffering from famine.

“The governments are tapped out and this is why, and this is when the billionaires need to step up now on a one-time basis, $6 billion to help 42 million people that are literally going to die if we don’t reach them. It’s not complicated,” Beasley told CNN in an interview.

But in a series of tweets, Musk said Beasley must prove and detail how the money would be spent to solve the problem.

“If WFP can describe on this Twitter thread exactly how $6B will solve world hunger, I will sell Tesla stock right now and do it,” tweeted Musk.

Beasley later said $6 billion would actually not end world hunger, but it would “prevent geopolitical instability, mass migration and save 42 million people on the brink of starvation.”

Beasley also invited Musk to sit down with him to look at the numbers and work out a plan to solve the famine crisis.

As of Monday, Musk has a net worth of $311 billion, making him the richest man in the world, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index.

WASHINGTON —

President Joe Biden announced Wednesday that the United States is doubling its purchase of Pfizer's COVID-19 shots to share with the world to 1 billion doses as he embraces the goal of vaccinating 70% of the global population within the next year.

The stepped-up U.S. commitment marks the cornerstone of the global vaccination summit Biden convened virtually on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, where he encouraged well-off nations to do more to get the coronavirus under control.

World leaders, aid groups and global health organizations are growing increasingly vocal about the slow pace of global vaccinations and the inequity of access to shots between residents of wealthier and poorer nations.

The U.S. purchase of another 500 million shots brings the total U.S. vaccination commitment to more than 1.1 billion doses through 2022. About 160 million shots supplied by the U.S. have already been distributed to more than 100 countries, representing more donations than the rest of the world combined. The remaining American doses will be distributed other the coming year.

"To beat the pandemic here, we need to beat it everywhere," Biden said. He added that with the new commitments, "For every one shot we've administered to date in America, we have now committed to do three shots to the rest of the world."

The latest purchase reflects only a fraction of what will be necessary to meet a goal of vaccinating 70% of the global population — and 70% of the citizens of each nation — by next September’s U.N. meeting. It's a target pushed by global aid groups that Biden threw his weight behind.

Biden is pressing other countries to do more in their vaccine sharing plans.

"We need other high income countries to deliver on their own ambitious vaccine donations and pledges," Biden said. He called on wealthy countries to commit to donating, rather than selling the shots to poorer nations, and to provide them "with no political strings attached."

Biden said the U.S. would also increase its funding to global aid groups that are administering shots

The American response has come under criticism for being too modest, particularly as the administration advocates for providing booster shots to tens of millions of Americans before vulnerable people in poorer nations have received even a first dose.

"We have observed failures of multilateralism to respond in an equitable, coordinated way to the most acute moments. The existing gaps between nations with regard to the vaccination process are unheard of," Colombian President Iván Duque said Tuesday at the United Nations.

More than 5.9 billion COVID-19 doses have been administered globally over the past year, representing about 43% of the global population. But there are vast disparities in distribution, with many lower-income nations struggling to vaccinate even the most vulnerable share of their populations, and some yet to exceed 2% to 3% vaccination rates.

Chilean President Sebastian Piñera said the "triumph" of speedy vaccine development was offset by political "failure" that produced inequitable distribution. "In science, cooperation prevailed; in politics, individualism. In science, shared information reigned; in politics, reserve. In science, teamwork predominated; in politics, isolated effort," Piñera said.

The World Health Organization says only 15% of promised donations of vaccines — from rich countries that have access to large quantities of them — have been delivered. The U.N. health agency has said it wants countries to fulfill their dose-sharing pledges "immediately" and make shots available for programs that benefit poor countries and Africa in particular.

COVAX, the U.N.-backed program to ship vaccines to all countries has struggled with production issues, supply shortages and a near-cornering of the market for vaccines by wealthy nations.

The WHO has urged companies that produce vaccines to prioritize COVAX and make public their supply schedules. It also has appealed to wealthy countries to avoid broad rollouts of booster shots so doses can be made available to health care workers and vulnerable people in the developing world. Such calls have largely gone ignored.

COVAX has missed nearly all of its vaccine-sharing targets. Its managers also have lowered their ambitions to ship vaccines by the end of this year, from an original target of some 2 billion doses worldwide to hopes for 1.4 billion now. Even that mark could be missed.

As of Tuesday, COVAX had shipped more than 296 million doses to 141 countries.

The 70% global target is ambitious, not least because of the U.S. experience.

Biden had set a goal of vaccinating 70% of the U.S. adult population by July 4, but persistent vaccine hesitance contributed to the nation not meeting that target until a month later. Nearly 64% of the entire U.S. population has received at least one dose and less than 55% is fully vaccinated, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

U.S. officials hope to increase those figures in the coming months, both through encouraging the use of vaccination mandates and by vaccinating children once regulators clear the shots for the under-12 population.

Aid groups have warned that the persistent inequities risk extending the global pandemic, and that could lead to new and more dangerous variants. The delta variant raging across the U.S. has proved to be more transmissible than the original strain, though the existing vaccines have been effective at preventing nearly all serious illness and death.

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Associated Press writers Jamey Keaten in Geneva, Josh Boak at the United Nations and David Biller in Rio de Janeiro contributed to this report.

Evacuation flights from Kabul are back on — just a day after a suicide bombing killed 13 American service members and dozens of Afghans. 

But for hundreds of thousands of vulnerable Afghans, the window for getting airlifted to safety is quickly closing. 

"It is not possible for our family to make it to the airport, and now the situation is really scary," said former interpreter Hadi Zalmay.

As days are becoming just hours away from the deadline for the United States withdrawal, Afghan interpreters told Newsy they are feeling increasingly hopeless.  

Another former interpreter, Abdul, said, "Today I tried all of the airport gates and all of the gates were closed and the main road was blocked."

Even those brave enough to try another trip to the airport face a grim reality. 

"The Taliban are beating us," Abdul said. "They are not letting us inside the airport."

The threat level remains high. President Biden's national security team warned him on Friday that another terror attack in Kabul is likely. 

"The threat is ongoing and it is active," said White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki. "Our troops are in danger and that continues to be the case every day that they are there."

The White House said Friday that over 12,000 people had been airlifted over the previous 24 hours — despite the attacks.  

Sources confirmed to Newsy that some evacuees are now being escorted in by bus or helicopter because of continued terrorism threats.    

But for Afghan allies left behind, it all feels unfair. 

"Who are these people in the buses? Who are they, where are they going? We don't have any information," Abdul said. "Please. Help us, please."

The U.S. says coalition forces have evacuated more than 100,000 people since Aug. 14 in one of the largest airlift operations ever.   

But rights groups estimate that twice as many Afghans who may be eligible for expedited American visas remain in Afghanistan.   

"I don't know what happens to our case or what will happen to us, to our future, our life, to our kids," Zalmay said. 

Outside of Kabul, thousands of Afghans have been fleeing by land to Pakistan and Iran these past couple of weeks. 

The United Nations says up to half a million people could flee in a "worst-case scenario" in the coming months. 

This story was originally reported by Ben Schamisso on Newsy.com.

SAN DIEGO, Calif. — As the pandemic upended our lives, an invisible workforce helped keep some normalcy intact. Traveling the world on oil tankers and cargo ships, seafarers deliver everything from food to fuel, medicine, and personal protective equipment (PPE).

“We were just working a lot," said Michael Napoleone. "We were putting in from eight to 12-hour days, every single day."

As a supply officer, Napoleone delivers fuel, food, and cargo to U.S. Navy ships at sea. Working thousands of miles from home, he's accustomed to long shifts and missed holidays. But during the pandemic, his assignment no longer had an expiration date.

“I was supposed to be gone for four months," said Napoleone. “We saw about three ports, and we were not allowed to leave or talk to anybody or get off the ship for 11 months. We were stuck onboard just going stir crazy.”

Typically, around 100,000 crew changes take place every month. But border closures and COVID-19 restrictions have prevented seafarers from going home and taking shore leave, forcing thousands to work months beyond their contracts.

"You wake up early. Maybe you go to the gym. Eat, work, and then go to sleep," said Napoleone.

At the peak, he was among 400,000 seafarers trapped at sea.

“I described it to some people like, you see those caged animals in the zoo and they’re kind of pacing. You can see that they’re stressed, but it’s like a sort of dull, constant stress. That’s what it was like," said Napoleone.

Last September, the secretary general of the United Nations appealed for governments to act on behalf of seafarers and other maritime workers stuck at sea for months, and in some cases, more than a year.

The UN passed a resolution, calling for an urgent response from all stakeholders, including the private sector, to resolve the situation.

Napoleone says social isolation brought on by the pandemic is amplified at sea.

“We would lose internet for a month at a time: no Facetime, no Zoom, no nothing. You're in the middle of the ocean. That stuff doesn't exist out there," Napoleone said.

After 11 months on the ship, he was finally able to fly home to San Diego.

“[I'm] great, happy. Much happier to see trees again, talk with people, play with dogs.”

He’s now preparing for another trip; one on solid ground.

“I’m going to go hike the Continental Divide Trail," Napoleone said with a smile. "A big, long, 3,000-mile journey.”

CARBIS BAY, England —

World leaders from the Group of Seven industrialized nations are set to commit at their summit to share at least 1 billion coronavirus shots with struggling countries around the world — half the doses coming from the U.S. and 100 million from the U.K.

Vaccine sharing commitments from President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday set the stage for the G-7 leaders' meeting in England, where leaders will pivot Friday from opening greetings and a "family photo" directly into a session on "Building Back Better From COVID-19."

"We're going to help lead the world out of this pandemic working alongside our global partners," Biden said, adding that the G-7 nations would join the U.S. in outlining their vaccine donation commitments at the three-day summit. The G-7 also includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan.

The G-7 leaders have faced mounting pressure to outline their global vaccine sharing plans, especially as inequities in supply around the world have become more pronounced. In the U.S., there is a large vaccine stockpile and the demand for shots has dropped precipitously in recent weeks.

Biden said the U.S. will donate 500 million COVID-19 vaccine doses and previewed a coordinated effort by the advanced economies to make vaccination widely and speedily available everywhere. The commitment was on top of 80 million doses Biden has already pledged to donate by the end of June.

Related video: Bidens and Johnsons bump elbows outside G-7 venue

Johnson, for his part, said the first 5 million U.K. doses would be shared in the coming weeks, with the remainder coming over the next year.

"At the G7 Summit I hope my fellow leaders will make similar pledges so that, together, we can vaccinate the world by the end of next year and build back better from coronavirus," Johnson said in a statement referencing the U.S. president's campaign slogan.

Earlier Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed the U.S. commitment and said Europe should do the same. He said France would share at least 30 million doses globally by year's end.

"The European Union needs to have at least the same level of ambition as the United States," he said at a news conference. He added that time was of the essence, saying, "It's almost more important to say how many (doses) we deliver the next month than making promises to be fulfilled in 18 months from now."

Biden predicted the U.S. doses and the overall G-7 commitment would "supercharge" the global vaccination campaign, adding that the U.S. doses come with no strings attached.

"Our vaccine donations don't include pressure for favors or potential concessions," Biden said. "We're doing this to save lives, to end this pandemic, that's it."

He added: "Our values call on us to do everything that we can to vaccinate the world against COVID-19.″

The U.S. commitment is to buy and donate 500 million Pfizer doses for distribution through the global COVAX alliance to 92 lower-income countries and the African Union, bringing the first steady supply of mRNA vaccine to the countries that need it most.

The Pfizer agreement came together with some urgency in the last four weeks at Biden's direction, said a senior White House official, both to meet critical needs overseas and to be ready for announcement at the G-7. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal plans, added that the Biden administration was to apply the same wartime posture applied to the vaccine rollout in the U.S. to its effort to share vaccines globally.

Biden said the 500 million U.S.-manufactured vaccines will be shipped starting in August, with the goal of distributing 200 million by the end of the year. The remaining 300 million doses would be shipped in the first half of 2022. A price tag for the doses was not released, but the U.S. is now set to be COVAX's largest vaccine donor in addition to its single largest funder with a $4 billion commitment.

The well-funded global alliance has faced a slow start to its vaccination campaign, as richer nations have locked up billions of doses through contracts directly with drug manufacturers. Biden's move, officials said, was meant to ensure a substantial amount of manufacturing capacity remains open to the wealthy nations. Just last month, the European Commission signed an agreement to purchase as many as 1.8 billion Pfizer doses in the next two years, a significant share of the company's upcoming production — though the bloc reserved the right to donate some of its doses to COVAX.

COVAX has distributed just 81 million doses globally and parts of the world, particularly in Africa, remain vaccine deserts.

White House officials said the ramped-up distribution program fits a theme Biden plans to hit frequently during his week in Europe: that Western democracies, and not authoritarian states, can deliver the most good for the world.

U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters Wednesday that G-7 leaders are "converging" around the idea that vaccine supply can be increased in several ways, including by countries sharing more of their own doses, helping to increase global manufacturing capacity and doing more across the "chain of custody" from when the vaccine is produced to when it is injected into someone in the developing world.

Biden, in his remarks, harked back to the Detroit-area workers who 80 years ago built tanks and planes "that helped defeat the threat of global fascism in World War II."

"They built what became known as the arsenal of democracy," Biden said. "Now a new generation of American men and women, working with today's latest technology, is going to build a new arsenal to defeat the current enemy of world peace, health and stability: COVID-19."

He noted that Pfizer's main COVID-19 vaccine plant in Kalamazoo, Michigan, is not far from Detroit.

Last week, the White House unveiled plans to donate an initial allotment of 25 million doses of surplus vaccine overseas, mostly through the World Health Organization-backed COVAX program, promising infusions for South and Central America, Asia, Africa and others.

Officials say a quarter of that excess will be kept in reserve for emergencies and for the U.S. to share directly with allies and partners, including South Korea, Taiwan and Ukraine. Johnson said the U.K. would follow a similar model with its doses, holding 20% in reserve for bilateral agreements but sending the vast majority to COVAX.

China and Russia have shared their domestically produced vaccines with some needy countries, often with hidden strings attached. Sullivan said Biden "does want to show — rallying the rest of the world's democracies — that democracies are the countries that can best deliver solutions for people everywhere."

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Miller reported from Washington. Lawless reported from Falmouth, England. AP writer Sylvie Corbet in Paris and Jonathan Lemire in Plymouth, England, contributed to this report.