Members of the diplomatic communities and the United Nations officials in Nepal on Thursday gathered at Bauddhanath Stupa in solidarity with Ukraine which is facing invasion at the hands of Russia.

They lit candles and observed a moment of silence for those who have lost their lives in the week since the invasion.

Issuing a statement, the Embassy of the United States in Kathmandu said that the Ukrainian national anthem, “Ukraine Has Not Yet Perished,” was played during the event while the participants read adapted excerpts from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s defiant speeches over the past seven days. 

“In the face of Vladimir Putin’s unprovoked, unjustified, and unconscionable invasion of Ukraine, members of the diplomatic community gathered at Boudhanath Stupa on Thursday to show support for Ukraine’s  people, sovereignty, and territorial integrity,” reads the embassy statement.

The chiefs of diplomatic missions in Nepal, including ambassadors from Switzerland, Finland, the United States, the United Kingdom, South Korea, European Union, Israel, Australia, Japan, Norway, Germany, and the Director of the International Labour Organisation and Acting UN Resident Coordinator, and Honorary Consuls from New Zealand, Latvia and Ukraine were present in the event.

Putin on February 24 ordered what he called a special military operation in Ukraine. Russian forces in the last nine days have captured different cities and reached Kyiv, the Ukraine’s capital.

Two rounds of dialogue between the two nations have failed to yield any positive results. As many as 141 countries, including Nepal, among 193 member nations of the UN on Wednesday voted in favour of a UN resolution on the Ukraine crisis at a rare United Nations General Assembly.

Hours after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that Nepal opposes any use of force against a sovereign country in any circumstance and believes in peaceful resolution of disputes through diplomacy and dialogue.

“As a member of the United Nations, Nepal views that the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity as enshrined in the UN charter are sacrosanct and must be fully respected by all member states,” the ministry said.

Earlier on Monday, Nepal voted in favour of Kyiv’s call at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva for an urgent debate on the situation in Ukraine.

India and China, two giant neighbours of Nepal, abstained voting at the Human Rights Council as well as the General Assembly. The ambassadors of the two countries were not present at Thursday’s event at Bauddha.