Statement by Permanent Representative Vassily Nebenzia at UNSC briefing on Ukraine
[Some extracts & The bottom line:] So what you see now is the continuation of the war on Russia that the West is fighting “until the last Ukrainian”. This leaves us no other option but to keep moving towards achieving the goals of the special operation by military means. Thereby the Ukrainian people suffer the most, because the West and the felonious regime in Kiev are using them as “cannon fodder”. [...] Western states promise that arms deliveries to Ukraine will continue for “as long as needed”, saying that they allegedly do it for the sake of peace. For example, the European Union even finances these arms supplies via its European Peace Facility, apparently in order to mislead the taxpayers. Kiev, however, has its own answer to why they need so many weapons. Lately, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine O.Danilov frankly stated that his country needs weapons because Russians “must be destroyed so that they cease to exist as a country”. In his opinion, negotiating with Moscow is something “unworthy of the Ukrainian people”. [...] It goes without saying that we cannot leave this sort of hate speech without a reaction. We will respond to Kiev’s hostile actions, i.a. by hitting the infrastructure that is used for military provision, logistics, and liaison of Ukrainian formations. In other words, we will keep impairing the military potential of Zelensky’s regime. [...] If [our] goals are not attained by peaceful means and by turning Ukraine into a normal state and a good neighbor that poses no threat to Russia, then [our] goals will be achieved militarily. Due to the thoughtless actions of Ukrainian rulers who are subordinate to the West, the population of peaceful Ukrainian towns and cities is suffering. Responsibility for that fully rests with Zelensky’s regime and its Western sponsors, who resolved to defeat Russia on the battleground. This is their choice, not ours. Until they realize it, we will defend our interests by all methods that we have at our disposal.