An emergency meeting of the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) takes place this Monday (28), after Russia invaded Ukraine last Thursday (24). Several countries, such as Russia and Ukraine, spoke during the day. This is the 11th session of its kind since 1950. Abdulla Shahid, president of the UN General Assembly, opened the emergency meeting by calling for “an immediate ceasefire”.
The first speech representing a country was by Sergiy Kyslytsya, Ukraine’s ambassador to the UN. He began his speech also calling for a ceasefire in the war between the countries. The ambassador pointed out that this is the first time since the creation of the United Nations, on October 24, 1945, that there has been a full-scale war in the center of Europe. In the speech, he stated that “if Ukraine does not survive, the UN will not survive. It will not be a surprise if democracy breaks down.”
“Let’s save democracy. We defend the values we believe in”, says the ambassador. “Ukrainians are paying with their lives.”
Shortly afterwards, Vasily Nebenzya, Russia’s ambassador to the UN, claimed that agreements had been sabotaged, such as the ‘Minsk Agreement’. The protocol was signed on September 5, 2014, by Ukraine, Russia, the Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR), and the Lugansk People’s Republic (LNR) to end the war in eastern Ukrainian territory.
“[Com a sabotagem]Russia has the right to act on a government that suffocates some people”, says the ambassador.
Throughout the speech, Ukraine’s UN ambassador questioned whether any country approved Ukraine’s entry into the UN, “I ask you to raise your hand if anyone has agreed to entry.” No ambassador raised his hand. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics joined the UN on October 24, 1945, remaining until December 23, 1991. Its seat was taken by Russia, under the name of the Russian Federation.
“Putin did everything he could to delegitimize the Russian presence at the UN, but I ask: if Russia’s presence [aqui] was legitimate at any time.”
Kyslytsya also reads an alleged exchange of messages between a mother and a Russian soldier. He says that “there’s a real war going on, and I’m scared. We are bombing the city, including civilians. We thought we would be welcome [na Ucrânia]and they are throwing themselves in front of our vehicles and not wanting us to pass and calling us fascists… that is very difficult”.
Soon after, the ambassador says that the deaths will continue as long as the war is not over, “I ask that you (the ambassadors present at the emergency meeting) imagine the dead next to you”.
Finally, he states that “the only party to blame is the Russian Federation”.
Vasily Nebenzya
Russia’s UN ambassador emphasizes that the root of the actions is the disobedience of the ‘Minsk Agreement’. Nobenzya points out that there was a dialogue in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, to reconsider what they signed in the agreement, “a dialogue was necessary”.
“[Assim]”, we will not allow civilians from Donbass to reach Russian areas”. The region is located in southeastern Ukraine, and known as part of the territory occupied by separatist groups during the 2014 Russo-Ukrainian War.
He further argues that there is a misconception about Russia’s attack and, consequently, the West’s motives for supporting Ukrainian territory. “The worsening is something that did not move the allies [da Ucrânia]there was no empathy with the people of Donbass… it seems that [a população] does not exist”.
During the speech, Nebenzya also denied that Ukraine’s infrastructure and transport were under attack. “There is a lot of evidence that ordinary people from Ukraine went to protest and were bombed by Ukrainians.” He also claims that Chernobyl operates normally.
Ninety-two operational personnel at Ukraine’s Chernobyl plant are being held hostage by Russian forces, Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S. Oksana Markarova told a news conference in Washington, D.C., on Friday.
The responsibility of the plant now “depends on Russian forces and the Russian army,” Markarova said. Ukraine is reaching out to all nuclear regulators and other countries to alert them to the situation at Chernobyl, she added.
And during his speech, Nebenzya says that neo-Nazism was born and raised in Ukraine, at the state level. “Today, the status of neo-Nazism in Ukraine includes murderers and criminals, those who received 25,000 undocumented weapons in the name of ‘defense’, so called in Ukraine… this is the same tactic used by terrorists.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin has also used a similar speech by the ambassador. He said during a speech on Friday (25) that Ukraine’s military must “take power into their own hands”. In the speech, he said it would be “easier to negotiate” with Ukraine’s military.
“It will be easier to negotiate with you [militares da Ucrânia] than with this bunch of neo-Nazi addicts who have taken Kiev and are holding an entire people hostage,” he said.
Even with the speeches about possible sabotage and justifications for the invasion, the Russian ambassador says that the UN must have the role of eradicating conflicts.
understand the conflict
After months of military escalation and intemperance on the Ukrainian border, Russia is increasing pressure on its former Soviet neighbor, threatening to destabilize Europe and involve the United States.
Russia has been tightening its military grip around Ukraine for the past year, amassing tens of thousands of troops, equipment and artillery at the country’s gates. The mobilization prompted warnings from US intelligence officials that a Russian invasion could be imminent.
In recent weeks, diplomatic efforts to defuse tensions have not come to a conclusion. The independence of Donetsk and Luhansk, two Ukrainian separatist areas, was recognized by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday (21).
The escalation in the years-long conflict between Russia and Ukraine has set off the continent’s biggest security crisis since the Cold War, raising the specter of a dangerous confrontation between Western powers and Moscow.
Source: CNN Brasil
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