Russia: West ready to 'throw world into the abyss' to defeat us
Russia's UN ambassador has accused the West of being willing to sacrifice Ukraine and developing countries in order to conquer Russia and maintain global power. "In their desire to defeat Russia in any way they can, they can not only sacrifice Ukraine, they are ready to plunge the whole world into the abyss of war," Vasily Nebenzya said at the special session of the UN General Assembly on Wednesday.
Nebenzya emphasized that it is not Ukraine that is fighting Russia, but a collective West. He said the West is turning a blind eye to “neo-Nazism in Ukraine” and it is only Russophobia that is growing. “All decency is set aside and the goal is to inflict a strategic defeat on my country. The US thinks the planet is their territory,” the Russian envoy said.
As of Friday, a year has passed since Russia launched a "military special operation" to "denazify" and "demilitarize" Ukraine. Nebenzya said the US and its European allies "compete on the number of sanctions imposed on my country, when in reality those sanctions hit developing countries hardest." During the session, UN chief Antonio Guterres said the war "is fueling regional instability and global tensions and divisions, while diverting attention and resources from other crises and pressing global issues."
More than 60 countries are scheduled to address the General Assembly later this week, which is expected to vote on a draft resolution "emphasizing the need to achieve a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine as soon as possible." Nebenzya said Moscow is ready for a solution, but "the draft resolution presented here will not contribute at all". "It will rather encourage the West, which continues its militaristic line and uses the UN as a cover," he added.
On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Western countries of fanning the flames of years of war. He said Moscow is not fighting the Ukrainian people, adding that Ukrainians "have become hostage to the Kiev regime and its Western masters, who have effectively occupied the country."
"I would like to reiterate: you started the war and we used force to stop it," Putin said, adding that Moscow had pushed for a negotiated end to the conflict between separatists and government forces in eastern Ukraine that began in 2014. In response, US President Joe Biden vowed that Western support for Kiev "will not waver". He also promised that the conflict in Ukraine would never end in victory for Russia. This week, the US announced an additional $500 aid package to Ukraine that will include more military equipment and weapons such as Javelin anti-tank missiles.
Many countries, including the US, Germany, France and the UK, have fueled the conflict by sending tens of billions of dollars worth of weapons to Kiev, including missile systems, drones, armored vehicles, tanks and communications systems. Western countries have also imposed a number of economic sanctions on Moscow. The Kremlin said the sanctions and Western military aid would only prolong the war.
