Vassily Nebenzia: “The World ended up on the brink of a Third World War because of the anti-Russian project “Ukraine” that had been implemented by Western countries in their geopolitical interests on our borders”

Vassily Nebenzia at a GA Emergency Special Session on Ukraine.
Photo: UN

Statement by Permanent Representative Vassily Nebenzia at a GA Emergency Special Session on Ukraine:

“Mr. President,

Distinguished colleagues,

Today, we are witnessing historic events that not every generation gets a chance to share. It is a multipolar world that is taking shape before our very eyes now. This world should have come into being 30 years ago, upon the end of the Cold War, which drew a line under the ideological confrontation between the USSR and the West. At that time, the world was replete with hopes for a better future, for mutually beneficial cooperation between key players in the interests of all mankind, for cessation of wars, and for the establishment of a new, indivisible security architecture whereby former adversaries would become allies who address international problems together.

Unfortunately, this logic didn’t prevail then, and the ideology of cooperation was gradually supplanted by the philosophy of a “zero-sum game”. This was not our choice, and we warned many times about the dangers that such logic is fraught with. As a result, the world ended up on the brink of a third world war because of the anti-Russian project “Ukraine” that had been implemented by Western countries in their geopolitical interests on our borders.

Its key milestone was the anti-constitutional coup in Kiev in February 2014, as a result of which a rowdy minority came to power (not without Western assistance). This minority is professing the ideals of extreme nationalism and Russophobia, it is intolerant to dissent opinions and to everything Russian, intolerant to the canonical Orthodox faith. This minority glorifies the collaborators of Hitler's executioners, who together with them murdered hundreds of thousands of Jews, Roma, Poles, Russians and Ukrainians during the Second World War.

The regime has unleashed a brutal war against the Russian-speaking fellow-citizens in the east of the country, attempting to erase their identity and replace it with the ideals of out-and-out Ukrainian nationalism. By doing so, Ukraine itself has set off a clockwork mechanism of self-destruction by hatred, intolerance and hostility. This could have been stopped by the Minsk Agreements, which were endorsed by the UN Security Council exactly 10 years ago, but instead of implementing them, the Kiev regime (under the patronage of its Western sponsors), as we all know today, opted for sabotaging them, while actively arming itself and preparing for war with Russia.

Another attempt to stop this mechanism was undertaken by the citizens of Ukraine, when three quarters of them voted for the new Ukrainian president Vladymyr Zelensky in May 2019, as he promised to establish peace in the east of the country and protect the Russian language and the rights of Russian-speaking citizens, he also promised to stop glorifying Nazi henchmen and restore good-neighborly relations with Russia. However, when he became president, he treacherously turned the country back to its previous suicidal and inhumane course.

All this time, Russia for its part showed patience and restraint, we did not give in to the provocations of Kiev and its Western sponsors. At the same time, we kept stating very clearly that we would not abandon Russian people, we would not allow anybody to persecute them nor forcibly reformat their identity. Another “red line” for Russia was Ukraine's possible membership in NATO, which created unacceptable military-strategic risks for our country.

We tried to sort it out peacefully with Kiev, Washington and Brussels, but no one listened to us, no one took us seriously. It was only three years ago when we launched our special military operation, clearly stating its goals. We were compelled to do that because it became absolutely clear that Ukraine would soon cross both “red lines”. At the same time, from the very get-go we have reiterated our willingness to achieve the goals of the special military operation through peaceful means, and we have always preferred such a solution.

Mr. President,

Today, the Kiev regime is on the brink of a crushing military defeat, but it continues sacrificing the lives of tens of thousands of Ukrainian men and women, even though there is a need to use force to mobilize the vast majority of them. Any talk of peace is unacceptable for Zelensky and his clique, who usurped power and who refused last May to hold elections in violation of Ukraine's Constitution. They could only accept provisions that are premised solely on ultimatums and provisions of the so-called “Zelensky formula”, which has no relation whatsoever with what is happening on the battlefield. In his maniacal desire to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia and being egged on by some Western sponsors, primarily by Great Britain, the former actor rejected the Istanbul agreements initialed in April 2022 and passed a law that barred him himself and his subordinates from any negotiations with the Russian authorities.

Over the past three years, Ukraine received hundreds of billions of dollars in Western aid, the country received ample Western weapons and mercenaries, as well as intelligence data. In other words, Ukraine has become something like a private military company fighting for Western geopolitical interests, and the conflict has become a textbook example of a proxy war waged between Russia and NATO countries. Despite this, the Ukrainian army suffered catastrophic losses and the capitulation of the Kiev regime is only a matter of time. We have said that on numerous occasions, including from this rostrum.

In an effort to draw Western countries into direct confrontation with Russia at any cost, last August Zelensky unleashed a suicidal aggression against a peaceful Russian region – against Kursk Oblast. As a result – as we know today from eyewitnesses and Ukrainian POWs – hundreds of civilians were brutally murdered and tortured, and the Ukrainian invaders were looting, raping and pillaging, which their leader was perfectly aware of. The calculation was that Russia would respond to this barbaric action in such a brutal way that the public opinion in the West would once again take the side of Kiev. They expected that it would help to turn part of the international community against Russia, just like the crude provocation in Bucha did – by the way, the objective investigation into this incident is being hindered by the Kiev regime is in every possible.

Zelensky's “Kursk misadventure”, as we know, was futile. Moreover, it only accelerated the collapse of the eastern front, where Ukraine is facing a dramatic lack of the reserves that are being burned instead in Kursk Oblast. Today, the Ukrainian army controls just a little more than a third of the original territory and is suffering horrendous losses. In parallel, Russian troops are successfully advancing in Donbass, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, which became part of Russia following referendums in the fall of 2022. Every day we learn new names of liberated settlements and, unfortunately, new terrible figures of Ukrainian losses, or rather “cannon fodder”, which Zelensky turned his people into. Hundreds of thousands of residents from Ukraine are seeking to return to the new Russian regions, which debunks the Ukrainian propaganda stating that Ukrainians hate Russians. We have repeatedly stated: we are not fighting for territory; we are fighting for people.

As we all know, the hopelessness of the Zelensky regime is something that has become evident in recent weeks even to the main sponsor of the Kiev junta – the United States. The new Republican administration, led by President Donald Trump, has finally seen the true face of the “expired” Ukrainian president and realized that he is absolutely not interested in having peace in his country, because he is at pains to cling onto power and he fears democratic elections, which he has no chance to win. He is not interested in anything else, and he is ready to sacrifice the entire population of Ukraine and all its natural resources only to remain in power.

What has also come up to the fore is the extremely unpleasant facts of corruption in Ukraine, which has blossomed under Zelensky, as well as information about stealing Western aid and reselling on the black market of weapons supplies, costing hundreds of billions of dollars. There were also exposed the blood-chilling violations of human rights and infringements on free speech, for which the Ukrainians have bitterly dub their country the “Zelensky concentration camp”. The number of those who want to flee Ukraine has become unimaginably high, as more and more people flee from persecution and mobilization that will send them to the front line to die. But the princeling of Kiev is not letting anyone out of the country.

It is understandable that under these circumstances, the Kiev’s former comedian is extremely nervous about direct talks between Russia and the United States on how to resolve the Ukrainian crisis and eradicate its root causes, which could drastically improve the international situation. Certain European capitals are no less nervous, since all these years they not only helped the Kiev clique and covered up its crimes, but also nurtured Russophobia, disseminated lies and fabrications regarding the goals and objectives of the special military operation. As a result, they inflated a huge “bubble of lies”, and they can hardly get out of it. They are trying to ignore the fact that the wind has changed and there is a clear demand for peace now, the only impediment to that is the Kiev usurper and his European accomplices.

Left without “wheel and rudder”, these pathetic “peacemakers”, although confused, do continue to lecture the rest of the world about how we are supposed to live according to the rules of the “blooming garden”…”

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