US Official at UN Criticizes Russia

Sergey Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister, rejected any peace proposals from Kyiv and Western countries during a UN meeting on Monday. According to Reuters, while Lavrov claimed that Ukrainian forces have suffered a "complete defeat" on the battlefield and are "incapable" of defeating or weakening Russia, he told the Security Council that Moscow is always ready to negotiate for peace. At the same time, he asserted that the peace plans proposed by Ukraine and its "Western masters" are merely a cover for continuing the war and continuing to receive money from Western taxpayers, and all these formulas lead to a dead end, and the sooner Washington, London, Paris, and Brussels realize this, the better it will be for Ukraine and the West. Robert Wood, the US Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, dismissed Lavrov's claims as "merely blatant misinformation" and responded that Russia's attack on Ukraine on February 24, 2022, initiated the war, and this "one-sided pursuit by Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, to destroy Ukraine is prolonging the war." Wood stated, "Russia's imperialistic plans are clear" and "for Russia, anything other than surrender, the complete surrender of Ukrainians, is the only solution, and this is unacceptable to the international community." He emphasized that if Moscow withdraws its hundreds of thousands of military forces from internationally recognized Ukrainian territory, the war could end tomorrow. While Russia called on Security Council members to harshly criticize Western military aid to Ukraine, just before the meeting began, diplomats from over 40 countries supported the statement by Ukraine's UN Ambassador, Serhiy Kyslytsya, reading a joint statement condemning Russia's "hypocrisy" in criticizing the legal transfer of weapons to Ukraine for self-defense. Supporters of Ukraine also labeled Monday's meeting as another attempt by Russia to "divert attention from the aggressive war" and condemned military support from Moscow, including drones from the Islamic Republic and ballistic missiles from North Korea, which violate UN sanctions. Additionally, discussions between the US and UK; Biden and Sunak talked about the Middle East and Ukraine. Reports indicated the downing of 8 attacking Russian drones in various regions of Ukraine; continued deadly attacks on residential areas; the UN is scrutinizing the forced exile of 20,000 Ukrainian children to Russia; the expansion of military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow despite global criticism; Putin is traveling to North Korea; Ukraine claims Russia has lost 376,000 soldiers in the war; reports of shelling in the Russian-controlled city of Donetsk; 25 people were killed; hundreds protested in support of a jailed activist in Russia.