At the UN Security Council, the US and its allies say that Russia is the cause of Poland’s ‘tragedy’ because it decided to invade Ukraine.
The United States and its allies have criticized Russia at the United Nations Security Council for its role in launching ballistic missiles into Poland, an event that the UN chief political officer called “a dire reminder of the absolute need to prevent any further escalation” among the nine. -a month ago war in Ukraine.
The meeting, which was scheduled in advance, took place a day after a NATO missile believed to be a stray missile fired by Ukraine’s air defenses crashed inside Poland, a NATO member, killing two farm workers.
NATO and Poland said the missile was not a Russian strike, allaying international fears that the war was escalating, although Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy continued to say there was no doubt the missile was not Ukrainian.
The deaths in the village near the Polish-Ukrainian border came on the same day Russia fired more than 90 missiles at cities across Ukraine, targeting its power grid and knocking out electricity for millions. The Kyiv government said it was the worst crisis since Moscow annexed Ukraine on February 24.
“This tragedy would not have happened but for Russia’s unnecessary aggression against Ukraine and the recent missile attack against Ukraine,” the US ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, told the Security Council.
“Ukraine has every right to defend itself from this war,” Thomas-Greenfield said.
The UN ambassador to Poland and the United Kingdom repeated the statement that the Russian invasion was the cause of what happened in Poland.
The United Nations ambassador to Russia, Vassily Nebenzia, responded, accusing Ukraine and Poland of trying to “start a conflict between Russia and NATO”, and echoed what the Ukrainian president and Polish officials said Russia was responsible for.
“We have long ceased to be surprised by any of your attempts, no matter how factual or logical, to blame Russia for everything,” he said.
The 15-member council was briefed by UN Undersecretary General for Political Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo who condemned the attacks on Ukrainian cities, saying this week’s attack was “Russia’s most powerful bombardment” since it attacked on February 24.
He added that attacks on civilians and infrastructure are prohibited under international law, said “massive fighting” continues in eastern Donetsk and Luhansk and told council members that “the war will not end”. He also warned that “as long as it continues, the threat of the threat remains real”.
Although the meeting was dominated by the events in Poland, members of the Security Council also called for Russia to extend the Black Sea grain agreement, which should continue on Saturday unless there are objections.
Moscow suspended its participation in the deal at the end of October but rejoined four days later, easing concerns about further disruptions to foreign trade from one of the world’s biggest exporters at a time of rising food prices and shortages.
