Melnyk responds to Nebenzya’s invitation to visit Russia at UN Security Council

Ukraine’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Andrii Melnyk rejected a rhetorical invitation from Russia’s UN envoy Vasily Nebenzya to visit Russia and see the state of the Russian economy for himself.

The exchange took place during a meeting of the United Nations Security Council convened at Russia’s request, an Ukrinform correspondent in New York reports.

“I’m not sure that I will have any appetite to visit Moscow,” Melnyk said. “Even when Russia is defeated, even when and after Putin’s regime has collapsed, even after Russia has paid war reparations, even when the next government in Russia were to beg on its knees for an apology, even after all the Russian war criminals are sentenced. There will be no reconciliation between Ukraine and Russia for decades, maybe for centuries.”

According to the envoy, he would refuse “to visit Moscow even as a member of Ukraine delegation that will travel to Russia to witness Russia’s signature of its declaration of capitulation.”

Melnyk stressed that Russia is currently losing its war of aggression against Ukraine both on the battlefield and on the diplomatic front, including at the United Nations.

“It appears nervous, displaying visible signs of desperation. The very convening of this meeting is a sign of weakness and an attempt to turn the tide and to squeeze a tear out of this Council,” Melnyk said.

He also advised Nebenzya to send a telegram to Sergey Lavrov and Vladimir Putin with the message: “Hey, boss, the game is up!”

The Ukrainian envoy has previously pointed to negative trends in Russia’s economy caused by Putin’s war.

“I would like to invite Mr. Melnyk to Russia…” Nebenzya said during the Security Council meeting. “So that he can see firsthand how Russia’s economy is ‘collapsing’ – not only in Moscow, but also in the provinces.”

As reported by Ukrinform, Russia requested an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council following a strike by the Armed Forces of Ukraine against Russian occupying forces in Starobilsk, in the temporarily occupied Luhansk region.