Ukraine envoy at UNSC: Russia is bluffing and undermining peace talks

Ukraine's Permanent Representative to the UN, Andrii Melnyk, said this at a meeting of the UN Security Council, according to Ukrinform's correspondent in New York.

The diplomat stressed that Russia is trying to create a false impression of the situation on the battlefield.

"What we are witnessing is a carefully staged performance that Russia continues to play out," he said. On the one hand, the situation for the Kremlin on the battlefield is steadily worsening, while on the other, Moscow continues to create an illusion of its own invincibility and to demonstrate that it is supposedly one step away from a complete victory and Ukraine's surrender.

According to the envoy, Vladimir Putin's negotiating position is based on bluff and lies. The bluff is that Russia will allegedly win the war anyway, while the lie is that Putin would supposedly agree to anything short of Ukraine's effective capitulation.

Russia has failed to achieve any of the goals of its full-scale invasion, Melnyk said, adding: "We are dealing with the longest three-day blitzkrieg in human history, which has already lasted more than four years."

Russian troops, which call themselves the world's second army, have taken three and a half years to occupy only 9,300 square kilometers. At the current pace, Russia would need 183 years to occupy all of Ukraine, the diplomat said.

"That is why Putin is demanding that Ukraine give up, without a fight, territories that Russia has failed to occupy in more than 12 years of aggression," he added. "By turning such ultimatums into conditions for negotiations, Russia is deliberately blocking the peace process."

In particular, Moscow is simultaneously demanding elections in Ukraine while refusing to agree to a ceasefire, which is necessary for the electoral process.

Melnyk also said that Ukrainian forces have managed to change the situation on the battlefield: "In February alone, the Ukrainian army liberated territory comparable in size to the boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn [in New York]."

At the same time, Russia is facing serious economic problems.

"Zero growth, a lack of reserves, and a growing budget deficit are increasingly making it difficult for Russia to finance the war against Ukraine," the diplomat said.

He stressed that "despite all Russian tricks and the abuse of diplomacy aimed at dragging things out and reducing international support for Kyiv, we remain fully committed to restoring peace."

Ukraine has never been and will never be an obstacle to a comprehensive, just and lasting peace. "We will spare no effort to continue negotiations under the leadership of the United States to achieve this goal," Ukraine's envoy to the UN said.

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