U.S. at UN: Russia “arsonist” blaming firefighters

That’s according to Deputy Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations, Ambassador Robert Wood, Ukrinform’s own correspondent reports.

"Russia's imperialist designs are obvious, and this meeting is another effort to distract from its war crimes and aggression. It is an arsonist blaming the firefighters so it can continue its crime," the U.S. representative told the UN Security Council convened by the Russian Federation on Monday.

He stressed that no amount of the Kremlin's attempts to spread lies and misinformation along with baseless accusations will erase the fact that it was Russia that unleashed a full-scale war against Ukraine because of Putin's desire to destroy the neighboring nation. And while Russia’s invasion has faltered, it "has sought more gasoline for its fire" by turning to Iran and North Korea for additional weapons despite the international embargo.

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"Russian forces have now used against Ukraine DPRK origin ballistic missiles acquired in violation of Security Council resolutions at least three times," the U.S. representative emphasized.

Also, he recalled that the United States brought to light “clear evidence of Iran unlawful transfers of armed Iranian UAVs to Russia”, despite restrictions in place at the time of this acquisition under resolution 2231. Wood stressed that such unlawful arms transfers and potential technology transfers undermine regional stability and the global non-proliferation regime.

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"This Council must hold to account any country that undermines its obligations under UN Security Council resolutions," urged the U.S. representative.

As reported by Ukrinform, on Monday nearly 50 UN member states made a joint statement calling out Russia’s hypocrisy in convening an UNSC meeting to criticize the legal supply of weapons to Ukraine.