Vladimir Putin’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, just claimed the UN is ignoring Ukraine’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk region.
More than two and a half years after Moscow sent its troops into the neighbouring European country, Russia occupies more than 100,000 sq km of Ukrainian land – and is pushing for more.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s August offensive means it now controls around 1,200 sq km of Russian land.
However, speaking from the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, Lavrov called out Kyiv’s offensive in an interview with the Russian state news agency TASS.
Although it was the Kremlin who first invaded Ukraine, he claimed Kyiv’s much smaller incursion into Russia was being deliberately overlooked by the UN.
“I have not heard any voices from UN representatives responsible for human rights, including, of course, the secretary general,” he said in reference to UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres.
Kyiv already rejected Russia’s claims that it has been targeting civilians in Kursk earlier this week.
A foreign ministry spokesman said: “Given Russia’s long history of false numbers and propaganda, there is simply no way of verifying their claims. If Russia wants to show the real situation on the ground it can grant such access to the UN and ICRC.”
Lavrov also claimed Ukrainian “terrorist groups” were using Western weapons to indiscriminately attack in Kursk, even though Russia itself has been accused of indiscriminate bombing since it invaded Ukraine.
The diplomat said: “It is there that they bomb homes every day, bomb social institutions, peaceful citizens moving in their cars to safer places.”
According to TASS, Lavrov also said the West want “not only a cold war but also a hot one” with Moscow.
He suggested that, unlike Ukraine’s allies, Russia was committed to ensuring “the principles laid down in the UN Charter are really respected and put into practice”.
“Unfortunately, these principles have been violated daily in recent years by our Western colleagues,” he claimed.
The UN has repeatedly stated that it is committed to protecting Ukraine’s sovereignty throughout its war against Russia.
Earlier this month, Ukraine said it had asked the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross to join humanitarian efforts in Kursk.
Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, said: “Ukraine is ready to facilitate their work and prove its adherence to international humanitarian law.”
It’s not clear how the UN or the ICRC responded.