Saturday, December 30, 2023

Russian UN Envoy Calls Ukraine's Strikes on Belgorod Deliberate Terrorist Attacks: 'UK and US Involved In Organizing Attack'

Russian UN Envoy Calls Ukraine's Strikes on Belgorod Deliberate Terrorist Attacks
Sputnik


Russia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya stated on Saturday that the strikes on the Russian city of Belgorod were a deliberate terrorist attack. 
"I’d like to once again emphasize we are not looking at a strike on a military target," Nebenzya said during a meeting of the UN Security Council (UNSC). "This is a deliberate terrorist attack that was targeting civilians," the diplomat stressed. 
Nebenzya expressed astonishment at the silence of the UN Secretary General on the deadly attacks on Belgorod.

"We are surprised by the silence of the SG [Secretary-General] in this regard," the Russian diplomat emphasized.

In addition, Nebenzya stated that Moscow has information about the UK and US advisers being engaged in organizing the attacks on Russia's Belgorod.

“We have reports that the UK and American consultants took direct part in organizing this terrorist attack and they regularly encourage the Ukrainian government to carry out bloody crimes,” the Russian representative said.

“There is a possibility for these crimes also born by the EU countries, which directly and irresponsibly continue to supply the Ukrainian ruling elite with weapons,” Nebenzya added.
Regarding the absence of the Czech permanent representative to the UN, Nebenzya said that he refused to participate in the UNSC meeting on the attacks on Russia's Belgorod "out of cowardice."
"Where is the Czech representative, the country whose missiles killed civilians in Belgorod?" the Russian diplomat asked rhetorically. "We tried to invite today the Czech PR to take part in this meeting but he declined out of cowardice."

Earlier on Saturday, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said that the countre's permanent representative to the UN would not attend the Russia-requested meeting of the UNSC on Ukraine's deadly strike on Belgorod.
On Saturday, Russian Deputy Envoy to the UN Dmitry Polyanskiy stated that Russia demands the participation of the Czech envoy in the UNSC meeting to provide explanation regarding the arms supplies to Kiev.
On Saturday, Belgorod Region Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said Ukraine had shelled the central part of the city. As a result of the attack, at least 21 people were killed and over 110 others were wounded, Gladkov said on Telegram. 
The Russian Defense Ministry said that the Ukrainian military had used cluster munitions and Czech-made Vampire missiles, among other weaponry, in the attack. The ministry stressed that the strike on Belgorod would not go unpunished.

21 dead in Ukrainian attack of Russian border city – governor

The strike on Saturday by Ukrainian forces on Belgorod is the “worst” since the start of the conflict between Moscow and Kiev, Belgorod Region Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said in a Telegram post. In a separate post in the early hours of Sunday, he added that the death toll has grown to 21.

The shelling also left a total of 111 people injured, the Emergencies Ministry said. The material damage sustained by the city in the strike is still being assessed, Gladkov said, adding that additional public servants from nearby towns had been engaged to speed up this process. 

The strike damaged more than 100 vehicles, most of which were “totally destroyed” or burnt, according to Gladkov. A large number of commercial facilities, including shops, stores and malls, were damaged as well, he added. Some gas and water supply systems in the city were also hit, according to the governor.

The regional authorities decided to cancel all public gatherings and festivities in all territories bordering Ukraine, as well as in the city of Belgorod itself, which is located some 40km away from the border, Gladkov said. The governor also informed President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin about the incident and its aftermath

The Russian Defense Ministry has said that the attack on the city involved the use of cluster munitions. Such weapons comprise dozens of small submunitions that can be scattered over a large area by an initial detonation, which can then also explode, causing a large number of smaller secondary blasts. More than 110 nations banned them under a UN convention in 2008 due to their grave danger to civilians.  


West complicit in Ukraine’s deadly strikes on Belgorod – Moscow
RT

The US and Britain have helped Ukraine carry out the deadly strikes on the Russian border city of Belgorod, Russian envoy to the UN Vassily Nebenzia told the Security Council on Saturday. 

Russia requested the urgent Security Council meeting after Ukrainian forces shelled Belgorod earlier that day, killing at least 21 people and injuring more than 110.

In his speech, Nebenzia described the shelling as “a premeditated act of terrorism against civilians,” arguing that Kiev’s Western supporters share the responsibility for deaths. 

“The West is complicit in the crimes committed by the gang [in power] in Kiev,” the diplomat said. “We know that British and American consultants were directly involved in the organization of this terrorist act.”

He warned that “the organizers and perpetrators” of the strikes will “be punished.” 

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Ukrainian troops used the domestically produced Olkha system to fire rockets equipped with cluster bomb warheads into Belgorod. A Czech-made RM-70 Vampire – an upgraded heavier version of the Soviet BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launcher – was also used, the MOD said.




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