UNITED NATIONS: Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba accused Russia at the UN General Assembly on Friday of ignoring the will of the world as its war against Kyiv enters a third year.
The meeting was held as Ukraine prepares to mark the second anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion while vital aid remains blocked by the US Congress and Russia is emboldened by fresh gains in recent weeks.
Despite speeches by prominent Western foreign ministers, there will be no vote on the conflict as there was last year as the UN is preoccupied by the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.
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This time a year ago the General Assembly called for an immediate withdrawal of Russian troops with an overwhelming majority of member states, 141 countries, voting in favor with just seven against.
But a diplomatic source told AFP that the "mood has changed" over the past year and that "Arab countries will remember how Ukraine voted on Gaza" after Kyiv abstained on votes calling for an immediate ceasefire in the General Assembly.
"Russia ignores the will of the global majority. It continues its aggression, and throws more and more men into the flames of war," Kuleba said.
"We can also see that in these two years, global security has only deteriorated. More and more wars and conflicts are flaring up across the globe. One of the reasons for this is the bleeding wound in the heart of Europe."
Kuleba said Ukraine was "actively working" to prepare for a global peace summit to be hosted in Switzerland, but Russia called the initiative "futile."
Switzerland's Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis invited all member states to join the talks which he said should be held before the summer.
But Russia's ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebenzya dismissed the initiative as useless.
"One should not waste time on Kyiv's futile plans to negotiate on the basis of (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelesnky's so-called 'peace formula'," he said.
"It's nothing other than an ultimatum and attempt to lure as many countries as possible into endless meetings on this utopian project at any price possible."
Ukraine relies on Western military backing to defend itself against Russian attacks, which have accelerated as Moscow seeks to take advantage of Kyiv's stretched resources on the battlefield.
Western leaders are descending on the country this weekend in a show of support for Kyiv as the war grinds on and two years of fighting a bigger and richer army takes a toll on Ukraine's stretched forces.
"I am grateful to all UN member states, who have consistently supported important general assembly calls condemning Russian aggression against Ukraine and urging Moscow to cease hostilities," Kuleba said at the UN.
"This assembly has demonstrated on numerous occasions that the global majority stands on the side of Ukraine."
Kyiv warned Friday that Russia is intensifying attacks around the new "hot spot" of Maryinka, a town to the west of the Moscow-controlled stronghold of Donetsk city.
The Russian army said this week it had also captured the eastern village of Pobeda and that its troops were "moving westwards" after capturing Avdiivka.
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