Western countries skip Russia’s UN address on Ukraine war anniversary

Dmitry Lyubinsky

• Western nations boycotted Russia at UN in solidarity with Ukraine
• Delegates held a Ukrainian flag during Russia's UN address
• Over 10.8 million Ukrainians need aid due to ongoing war

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Multiple countries shunned Russia at the United Nations on Tuesday, boycotting its intervention at the Human Rights Council in solidarity with Ukraine on the fourth anniversary of Moscow's invasion.

Several Western nations stayed away, leaving Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Dmitry Lyubinsky speaking to a bare-looking hall.

They missed Lyubinsky saying that Europe "has today become the flag bearer of historic aggression", as he decried European "Russophobia".

"For the Russian people, it is extremely painful to observe how the countries of the collective West are using the people of Ukraine, who are people so close to us," he said.

Earlier Tuesday, there was a similar boycott at the Conference on Disarmament as Gennady Gatilov, Russia's ambassador in Geneva, addressed the room.

European nations and dozens of others left their chairs empty, including Ukraine, Poland, Britain, Canada, Australia, Romania, Germany, Japan, Italy, France and New Zealand.

Outside, as Gatilov spoke, delegates stood together holding up a large Ukrainian flag, before returning to their seats after the Russian ambassador finished speaking.

Nearly 50 people did the same outside the Human Rights Council.

'Appalling crimes'

Ukraine held a packed meeting on the sidelines of the Human Rights Council, at which several European foreign ministers voiced their support for Kyiv as Russia's full-scale war rolls into its fifth year.

Moldova's Foreign Minister Mihai Popsoi, speaking for 44 countries, said it was "impossible to find words for the horror inflicted by Russia on Ukraine".

"Russia appears entirely determined to erase basic living conditions for civilians with devastating effect on all aspects of life for Ukrainian children," he said.

Iceland's Foreign Minister Thorgerdur Katrin Gunnarsdottir reflected on the "quiet daily courage" of ordinary Ukrainian civilians.

"The deportation and forcible transfer of Ukrainian children is among the most appalling crimes of Russia's war," she said.

"If Russia stopped fighting today, this war would end."

Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said Russia was "violating every principle in the book" in Ukraine.

'Immeasurable human suffering'

Russia's invasion is continuing to inflict "immeasurable human suffering", the UN's humanitarian coordinator in Ukraine told a press briefing earlier.

Matthias Schmale said more than 10.8 million people, or roughly a quarter of the country's population, needed aid assistance, including up to a million in Russian-occupied territories.

Last year, around five million people were reached with humanitarian aid.

"The war has left deep, invisible scars" with Ukraine's people, said Schmale, speaking from Kyiv.

The UN refugee agency UNHCR meanwhile said there were 5.9 million Ukrainian refugees living abroad -- of which 5.7 million are in Europe -- and 3.7 million people within the country who have fled their homes.

UNHCR's Europe director Philippe Leclerc said more than 60 percent of Ukrainians abroad envisaged eventual return.