Russia-Ukraine war: Russia’s retreat from Kyiv ‘largely complete’, say western officials; people in east told to flee – live
Western officials say it will take ‘at least a week’ before units from Kyiv could reach Donbas; authorities in eastern Ukraine urge civilians to leave
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Zelenskiy questioned the ability of the UN Security Council to provide security, undermining the very functions for which it was created during his Tuesday night national address.
The UN Security Council exists, and security in the world doesn’t. For anyone.
This definitely means that the United Nations is currently unable to carry out the functions for which it was created. And only one state is to blame for this – Russia, which discredits the UN and all other international institutions where it still participates.
Even if we sign the most powerful agreement, we understand that in two years Russia may return. And if you and I accept this, then we act accordingly,” he said.
All this is being discussed at the level of advisers and leaders with France, the United States, Turkey, the United Kingdom, Poland, Italy, Israel, and there are many friends who want to join. So far, we have not received a specific list of guarantees and a list of countries that are ready to join us 100%.
We do not need to have 40 countries of the world that are ready to join and fight for Ukraine under the agreement. We need serious players who are ready for anything. We need a circle of states that are ready to provide any weapons within 24 hours. We need individual countries on which sanctions policy really depends, so that these sanctions are deeply elaborated in advance. So that in the first second when we feel the threat from the Russian Federation, these states will unite and within three days introduce everything at once, block everything.”
If we are offered to join Nato tomorrow, if they don’t play with our lives again, but seriously offer, we will join. But this will not happen, unfortunately, and did not happen.
That is why we will build those security guarantees that can protect us, protect people’s lives.”