Moscow tells the UN too: nyet to grain, nyet to ceasefire

If anyone thought that the UN would manage to convince Putin of even a temporary ceasefire, they were dead wrong. Though it's also true: if there's still anyone on Earth who believes the Russian president, diplomacy or the press, they truly deserve the disappointment.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov once again rejected a ceasefire at the UN Security Council meeting. He said Russia would not halt what it calls its "special military operation" even during negotiations, regardless of what form the talks might take. According to Lavrov, Europe wants to stop the fighting only to buy time and replenish Ukraine's supposedly depleted weapons stockpiles. Instead, Moscow wants a "long-term peace agreement" – naturally one dictated by Putin, while the Russian army continues bombing Ukraine and occupying its territories.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, on the other hand, stated that Kyiv is ready for an immediate, complete and unconditional ceasefire, provided Moscow also abides by it. Ukraine would also accept partial agreements on protecting energy infrastructure and grain exports. According to Sybiha, 14 of the Security Council's 15 members support these proposals, including the United States and China. The sole exception is Russia itself. The Trump administration had previously proposed a mutual suspension of attacks on energy facilities, but Moscow rejected even this limited ceasefire.

So the UN session at least had the merit of once again putting the essence on record: Ukraine would accept a ceasefire, Russia would not. Moscow wants to keep attacking while talking about "long-term peace," then blaming Europe and the victim for the whole thing. No sane person believes Russian diplomacy anymore – at most, they just take note of the latest lie.

Outrageous