Summary

Russia will not halt its aggression against Ukraine even during possible negotiations, Russian Foreign Minister and the Kremlin’s highest-ranking representative Sergey Lavrov said during the United Nations (UN) Security Council meeting on Wednesday. Russia rejected growing international calls for a ceasefire during a high-level Security Council meeting on Ukraine in New York, held at the 81st session of the UN General Assembly. JOIN US ON TELEGRAM Follow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. “Having learned from bitter experience, we will not pause the special military operation for the duration of negotiations in any format,” Kremlin’s highest-ranking representative said. Ukraine would have kept its 1991 borders if the European nations had not “engaged in their shenanigans,” he continued, echoing Moscow’s long-standing hostility toward the West, just a month after Ukraine marked its 35th Independence Day. Sybiha: ‘Russia is vetoing peace’ Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha condemned Lavrov’s comments during the same meeting on Wednesday. “Fourteen of the 15 members of the UN Security Council support a ceasefire. Only one aggressor is blocking it,” Sybiha said, according to a statement from Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry. The Security Council is the only UN body whose decisions can be legally binding on member states. The council has 15 members, including five permanent members: the US, UK, France, China and Russia. Each permanent member can veto a substantive resolution, meaning Russia can block a resolution seeking to order action over the war it is waging against Ukraine. Russia Must Answer for Crimes in Crimea, Zelensky Says Russia “illegally occupies the USSR’s seat at this table,” Sybiha said, calling for its removal from the Council. He then addressed Lavrov directly, presenting three questions to Moscow; Why won’t Russian President Vladimir Putin meet President Volodymyr Zelensky? What did tens of thousands of Russian soldiers lost in August die for? And how, after four years after planning to take Kyiv in three days, is Moscow now burning? Sybiha also urged members to demand humanitarian corridors for occupied Oleshky in the Kherson region. “If you remember only one thing from this meeting, remember Oleshky,” he said. Oleshky, cut off from water, food and medicine, remains a humanitarian disaster as Russia failed to uphold the evacuation deal. Dmytro Lubinets, Ukrainian parliament commissioner for human rights, described the city as a “death trap,” with residents frequently risking being blown up by mines just to have a chance to escape through the woods. On Sept. 16, Lubinets said his office had received 176 appeals regarding the humanitarian situation in Oleshky, and had already verified at least 358 people who urgently need assistance to leave safely. 51 countries call for ceasefire Fifty-one countries backed Ukraine in a joint statement on Wednesday, urging the Kremlin to agree to a full ceasefire and enter meaningful negotiations as large-scale Russian attacks continue in the fifth year of the war. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas delivered the statement at the UN General Assembly, alongside Sybiha and French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, according to Democrata. Earlier that day, Zelensky said Ukraine was ready to support a safe-passage regime for vessels in the Black Sea, provided Russia took genuine and reciprocal steps toward de-escalation. On Tuesday, during a meeting with US President Donald Trump, Zelensky offered Russia a truce on energy strikes. You can also highlight the text and press Ctrl + Enter