Russia did not get the sympathy it was hoping for at an informal UN Security Council meeting on Tuesday.
Ukraine has managed to humiliate Moscow over the last nine days by breaching Russia’s southern borders, reaching into the Kursk region and taking 100 Russian troops as prisoners of war.
Kyiv says it is already occupying 1,000 sq km (386 sq miles) – that’s the same amount of Ukrainian land Russia has seized so far this year.
Despite often boasting of its military prowess and Vladimir Putin’s promise to “kick the enemy out”, Moscow is struggling to remove the Ukrainian forces.
And it’s certainly not getting any help from the West judging from what happened at the informal the UN Security Council.
Ukraine’s allies, the US, France and the UK, did not waver in their support for Kyiv during the mini stand-off, and instead chose not mention the Kursk attack at all.
Russia’s deputy UN ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy said: “We haven’t heard a word of condemnation of these actions from the Western sponsors of the Kyiv regime who continue to cover up the abhorrent crimes of their puppet.”
He claimed Ukrainians have been killing Russian civilians and questioned what Kyiv wants with the attack, adding: “I would be grateful for the explanation how intentionally targeting civilians serves the goal of disrupting attacks on Ukrainian territory, given the fact that there were no military objects or infrastructure in the area.”
Several members instead accused Russia of hypocrisy, double standards and wasting the council’s time, listing all the ways Moscow has been accused of breaking humanitarian law in Ukraine.
According to Reuters news agency, senior Slovenian diplomat Klemen Ponikvar said: “We will not recognise the aggressor as the victim.”
UK diplomat Kate Jones said: “We will never falter in our support for Ukraine for as long as it takes to secure just and sustainable peace based on the principles of the UN Charter and international law.”
And US diplomat Caleb Pine joined in, saying: “There is no question as to which country has committed numerous well-documented atrocities, including war crimes and crimes against humanity, on Ukraine’s sovereign territory. That country is Russia.”
The amount of land Kyiv is occupying is nothing compared to the 18% (100,000 sq km or 453 sq miles) of its Ukrainian territory Russia is currently claiming as its own, more than two years after its invasion of its European neighbour.
However, diplomats from Syria, Belarus and North Korea spoke out for Russia at the meeting.
Moscow has called Ukraine’s surprising offensive a “major provocation” and claims the country is just trying to strengthen its hand in any upcoming peace negotiations.
The whole operation has been shrouded in secrecy.
Kyiv has not revealed the exact purpose of this offensive, although it has said it has no plans to annex the Russian land, like Moscow has done with Ukrainian land.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy remained elusive on Monday, just saying: “Russia must be forced into peace if Putin wants to continue waging war so badly.”
Ukraine’s allies have repeatedly claimed they had no prior warning of the offensive – the West is also eager to avoid the Ukraine-Russia war pulling NATO into direct conflict.
Kyiv only confirmed that it had indeed breached Russia’s borders on Saturday, days after it first broke through.
And, according to Reuters, both Ukraine and Russia have barred journalists from the battlefield, meaning any claims made by either side cannot be independently verified.
