Russia accused the United States of ‘whipping up hysterics’ by calling for Monday’s United Nations Security Council meeting to discuss Ukraine and claimed the West wants to make ‘heroes out of people who fought on the side of Hitler’ in order to divide the two former Soviet states.
Across his roughly 15-minute remarks Russia’s Ambassador to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya issued adamant denials about Moscow’s intentions while making blistering accusations about the West’s true intentions.
The US called for the 15-nation meeting in New York City, which took place earlier on Monday, as the world tensely watches Russian President Vladimir Putin‘s aggressive military buildup on Ukraine’s border and various intelligence reports indicate an incursion is all but certain.
At the moment there are roughly 112,000 Russian ground forces on the doorstep of eastern Ukraine and in Crimea, its Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya said on Monday, though earlier in the meeting Russia denied having any troops at the border at all.
‘And together, with the maritime and aviation component, their number reaches about 130,000,’ he added.
American UN Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said Moscow’s mobilization of troops is the largest seen ‘in Europe in decades.’
As it was underway, President Joe Biden released a statement warning of ‘swift and severe’ consequences if Russia invades Ukraine.
