US, Russia spar at UN Security Council over Ukraine as war rages

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - Russia and the US exchanged blame for the ongoing war in Ukraine Monday, with the Kremlin's top diplomat accusing Washington of attempting to steal Kyiv's resources.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused the West of drawing out the conflict by continuing to supply arms to Ukraine's forces, which he said are "incapable" of inflicting a "strategic defeat on Russia" or "to at least weaken my country."

"The reality is such that despite the complete failure of UAF on the battlefield, the Western patrons of the Kyiv regime continue pushing them, they're maniacal in this, they continue pushing them towards continuing with a senseless military confrontation," Lavrov told the UN Security Council.

He was referring to the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF).

Moscow's top diplomat further alleged that "most of" Ukraine's major manufacturing plants have been sold to Washington, and said Ukraine's "arable lands are under an indefinite lease" to the US.

Robert Wood, the US deputy envoy to the UN, dismissed Lavrov's accusations as "conspiracy theories and baseless accusations," which, he said, do not "erase the fact that Russia's violation of Ukraine's territorial integrity started this war."

"It is President Putin's single minded pursuit of the obliteration of Ukraine, and subjugation of its people, that is prolonging it. Russia's imperialist peerless designs are obvious. And this meeting is another effort to distract from its war crimes and aggression," he said. "It is an arsonist blaming the firefighters so it can continue its crime. As its invasion has faltered, Russia has sought more gasoline for its fire. It has turned to Iran and the DPRK to procure additional weapons to use against Ukraine, its cities and its people."

Washington and its international allies have accused Russia of using North Korean (DPRK)-supplied ballistic missiles in Ukraine, in violation of standing UN Security Council resolutions.

North Korea has been under a sweeping UN arms embargo since 2006. The sanctions have since been repeatedly tightened to include the import and export of nearly all types of weapons.

The US has maintained that Russia uses its role as a permanent Security Council member to shield itself from any repercussions for the alleged violations.