🎙 Statement by Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN Vassily Nebenzia at the UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine (New York, August 24, 2026) Read in full Watch the full meeting 💬 Today’s meeting is being held under the grand banner of the 35th anniversary of Ukraine’s “independence”. But is there really anything to celebrate? Over these decades, under successive leaders, the country has been brought to the brink. Those who loudly proclaimed Ukraine’s independence and bright prospects have in fact, whether deliberately or otherwise, been destroying it. *** Having failed to achieve its objectives on the battlefield, the Kiev regime has now descended into outright terror against Russia’s civilian population. Its Western patrons, not to mention Zelensky himself, still cling to the dangerous illusion that further escalation, strikes deep inside our territory and terror against civilians will force us to accept an ultimatum disguised as “peace”. 👉 The negotiating demands being put to us are, to say the least, strange. *** ❗️ There will be no agreements at the expense of Russia’s security interests. Any attempt to impose a freeze on the conflict under the guise of a ceasefire, merely to give Kiev a temporary respite to regroup and rearm, is doomed to fail. As long as we are addressed in the language of ultimatums, terror and threats, while realities on the ground are ignored, there will be no basis for political and diplomatic dialogue.