ARTICLE
The use of veto power requires reform, and this can be a key reform in the UN – address by the President of Ukraine at the UN Security Council meeting [excerpt]
President of Ukraine Official Website
Volodymyr Zelenskyy
20 September 2023 - 19:24
https://www.president.gov.ua/en/news/zastosuvannya-prava-veto-potrebuye-reformuvannya-i-ce-mozhe-85745
Distinguished Prime Minister Rama!
I am grateful to the Albanian Presidency for arranging this meeting.
Mr. Secretary-General!
Ladies and gentlemen!
Five hundred seventy-four days of pain, losses, and struggle have already passed since the start of the full-scale aggression launched by the state, which, for some reason, is still present here among the permanent members of the UN Security Council. Russia has killed at least tens of thousands of our people and turned millions into refugees by destroying their homes.
Most of the world recognizes the truth about this war. It is a criminal and unprovoked aggression by Russia against our nation, aimed at seizing Ukraine’s territory and resources. But it is not just that. With its aggression, the terrorist state is willing to undermine all the dams of international norms meant to protect the world from wars.
And I am grateful to all those who have recognized the Russian aggression as a violation of the UN Charter.
Ukraine exercises its inherent right of self-defense. Helping Ukraine with weapons in this exercise, imposing sanctions and exerting comprehensive pressure on the aggressor, as well as voting for relevant resolutions, mean helping to defend the UN Charter.
The resolutions of the General Assembly have clearly recognized the fact that the only source of this war is Russia. But, this has changed nothing for Russia in the United Nations. However, these are the situations that have changed everything for the UN. We should acknowledge that the Organization finds itself in a deadlock on the issue of aggression. Humankind no longer pins its hopes on the UN when it comes to the defense of the sovereign borders of nations. World leaders are seeking new platforms and alliances that could reduce the disastrous scope of problems. Those problems that are met here, within these walls, with rhetoric, rather than real solutions, with aspirations to compromise with killers, rather than to protect lives. Life should be defended uncompromisingly to ensure successful protection.
But I would not be here today if Ukraine had no proposals precisely regarding solutions.
Yesterday, in my address to the UN General Assembly, I said that the Ukrainian Peace Formula had become the basis to update the existing security architecture in the world, in particular – to restore the real power of the UN Charter and the rules-based international order. [Excerpt]
VIDEO https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CecR04xh6PQ
VIDEO - ARTICLE
Ukrainians LAUNCH A MASS DRONE ATTACK & WIPE OUT RUSSIAN TUNNEL BASES in Soledar | Ukraine War
Divine Justice
183K subscribers
9-20-2023 4:00 a.m. EDT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwsWjMawY4o
The balance of the war between Ukraine and Russia is constantly changing. While a few days ago the Black Sea and the Crimean peninsula were shaken by Ukrainian attacks, today the intensity of the clashes returned to the front lines of the Donetsk region. Ukrainian forces last liberated the settlement of Andriivka in this region as a result of operations carried out by the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade, the Azov Special Forces. Following this critical success, Kiev shifted its offensive operations from the southern flanks of Bakhmut to the northern lines of the city. The most important clash areas in the northern part of Bakhmut are the settlements of Yahidne, Berkhivka, Blahodatne and Soledar.
In Soledar, which is famous for its salt mines and underground tunnels, the clashes are much more intense than elsewhere. So the Soledar direction has become the focus of tension in recent days. After the disintegration of the Wagner forces, it is actually seen as a normal situation that Soledar has become the target of the Ukrainian Armed Forces again. Wagner mercenaries had occupied the city for a long time and Ukrainian troops had been pushed back to the very edge of the city’s salt mines. But today, with the clashes in the city shifting to the Ukrainian side, the Russian troops have begun to panic. According to Alexander Yaremchuk, a well-known military correspondent operating in the clash zone, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are using several dozen drones in each raid in the city of Soledar. The Ukrainian Armed Forces are carrying out attacks on the town with the help of both fpv drones and Maviks.
Today about 20 of them flew in a line in the sky over the settlement of Soledar. This Ukrainian drone army is destroying Russian military resources in Soledar. Numerous images have appeared on social media about this. In the footage that emerged after the drone strikes of Ukrainian forces in Soledar, it was quite noticeable that a large number of Russian soldiers were liquidated and the military equipment of the Russian army was destroyed. In one video in particular, the destruction of Russian bunkers with explosives dropped from the air by Ukrainian drones was the most concrete evidence of what was actually going on in the city. In the video, many such explosive munitions destroyed the tunnels and bunkers used by the Russians in Soledar, expanding the area of attack of Ukrainian troops in the settlement.
In addition to the drone strikes, soldiers of the 30th Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian army also managed to neutralize a large number of Russian soldiers in the trench lines in Soledar. The main reason for this situation is seen as the Russians losing their positions and shelters in the settlement. In other words, the soldiers of the 30th Brigade want to maintain their advantage in the city by starting trench clashes without even allowing the Russians to retreat. The Ukrainian Armed Forces continue to make serious military breakthroughs on the front lines near the city of Soledar. According to the military correspondent Alexander Yaremchuk, the Ukrainian forces are trying to use the drone army to counterattack the position of the 200th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade. This Russian brigade was located in the settlement of Berkhivka, southwest of Soledar. However, with the intensification of clashes in Soledar, this brigade allegedly moved to the vicinity of Soledar.
Alexander Yaremchuk says that the situation around Bakhmut is likely to change even more. Yaremchuk suggests that in the near future the Ukrainian army may try to attack positions on the flanks of Bakhmut using a double strike tactic. According to this view, probably in the very near future the Ukrainian army will refocus on positions on Bakhmut’s flanks with two close attacks. As you may be aware, the Ukrainians have been conducting drone strikes on positions, particularly in the Donetsk region, and then sending special units into the field as the Russians are stunned by these strikes. This tactic works very well on Ukraine’s eastern front lines. This is because the Russians often retreat to the defense after Ukrainian drone strikes in order to avoid further losses in the clash areas. The Ukrainian elite forces then manage to easily hunt down the exhausted Russian troops along most of the eastern front lines. So what measures are the Russian Armed Forces taking against the attacks of the Ukrainian drone army and elite special forces?