Russia slams UN report for omitting alleged Ukrainian abuses

The absence from the UN report of information on crimes committed by Ukrainian armed forces is unacceptable, Vasily Nebenzya, Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN, said while commenting on UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' report, which blacklists Russia for alleged involvement of Russian military personnel in cases of sexual violence against prisoners of war and civilians in Ukraine.

"This approach is methodologically flawed, as the report was submitted pursuant to specific Security Council resolutions, while its verification is being carried out by UN bodies that do not have a mandate under these resolutions," Nebenzya stated. "The clear bias is also evidenced by the lack of information about the hundreds of civilians who were subjected to torture, beatings, abuse, murder, sexual violence, and cruel treatment by Ukrainian armed forces."

As an example, Nebenzya cited the events in the village of Russkoye Porechnoye in the Kursk Region, where, after the village's liberation, the bodies of 22 local residents were discovered, eight of whom had been sexually assaulted before death.

Nebenzya also mentioned the cases of Ukrainian servicemen Vladimir Parafilov and Yevgeny Fabrisenko, and recalled statements by Ukraine's military ombudsman, Olga Reshetilova, regarding numerous complaints of illegal actions by Ukrainian military personnel, including violence, torture, rape, and extortion. "We consider it unacceptable that the UN is silent about these cases," Nebenzya emphasized.

Earlier, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated that the situation surrounding Guterres' report "is truly outrageous."

"It seems that, at the end of his tenure, Guterres has decided to 'finish off' the UN's authority, which, thanks to his efforts over the years, has already been significantly undermined," she said.