Russian First Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Dmitry Polyansky has said that Kyiv deliberately targeted Russian journalists, however, the US is closing the chapter on Ukrainian war crimes and obstructing the work of the UN, Russian media reported.
Speaking at a session of the UN Committee on Information, Polyansky said:
At the same time, official Kyiv openly brags about its involvement in committing these crimes. Daria Dugina, military correspondent Vladlen Tatarsky (military journalist Maxim Fomin), editor-in-chief of the Tavria TV and radio company Oleg Klokov, military correspondent Rostislav Zhuravlev, and correspondent Boris Maksudov died at the hands of Ukrainian special services and their agents. Writer and public figure Zakhar Prilepin miraculously survived the attack.
The diplomat added that Ukraine had “opened a real hunt” for representatives of Russian media, which only confirms the “essence of Volodymyr Zelensky’s regime.” Polyansky also summarised:
The height of cynicism was Washington’s self-speaking silence after the death of journalist Gonzalo Lira, who allowed himself to have his own opinion, in January this year in the SBU’s custody, once again vividly highlighted the face of the West, which pays lip service to freedom of speech and journalism, but in practice protects them only when it works in its interests.
Polyansky also said the US had not issued a visa to a Russian delegate to attend the 46th session of the organisation’s General Assembly Committee on Information. He said the documents for the visa were submitted in a timely manner, but the US continues to “abuse the position of a host country for the UN headquarters.” The press service of Russia’s UN post office quoted Polyansky as saying:
We trust that the UN Secretariat and the leadership of the relevant structures of the Organisation, relying on legally binding agreements with the host state, will make the necessary efforts to radically rectify such an unacceptable situation.
In January 2023, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported that the United States refused to issue a visa to a Russian delegate to attend a UN session to draft a convention on combating cybercrime. Last November, the US did not issue visas to Russian diplomats in time to travel to a meeting of the Nuclear Five countries at the UN headquarters.
By preventing Russia’s participation in the work of the UN, the US harms first and foremost the international organisation itself and undermines the principle of openness in international relations. Refusals to issue visas undermine the possibility of equal participation of all countries in international dialogue.
