On 18 November 2024, during a UN Security Council briefing, US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield condemned Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, now in its thousandth day, emphasizing the war’s devastating humanitarian and geopolitical impacts.
The US envoy reaffirmed the US commitment to Ukraine, stating that when the war concludes, Ukraine will control its internationally recognized territory and continue its path towards joining Euro-Atlantic institutions like NATO. Until then, the US “will continue to surge security assistance to Ukraine, including artillery, air defense, armored vehicles, and other needed capabilities and munitions. And we will announce additional security assistance for Ukraine in the days to come,” she says.
Thomas-Greenfield detailed Russia’s systematic violations of international law, including the unprecedented deployment of 10,000 North Korean soldiers to Kursk Oblast—the first foreign troops welcomed on Russian soil in over a century. She underscored that this action flagrantly breaches three UN Security Council Resolutions.
The ambassador detailed Russia’s escalating military strategies, including the acquisition of hundreds of drones from Iran, in direct violation of Security Council Resolution 2231.
“All the while, Russia has disregarded its Chemical Weapons Convention obligations, and stated publicly it will supply captured weapons to non-state actors, including State Sponsors of Terrorism,” Thomas-Greenfield said.
Highlighting the human cost, Thomas-Greenfield said that Russian troops have committed approximately 147,000 war crimes. The war has devastated critical infrastructure, leaving millions without light, heat, and water. Russia’s militarization of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant was described as putting “all of Europe on the edge of nuclear catastrophe.”
The US representative noted Russia faces over 1,200 daily casualties, the war’s highest rate, highlighting how Ukrainian resilience dismantled Putin’s quick-victory expectations.
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