UNITED NATIONS — Every week earlier than the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin’s U.N. ambassador claimed that the West is pushed by its willpower to destroy Russia and declared: “We had no alternative apart from to defend our nation — defend it from you, to defend our id and our future.”

Western ambassadors shot again, accusing Russia of utilizing a Safety Council assembly it referred to as on classes discovered from the failure to resolve the battle between Ukraine and Russian-backed separatists that started in 2014 to justify what France’s U.N. Ambassador Nicolas De Riviere referred to as “the unjustifiable” – Russia’s invasion of its smaller neighbor on Feb. 24, 2022.

Friday’s assembly within the council — the one worldwide venue the place Russia commonly faces Ukraine and its Western supporters — put a highlight on the deep chasm between the combatants because the battle strikes into its second 12 months without end, tens of 1000’s of casualties on each side, and new army offensives anticipated.

Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia accused Western nations together with France and Germany of “holding again” on implementing the Minsk agreements brokered by the 2 nations to finish the battle between Ukraine and the separatists in Luhansk and Donetsk within the nation’s principally Russian-speaking industrial east that flared in April 2014 after Russia’s annexation of Crimea.

“You knew very properly that the Minsk course of for you is only a smoke display screen, in order to rearm the Kyiv regime and to organize it for struggle in opposition to Russia within the identify of your geopolitical curiosity,” Nebenzia mentioned.

U.S. deputy ambassador Richard Mills accused Russia of failing to implement “a single dedication it made” within the Minsk agreements whereas the opposite signatories — France, Germany, Ukraine and the Group for Safety and Cooperation in Europe — “sought to implement them in good religion.”

France’s De Riviere mentioned his nation and Germany have labored “tirelessly” since 2015 to advertise dialogue between events. “The difficulties encountered in implementing these agreements can by no means function justification or mitigating circumstances for Russia’s alternative to finish the dialogue with violence,” he pressured.

De Riviere recalled that precisely a 12 months in the past, on Feb. 17, 2022, Russia’s Deputy Overseas Minister Sergey Vershinin reaffirmed to the council that the Minsk agreements have been “the one worldwide authorized foundation” to resolve the battle in Ukraine, and that rumors of Russian army intervention have been unfounded and stemmed from Western paranoia. 4 days later, Russia acknowledged the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk, and on Feb. 24 it invaded Ukraine.

“The one and solely lesson to be discovered right here is that Russia, by attacking Ukraine, has chosen alone, to place an finish to dialogue and negotiation,” De Riviere mentioned. “It took the choice alone to shatter the Minsk agreements, whose important goal, allow us to bear in mind, was the reintegration of some areas of Donetsk and Luhansk underneath full Ukrainian sovereignty, in alternate for broad decentralization.”

Britain’s U.N. Ambassador Barbara Woodward additionally cited Vershinin’s assertion to the council that allegations of a Russian assault have been baseless every week earlier than President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion, and mentioned the United Kingdom had discovered some classes.

“Russia lied after we warned of its intention to assault Ukraine,” she mentioned. “Russia was planning for struggle whereas we referred to as for diplomacy and de-escalation, and Russia continues to decide on demise and destruction whereas the world requires a simply peace.”

Russia’s Nebenzia blamed “a prison coverage by the Ukrainian management which was goaded by the collective West” for refusing to implement the Minsk agreements.

After a 12 months of struggle, he informed Western members of the Safety Council, “Clearly, we will be unable to dwell sooner or later the way in which we did prior to now.”

Nebenzia accused the West of “deep Russophobia,” and a “willpower to destroy my nation, utilizing others if potential.” And he claimed it’s not “in constructing a European and Euro-Atlantic safety system along with Russia” as a result of “for you such a system can solely be aimed in opposition to Russia.”

“We’ve got no belief left in you and we aren’t in a position of believing any guarantees you make — not as regards a non-expansion of NATO within the east, or your want to not intrude in our inside affairs, or your willpower to dwell in peace,” Nebenzia mentioned.

“You’ve got proven that it’s unimaginable to barter with you,” he mentioned. “You’ve proven how treacherous you might be by creating on our borders a neo-Nazi, neo-nationalist beehive after which stirring it up.”

Ukraine’s U.N. Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya accused Russia of violating the Minsk agreements, citing for instance the Minsk memorandum of Sept. 19, 2014 ordering all army, militias and mercenaries to depart Ukraine that was by no means applied.

“The reality is that Putin has proved as soon as and for all to be unimaginable to barter with,” he mentioned. “Russia’s constant undermining and remaining killing of the Minsk agreements make that crystal clear.”

Ukraine urges “wholesome forces in Russia, if there are any, to come back to their senses and drive Putin to implement the calls for of the U.N. Common Meeting to right away stop the usage of drive and to withdraw Russian army forces from Ukraine,” Kyslytsya mentioned. “The dictator ought to hand over and recede into the previous.”