The Russian Federation has initiated a discussion in the UN Security Council on the state of implementation of the Minsk agreements that when it itself continues to violate.

On the morning of February 17, illegal armed groups of the Russian Federation shelled the Ukrainian village of Stanytsia Luhanska with heavy weapons: shots from the occupied territory hit a kindergarten and damaged civilian infrastructure.

That is why the Ukrainian delegation officially requested the UN Security Council to discuss this outrageous act by Russia at a meeting of the Security Council.

Russian State Duma's appeal to the President of Russia to recognize the so-called "LPR" and "DPR" also goes against the spirit and letter of the Minsk agreements and undermines the whole process of peaceful settlement.

"Our standpoint remains unchanged: Russia’s recognition of the so-called “Donetsk and Luhansk peoples’ republics” will be tantamount to its deliberate withdrawal from the Minsk Agreements. Such a move will cause a serious blow to the politico-diplomatic settlement that Ukraine and its partners have been actively engaged to promote", stressed Sergiy Kyslytsia, Ukraine's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, during a meeting of the UN Security Council.

Military build-up on the ground, violation of the ceasefire in Donbas, coupled with a blockade by Russia of the large parts of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov under the pretext of naval exercises fit into the concept of the Russia’s hybrid war against Ukraine.

The UN Security Council members confirmed that, despite Russia's statements about the withdrawal of troops from Ukraine's state border, they see no signs of de-escalation. Important In this context was the assurance by the UN Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo who expressed readiness to engage the UN Secretary-General's "good offices" mechanism to prevent a possible new wave of armed conflict in Europe.

Ukraine continues to call on Russia, in particular from the UN Security Council, to take a constructive stance on making progress within the existing negotiating formats. "Otherwise, Russia will bear full responsibility for ruining the Minsk Agreements and the process of peaceful settlement of the armed conflict", underlined the head of the delegation of Ukraine.

The discussions confirmed the unity of the UN Security Council members and the UN leadership on the need for a political and diplomatic solution to the security crisis created by Russia, primarily through negotiations in the Normandy format and the Tripartite Contact Group.