Russia this week pushed back at UN criticism of its involvement in Ukraine by questioning government actions in other countries, including the “overthrowing” of President Donald Trump in the United States.
On Wednesday, the UN passed a resolution condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine, calling for an immediate and complete withdrawal of all military forces from the country. Russia condemned the resolution, rejecting claims that it is targeting civilians.
Moreover, Russia’s ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, said other countries were acting hypocritically by supporting the resolution.
Taking aim at the United States, Nebenzia said the United States was “where the legitimately elected president of the country was overthrown.”
More than a year after the 2020 U.S. presidential election, Trump and many of his supporters continue to argue that the 45th president actually defeated Joe Biden and that mass voter fraud in several states put Biden in power.
Also during his speech, Nebenzia lashed out at the UN resolution for failing to mention the “illegal coup” in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev in 2014. The so-called Revolution of Honor began with students pressing for then-President Viktor Yanukovych and then-Prime Minister Mykola Azarov to sign an agreement with the European Union.
This then evolved into a revolution that resulted in the overthrow of the government, which in turn led to a counterrevolution in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region and in the Russian annexation of Crimea.
Nebenzia accused the United States, Poland, France, and Germany — all four of which voted in favor of condemning the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine — of having colluded with Ukraine in the aforementioned coup.
In addition to speaking out against the resolution’s alleged “hypocrisy,” Nebenzia called information being disseminated about the conflict inaccurate. He claimed internet “fakes” are to blame for reports that the Russian military is targeting Ukrainian civilians.
“Don’t believe the large number of fakes spread around the internet on this,” the ambassador said.
Newsweek reports:
Ukraine’s State Emergency Service estimates at least 2,000 Ukrainian civilians have died since Russia launched the attack last week, although the United Nations estimates the death toll to be much lower.
“Most of these casualties were caused by the use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems and airstrikes,” the U.N. high commissioner for human rights said on Tuesday.
To help aid the country in its fight against Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said any Ukrainian who wanted to fight would be given a weapon. He also promised release of certain prison inmates if they committed to joining the resistance against Russian troops. Ukrainians in general have mounted strong and relentless opposition to the Russian forces, with images showing even unarmed civilians trying to stop the troops’ advances.
Global businesses in various sectors are pulling out of Russia in protest over the invasion and, ostensibly, out of concerns that the conflict is threatening worker safety and disrupting logistics and supply chains. The latter stems from the fact that financial sanctions imposed on Russia have limited the ability of firms to raise revenue and pay their workers and suppliers.
Moreover, restricted airspace and travel are keeping companies from getting the equipment they need to be able to operate.
In the week since the invasion began, Boeing has suspended major operations in Moscow, along with maintenance and technical support for Russian airlines; Airbus is halting supply of parts and services to Russian airlines; Shell is moving to cut its ties with Russian gas giant Gazprom and end its roughly $1 billion financing of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.
Then there’s BP, which is parting ways with its nearly 20-percent stake in the Russian oil giant Rosneft, while Exxon Mobile says it will exit Russian oil and gas operations valued at more than $4 billion and cease new investment.
Many of the biggest names in the vehicle industry, from GM to Ford to BMW and Harley Davidson, are either suspending operations in or ceasing shipments to Russia.
Even Apple paused product sales and limited services (such as Apple maps) in Russia, while film studios such as Disney, Warner Bros., Sony, Paramount, and Universal say they won’t release any films there.
But how likely is the prospect of not being able to view the latest LGBT-laden “kids” films from Disney to actually deter Vladimir Putin from pursuing his interests in Ukraine?
