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Russia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Vassily Nebenzia, delivered a scathing critique of Ukraine and its Western allies following closed-door Security Council consultations on the 30-day moratorium between Russia and Ukraine on mutual strikes against energy infrastructure.
Speaking to the press after the session, Nebenzia called the consultations “the most odd” he had ever participated in, noting that only Russia and the United States made remarks while other Council members remained silent.
“We initially asked for consultations, but our Western colleagues demanded a closed briefing instead, refusing to engage in dialogue,” said Nebenzia, criticizing what he described as a lack of transparency and unwillingness to discuss Ukraine’s alleged violations candidly.
The moratorium, proposed during a phone call between former U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on March 18, aimed to de-escalate tensions by suspending attacks on energy-related targets. Russia, Nebenzia claimed, has fully complied with the terms, even intercepting its own drones en route to Ukrainian targets as a precaution.
“From day one, Russia has been strictly observing the terms of this understanding,” he stated. “This is not the case for Ukraine.”
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According to Nebenzia, since the agreement began, Ukraine has conducted more than 120 strikes on Russian fuel and energy infrastructure. He listed targeted regions including Krasnodar, Belgorod, Bryansk, Zaporozhye, Kursk, and Kherson.
Specific Alleged Attacks
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March 18: Hours after U.S.-Russia talks, Ukrainian forces allegedly struck a facility in Kavkazskaya, igniting a 1,700-square-meter fire.
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March 21: Attacks near the Kursk nuclear power plant and sabotage of the Sudzha gas metering station.
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March 28: HIMARS rockets reportedly destroyed the Sudzha station.
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April 8–9: A drone attack targeted the Korenovskaya compressor station, crucial to the TurkStream pipeline.
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April 9: Two drones were directed at the Temryuk gas distribution station.
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Today: A drone was neutralized just 300 meters from the Zaporozhskaya Nuclear Power Plant, near a reactor simulator.
Appeal to Western Nations
Nebenzia accused Ukraine of undermining de-escalation efforts and blamed the West for failing to pressure Kyiv to honor the ceasefire.
“We posed a direct question to the Western backers of the Kiev regime—whether they are ready to pressure Zelensky to observe the moratorium. There was no clear answer. Nobody spoke,” Nebenzia told reporters.
He added that Russia would report the meeting’s outcome to Moscow, which could influence the Kremlin’s next steps.
“So far, no new directives have been issued by President Putin regarding the status of the moratorium,” he concluded.
Background
The temporary truce was one of the few recent moments of cooperation between Russia and Ukraine during the ongoing conflict, now in its third year. While the U.S. and its allies have supported Ukraine’s right to self-defense, Russia has continued to call for what it describes as the “demilitarization” of Ukraine and has used platforms like the UN to push back against Western narratives.
There has been no official comment yet from Ukraine or the U.S. delegation in response to Nebenzia’s accusations.
