UK at UN: Russia has already lost 200,000 soldiers in Ukraine

UK Political Coordinator Fergus Eckersley said this at the UN Security Council meeting on threats to international peace and security, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"It is Russia that is sending thousands of its own young men to their deaths. Estimates suggest that more than 200,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or injured in Ukraine," he said.

Eckersley said that Russia is inflicting terror on the Ukrainian people, and "in parallel, it is inflicting suffering on its own population, and millions across the world."

"In the face of this, Ukraine has had no choice but to exercise its UN Charter right to defend itself. It is fighting a war of national survival, and defending the right of all nations to live without fear of aggression," the British diplomat said.

He added that the only path to a sustainable peace in Ukraine is "for President Putin to end his illegal invasion, withdraw his troops and thereby demonstrate that he is prepared to engage on terms for peace that respect the UN Charter."

"Russia started this war, and Russia must end it before they cause any more suffering," Eckersley said.

Photo: rfe