Russia at UN set to present guide on protecting energy from terrorism, Ukraine urges resistance

As reported by Ukrinform’s correspondent in New York, the “manual” will be presented on Monday by the UNOCT in cooperation with the Russian delegation at the UN Headquarters.

On the same day, Ukraine initiated the organization of an event at the UN titled "Protection of Ukraine’s Critical Energy Infrastructure from Russian Attacks during the War."

The false activity of Russia at the UN, allegedly aimed at countering terrorist attacks on civilian infrastructure, has sparked outrage within Ukraine’s foreign ministry.

Ukrainian diplomats are working to persuade UN leadership and member states of the inadmissibility of Russia’s “leadership” in these matters.

This is evidenced by documents available to the agency.

On November 11–12, Russia, together with the UNOCT, headed by former Russian diplomat Vladimir Voronkov, who serves as the UN Under Secretary General, held an international expert meeting in Turkmenistan on the protection of critical energy infrastructure from terrorist attacks.

As a result of this meeting, Russia prepared a “technical manual” on behalf of the UN Counter-Terrorism Office, which it plans to present to member states.

Ukraine's Permanent Representative to the UN, Serhii Kyslytsia, sent numerous letters to UN member state missions explaining Ukraine's position on the matter.

“We consider it alarming and cynical that a UN body decided to cooperate on resolving the issue of protecting critical energy infrastructure with a state that almost daily attacks Ukraine’s energy facilities and continues to occupy a nuclear power plant,” reads one of the letters.

The chosen methods of organizing the event will only contribute to whitewashing Russia, unfortunately with UN support and to the detriment of the Organization’s reputation, Kyslytsia stated.

He called it a “self-destruction” of the UN, “which recently suffered a serious blow” due to UN Secretary General António Guterres’ meetings in Kazan with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin at the BRICS summit and “is now engaging in another destructive activity instead of working to restore its reputation.”

In his address to Guterres, Kyslytsia pointed out the inadmissibility of the UNOCT cooperating with Russia on this issue.

“Any UN event dedicated to the protection of energy infrastructure must assess Russia's compliance with relevant UN General Assembly resolutions, particularly the most recent one, ‘The Protection of Ukraine’s Nuclear Facilities, including the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant,’ adopted on July 11, 2024,” Kyslytsia emphasized in his letter to the Secretary-General.

He compared this to inviting those responsible for genocide to conduct a discussion on its prevention.

He also “urgently called on” Guterres to “make a clear statement” demanding that Russia comply with all UNGA resolutions related to its aggression against Ukraine, especially regarding the safety of energy infrastructure.

“Finally, please remind your Russian deputy, Mr. Voronkov, of the importance of adhering to political ethics and avoiding conflicts of interest in relations with Russia,” Kyslytsia added.

In another letter addressed to the heads of diplomatic missions in New York, Kyslytsia noted that the “technical manual” prepared by Russia should include “information on how to protect against Russian terrorist attacks on Ukraine's most critical energy infrastructure” and “how to respond to the actions of a state that simultaneously occupies a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.”

The Permanent Representative urged efforts to prevent Russia from using the UN counter-terrorism platform to whitewash its image.

In comments to Ukrinform, Kyslytsia noted that “the level of global cynicism is off the charts.”

According to him, at 10:00 on December 2 (17:00 Kyiv time), “Russia, together with the Russian Under Secretary General of the UN, Mr. Voronkov,” will host an event at the UN headquarters to present a manual on protecting energy infrastructure from terrorist attacks.

“This is akin to the Nazis during World War II sponsoring an event to prevent Nazi crimes,” the diplomat remarked.

He emphasized that at the same time, at 10:00, Ukraine’s Permanent Mission to the UN, together with partner states, will organize “an event on how Russia is destroying Ukraine’s critical infrastructure with terrorist attacks.”

“The simultaneous holding of two events at UN headquarters demonstrates the depth of the crisis within the Organization, where the aggressor state is still capable of using its resources to conduct a blatant provocation and manipulative propaganda events,” Kyslytsia said.

Earlier, in comments to Ukrinform, Kyslytsia compared Russia’s hosting of an international event on protecting energy infrastructure from terrorist attacks to a drug cartel organizing and funding the development of plans to combat drug trafficking.