The US and Britain helped Ukraine carry out deadly strikes on the Russian border city of Belgorod, Moscow’s envoy to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, told the Security Council on Saturday.
Russia requested an urgent Security Council meeting after Ukrainian forces shelled Belgorod earlier in the day, killing at least 22 people and injuring more than 100.
In his remarks, Nebenzia described the shelling as “a premeditated act of terrorism against civilians,” arguing that Kiev’s Western supporters share responsibility for the deaths.
“The West is complicit in the crimes committed by the gang [in power] in Kiev,” the diplomat said. “We know that British and American consultants were directly involved in the organization of this terrorist act.”
He warned that “the organizers and perpetrators” of the strikes will “be punished.”
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Ukrainian troops used the domestically produced Olkha system to fire rockets equipped with cluster bomb warheads into Belgorod. A Czech-made RM-70 Vampire – an upgraded heavier version of the Soviet BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launcher – was also used, the MOD said.
The UN has condemned the killing of civilians in both Russia and Ukraine. Nebenzia, however, argued at the Security Council meeting on Friday that people in Kiev and other Ukrainian cities were killed by the faulty work of Ukrainian air defenses. He also accused Ukraine of posting anti-air missiles in residential areas.