Ukraine may rethink its ceasefire offer to Russia along the de facto frontline if the United Nations Security Council fails to pass a resolution demanding a complete and unconditional ceasefire, a senior Ukrainian official said on Monday.
Andrii Melnyk, Ukraine’s envoy to the UN, was speaking during a lengthy session of the Security Council, the sixth such meeting on the war in recent months. He said Ukraine remained ready to negotiate directly with Russia but warned that its patience was running out. “Our patience is not endless,” he told the Council.
He said Ukraine remained ready to negotiate directly with Russia for a just and lasting peace under the UN Charter, “but our patience is not endless.” He noted Ukraine had repeatedly urged the Council to adopt a resolution for a full and unconditional ceasefire. Melnyk added that if the Security Council chose a wait-and-see approach, Ukraine could rethink its offer, describing the proposed ceasefire along the de facto front line as already a major compromise. He gave no further details.
Melnyk insisted Ukraine had changed the dynamic of the war, now in its fifth year, through recent strikes, and claimed that around 40% of Russia’s oil refineries had been damaged. He also strongly condemned a Russian strike last week on the historic Pechersk Lavra monastery in Kyiv, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Ukraine and many Western countries have accused Russia of carrying out the strike. Russia has denied it, blaming a US-made Patriot air defence missile and saying its forces had instead targeted drone manufacturing facilities.