Poroshenko Calls On UN To Stop Russian Aggression In Ukraine

September 29, 2018 (INTERFAX) Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has called on other countries to help stop Russian aggression in his country, saying that combating such "expansionism" is part of the United Nations' mission. Poroshenko used much of his speech before the UN General Assembly on September 26 to lambaste Russia, which annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and since then has backed a separatist war in eastern Ukraine that has killed more than 10,300 people.

Poroshenko said nothing will stop what he called Russia's "aggressive expansionist policies" unless world nations come together to confront Moscow's leaders. "It's up to us to make them care. Otherwise, what's the idea of us being here?" he asked. Russia did not have an immediate response to Poroshenko's speech. The Kremlin has denied any direct involvement in the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko speaks before the UN General Assembly in New York on September 26.

In a separate forum at the UN, the Russian news agency Interfax reported that Poroshenko repeated his call for a UN peacekeeping operation in Ukraine, saying that it would help restore Ukraine's "sovereignty and territorial integrity." "I am confident that a multilateral peacekeeping force with a mandate from the UN with the clear goal of restoring the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine could be the key factor in stopping the suffering of the Ukrainian people. We believe there is no better way than to start such an operation under the UN aegis," Poroshenko was quoted as saying at an Action for Peacekeeping meeting. Poroshenko at the forum thanked Germany, France, and the United States for "mobilizing international support for this initiative," though the UN has never approved his request for peacekeepers.

Russia, which has veto power on the UN Security Council, has opposed Kyiv's request for a broad peacekeeping mission, though it has called for a narrower UN mission to provide protection for European war monitors in Ukraine.