Nebenzia asserted that Russia does not kill civilians and protects the rights of Russian-speaking residents in Ukraine, while claiming that Ukrainian forces are "on the brink of total collapse." He also stated that Ukraine "is trying to convince the West to escalate the conflict with Russia."
In response to these accusations, Sikorski presented an image of a residential building in Lviv that was destroyed by a Russian missile, along with another photograph of a Soviet-German parade from World War II.
Sikorski challenges Russian narrative on child abduction
“Ambassador Nebenzia and Russian propagandists like to label the democratically elected government of Ukraine as Nazis,” he noted, emphasizing that he lives close to a former Nazi camp in Poland.
He recalled that during that time, thousands of children were imprisoned, with up to 800 of them dying, and presented a photograph from 1939 depicting Soviet-Nazi collaboration.
“I am sure that representatives of Russia will recognize those uniforms,” emphasized Poland's top diplomat during the UN Security Council session.
Historical parallels: the dark legacy of child kidnapping
FM Sikorski also posed the question of how Russia's current actions against Ukrainian children differ from those of the German Nazis.
“The abduction and indoctrination of children constitutes genocide,” minister Sikorski asserted and added: “How does what you are doing to Ukrainian kidnapped children differ from what German Nazis did to your children and ours?”
In conclusion, he stated: “This is Russia's shame that will not be forgiven or forgotten.”
Authorities in Ukraine report that over 20,000 children have been transferred to Russia without the consent of their parents or guardians since the onset of the conflict.
In response, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin on March 17, 2023, accusing him of war crimes, including the unlawful transfer of a population from an occupied area.
Sikorski stated that the image shown in his New York speech is from 1939, illustrating the collaboration between the Soviets and Nazis, and added that he is confident Russian representatives will recognize the uniforms depicted (X/@PolandFMA)
Source: IAR/PAP/MSZ/X/@sikorskiradek/@PolandMFA
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