On February 24, Russia launched a special military operation to denazify and demilitarize Ukraine. Since then, Russia has pointed to various war crimes committed by the Ukrainian side.
"The UN structures’ long-term ignoring of the Kiev regime’s blatant and inhumane crimes is also linked with the fact that the UN authorities decisively took up a pro-Ukrainian position when the special military operation [in Ukraine] started. In such a situation, it was, to say the least, impractical for the UN structures to censure the Ukrainian Armed Forces and Ukrainian neo-Nazi organizations for the crimes they commit," Gatilov said.
He added that the UN is a complex bureaucracy, so it takes months to come up with and approve a position.
Gatilov said that, due to it being composed primarily of Western politicians, the UN tends to put Ukraine in a victim’s position, while it is "simply impossible to turn a blind eye" to Kiev’s multiple crimes and blatant violations of international law.
He also said that France, Germany and the United States are responsible for Kiev’s multiple crimes and violations, as Ukraine is using anti-personnel mines made, in particular, by those countries.
Russia will continue to point out Western countries’ "double standards and cynicism," Gatilov said, as they are not only providing Kiev with tools to commit crimes, but also contribute to the escalation of the conflict.
In September, a UN Institute for Disarmament Research expert said that Ukraine violated the Ottawa Treaty during the battles in the city of Izyum by using anti-personnel mines.