Russia’s Permanent Representative at the UNSC, Vassily Nebenzia, gave an update on Russia’s plans for its operations in Ukraine at a UN Security Council briefing Sept. 10. His briefing was more in the form of a warning—a warning that Russia was not amused by the West’s approval of Ukraine’s invasion into Kursk last month, and was escalating in response.
Nebenzia mentioned Russia’s recent strike on a military training center in Poltava, “where specialists in radar and electronic warfare were trained,” as well as a nearby hotel “where Ukrainian intelligence officers resided.” At both of these locations, there were a “significant number of foreign instructors, specialists and mercenaries,” he said, which included American, British, French, Polish and Swedish military personnel. While Ukraine has said the death toll from these strikes was around 50, other reports have indicated there may have been as many as 500 or more. Further driving this point home, Nebenzia added: “And we see more and more citizens of western countries among those who are dying in Ukraine, which only confirms that the West is ‘up to its ears’ in the Ukrainian conflict.”
