Ukraine's UN rep says Russia is losing war against Ukraine

Andrii Melnyk, Ukraine's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, has said that Russia is losing the war it started and that its economy is coming under increasing strain from military spending, sanctions and Ukrainian strikes.

Source: Melnyk speaking at a UN Security Council meeting held on Ukraine's Independence Day, as reported by Ukrinform

Quote: "Irrespective of all the barbaric attacks against civilians in Ukraine, Russia is losing and will lose this war."

Details: Melnyk pointed to the dismissal of Andrei Klepach, chief economist at VEB.RF, Russia's second-largest state-owned bank, reportedly on the Kremlin's direct orders after he made critical remarks about the state of the Russian economy. Klepach had warned, among other things, that Moscow would not be able to win a prolonged economic war against Ukraine.

Melnyk said these remarks represented a rare acknowledgement by a senior Russian economist of the scale of the country's economic problems and directly contradicted Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin's claims that Moscow was successfully overcoming economic pressure.

Melnyk noted that Russia's economy is going through its most difficult period since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It is being squeezed by enormous military spending, Western sanctions and Ukraine's growing ability to strike Russia's oil and gas sector.

In the first four months of 2026, Russia's budget deficit reached 5.8 trillion roubles (about US$69.176 billion), significantly exceeding the government's planned deficit of 3.8 trillion roubles (US$45.319 billion) for the whole year.

According to Russia's own Finance Ministry, federal revenues from oil and gas fell by almost 40% year on year in January-April 2026.

Russia is unable to sustain a prolonged war of attrition, as military losses are outpacing recruitment while financial and material costs continue to rise. However, "the Kremlin is exaggerating its tactical advances to prevent and to present the appearance of a continuous military game", Melnyk said.

He also called the UN Security Council's inability to counter Russia's genocidal actions shameful and urged partners to provide Ukraine with all available Patriot missiles.

"What a disgrace that to this day the UN Security Council has failed to take effective action to hold Russia to account and to prevent a daily genocide of the Ukrainian people carried out in plain sight of the world," he said.

Melnyk stressed that Russia had deliberately launched a campaign of ballistic terror against Ukraine, exploiting shortages of interceptor missiles in Ukraine's air defence.

"Knowing that Ukraine is facing critical shortages of air defence interceptors, Putin has unleashed the most cynical and the most brutal campaign of ballistic terror in modern human history, deliberately targeting ordinary people across Ukraine," he said.

Melnyk described the situation as "the most appalling and abhorrent theatre of the absurd imaginable in history", in which Ukraine, a major European state, is "being brutally destroyed before the eyes of the entire international community by Russian ballistic missiles and killer drones".

"And all that the world community seems capable of doing is to convene a meeting of the UN Security Council and at best condemn Russia's war crimes and crimes against humanity being committed on a staggering scale," he said.

Even the strongest words of condemnation of Moscow's criminal actions "cannot stop the killing force of Russian ballistic missiles", he said, calling for decisive action.

This should include imposing "the most painful and far-reaching sanctions" on Russia, particularly against companies producing deadly weapons, in order to force Putin to end the war.

Melnyk also called for an end to Russia's abuse of its veto power, which allows them to evade accountability.

He stressed Ukraine's critical need for Patriot missiles and other advanced air defence systems and urged partners to provide Kyiv with all available interceptors currently in their stocks.

"My fellow citizens find it difficult to understand why missiles capable of saving hundreds of lives every day are being kept in storages instead of being used to shield Ukrainian civilians," Melnyk said.

Previously: During the UN Security Council meeting, Dan Negrea, US Representative to the United Nations Economic and Social Council, called on Russia and Ukraine to stop strikes on civilian targets and return to the negotiating table.

Background: Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said earlier that the UN Security Council would meet on Ukraine's Independence Day to discuss the consequences of Russia's war in Ukraine.

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