‘WIDER WAR’ IS LOOMING OVER UKRAINE CONFLICT, UN CHIEF WARNS

Tue 07 February 2023:

The possibility of a further escalation in the Russia-Ukraine conflict has led UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to warn that a “wider war” may be on the horizon.

In a speech to the 193-member UN General Assembly on Monday presenting his 2023 priorities, Guterres decried the Russian invasion of Ukraine, saying the war was “inflicting untold suffering on the Ukrainian people with profound global implications”.

“The prospects for peace keep diminishing,” he said. “The chances of further escalation and bloodshed keep growing.

“I fear the world is not sleepwalking into a wider war. I fear it is doing so with its eyes wide open.”

The nearly year-long conflict has been intensifying in recent weeks with fierce battles between Ukrainian and Russian forces for control of towns in eastern Ukraine.

Donetsk Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said on Monday that the battle for the eastern Ukrainian region is “heating up” with Russian forces “throwing new units into the battle and eradicating our towns and villages”.

Russia launched its all-out invasion of Ukraine on February 24 last year after Moscow amassed troops near the Ukrainian border and Putin demanded an end to NATO expansion into former Soviet republics.

Moscow’s military campaign has suffered numerous setbacks as Western powers provide financial and military support to Kyiv.

Russian officials have argued that sending arms to Ukraine is prolonging and intensifying the conflict.