Russia’s Bombing of Lviv & Other Ukrainian Cities Means Peace Isn’t on Moscow’s Mind

Russia’s unending bombardment of Ukrainian cities, especially the ballistic attack on Lviv last week, demonstrate Russia’s determination to continue its war against Ukraine and to demonstrate that there are no limits to its criminal intentions even in the face of international condemnations, according to Ukraine’s Permanent Representative to the UN Andrii Melnyk.

“This new, horrific wave of terror, which also engulfed many other Ukrainian cities early last week, including Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, Kryvyi Rih, and Odesa, demonstrates Putin’s determination to slap the American proxies in the face and continue his barbaric war,” Melnyk said Monday, January 11, during an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council amid Russia's recent attacks on Ukraine.

The Ukrainian diplomat noted that by launching the nuclear-capable MIRV Oreshnik strike on the night of January 9, Russia had moved to a new level of escalation. Furthermore, there's nothing new in Russia's attempt to justify the strike by citing a fabricated attack on Putin’s residence. Melnyk noted that this is reminiscent of the Gliwice provocation of August 31, 1939, when Adolf Hitler staged a fake attack on a radio station to justify his invasion of Poland.

"The insidious logic is identical. The aggressor state fabricates a pretext for war that doesn’t exist. Let me be clear. This so-called attack on Putin’s residence is an absolute lie," he emphasized. This statement has been corroborated by the US’s Central Intelligence Agency.

Melnyk pointed out that Russia repeatedly finds ways to prove that there are no limits to its criminal intentions. He said the enemy deliberately waited until January and then began attacking Ukraine’s infrastructure to leave millions of people facing terrifying freezing conditions.

“Russia deliberately waited until the beginning of January, when temperatures in Ukraine dropped to minus 15 degrees Celsius (5 degrees F), to carry out a series of the most destructive drone and missile strikes on our energy infrastructure, as a result of which millions of citizens found themselves in conditions of severe frost,” Melnyk said.

He added that every time the international community believes Russia has reached the “limit of lies and barbarism,” Moscow once again surpasses itself.

“It finds a way to sink even lower, proving that there are no limits to its criminal intentions," Melnyk said.

He noted that by launching the Oreshnik strike on the night of January 9, Russia had moved to a new level of escalation.

"The insidious logic is identical. The aggressor state fabricates a pretext for war that doesn't exist. Let me be clear. This so-called attack on Putin's residence is an absolute lie," he emphasized.

Melnyk elaborated for his diplomatic colleagues that Russia is more vulnerable now than at any time since the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022. Its economy is slowing and oil revenue is down. “Russia wants to sell to this council and the whole U.N. family the impression that it is invincible, but this is another illusion,” he told the Security Council. “The carefully staged image of strength is nothing but smoke and mirrors, completely detached from reality.”

On the night of 8-9 January 8-9, Russian forces attacked Ukraine with 278 airborne weapons – 36 missiles and 242 drones of various types. Ukraine’s Air Force reported that Russia used one medium-range ballistic missile (Oreshnik) launched from the Kapustin Yar test site in Russia's Astrakhan Oblast.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the Russian air attack involving the Oreshnik missile requires a clear response from the international community, particularly the United States.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said that Russia’s Oreshnik missile strike on Lviv Oblast, near the borders of the EU and NATO, poses a threat to European security and requires a strong response from partners.

“We expect the UN Security Council not only to issue yet another condemnation of Russia's war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine but also to take very concrete steps to stop Russian aggression and to compel Moscow to a just and lasting peace based on the principles of the UN Charter,” Melnyk insisted.

The United States also accused Russia during the Security Council session of a “dangerous and inexplicable escalation” of its nearly four-year war in Ukraine at a time when the Trump administration is trying to advance negotiations toward peace.

US deputy ambassador to the United Nations Tammy Bruce singled out Russia’s launch of a nuclear-capable Oreshnik ballistic missile last week close to Ukraine’s border with Poland, a NATO ally.

She told an emergency meeting of the Security Council that the United States deplores “the staggering number of casualties” in the conflict and condemns Russia’s intensifying attacks on energy and other infrastructure.

Bruce reminded Russia that nearly a year ago it voted in favor of a Security Council resolution calling for an end to the conflict in Ukraine.

“It would be nice if Russia matched their words with deeds,” she said. “In the spirit of that resolution, Russia, Ukraine and Europe must pursue peace seriously and bring this nightmare to an end.”

Moscow has given no public signal it is willing to budge from its maximalist demands on Ukraine. And Russia’s UN ambassador on Monday blamed the diplomatic impasse on Ukraine.

Europe’s leaders condemned the attack using the Oreshnik as “escalatory and unacceptable,” and U.S. envoy Bruce was equally tough.

“At a moment of tremendous potential, due only to President Trump’s unparalleled commitment to peace around the world, both sides should be seeking ways to de-escalate,” she said. “Yet Russia’s action risks expanding and intensifying the war.”