Russia-Ukraine conflict pushing world into 'wider war,' UN chief warns
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that further escalation in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine could mean the world is heading toward a "wider war."
The UN chief sounded the alert in a gloomy speech delivered to the General Assembly on Monday, almost a year after Russia waged an ongoing war in the ex-Soviet republic.
"We have started 2023 staring down the barrel of a confluence of challenges unlike any in our lifetimes," Guterres said, as he laid out his priorities for the year. "The prospects for peace keep diminishing. 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."
Russia launched what it calls "a special military operation" in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, over the perceived threat of the ex-Soviet republic joining NATO and to "de-Nazify" Kiev. Since then, the United States and Ukraine's other allies have sent Kiev tens of billions of dollars' worth of weapons, including rocket systems, drones, armored vehicles, tanks, and communication systems.
Western countries have also imposed a slew of economic sanctions on Moscow. The Kremlin has said the sanctions and the Western military assistance will only prolong the war.
"If every country fulfilled its obligations under the (UN) Charter, the right to peace would be guaranteed. It is time to transform our approach to peace by recommitting to the Charter -- putting human rights and dignity first, with prevention at the heart," Guterres stated.
He blamed the world's economic and financial system for the increase in poverty and hunger and the widening gap between the rich and poor.
“Without fundamental reforms, the richest countries and individuals will continue to pile up wealth, leaving crumbs for the communities and countries of the global south,” Guterres said.
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