The United States ambassador to the United Nations accused Russia Wednesday of moving cluster munitions and other arms banned under the Geneva Convention into Ukraine as Moscow seeks to escalate the attack on its eastern European neighbor.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield spoke as Russian forces shelled several Ukrainian cities Wednesday and massed outside the capital Kyiv, raising fears of an imminent assault.
“It appears Russia is preparing to increase the brutality of its campaign against Ukraine,” Thomas-Greenfield told the United Nations General Assembly.
“We have seen videos of Russian forces moving exceptionally lethal weaponry into Ukraine, which has no place on the battlefield. That includes cluster munitions and vacuum bombs — which are banned under the Geneva Convention.”
She also cited published images of a 40-mile long convoy of Russian troops which she said were “charging toward Kyiv.”
Thomas-Greenfield spoke ahead of an extraordinary vote which saw the General Assembly demand Russia withdraw its forces from Ukraine “immediately.”
An overwhelmingly majority of nations at the global body voted in favor of the non-binding resolution deploring Moscow’s attack, in a powerful indicator of Russia’s isolation on the world stage.
Russia has defied massive economic and diplomatic sanctions to push on into pro-Western Ukraine, where its forces have encountered stiff resistance.
