Russia has submitted a request to the United Nations asking whether it is possible to recognize the right to self-determination of the so-called “peoples of Donbas and Crimea,” drawing a comparison with Greenland. The UN rejected the request. Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry has already responded.
Russia’s Request to the UN and Ukraine’s Reaction
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov compared the people of Greenland to Ukrainians living in territories temporarily occupied by Russia. According to him, since the UN recognizes Greenland’s right to self-determination, the same principle should apply to the “population of Donbas, Novorossiya, and, of course, Crimea.” Lavrov made the statement in an interview with Turkish media. He said he had formally submitted the request to the UN.
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson responded on X, stressing that the UN had already responded to Russia in October 2022. At that time, 143 UN General Assembly members condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
UN Response to Russia’s Request
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said the principle of self-determination does not apply to Ukraine’s occupied territories. Responding to a Russian journalist at the press conference, Guterres explained that territorial integrity prevails over self-determination in this case due to legal limitations.
“We have concluded that the principle of self-determination cannot be applied to Crimea and Donbas. In this case, the principle of Ukraine’s territorial integrity prevails,” the Secretary-General said. He emphasized that this position was formed after a legal review conducted by the UN Office of Legal Affairs.
Russia’s Reaction to the Rejection
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov claimed on social media that the UN’s decision was incorrect from the standpoint of international law. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called the UN’s conclusion “wild,” as she did previous ones. Russian State Duma deputy Leonid Ivlev called on the UN Secretary-General to resign.
Lithuania Calls to Investigate Russian Attacks as Genocide
Meanwhile, Lithuania’s Foreign Ministry has urged an investigation into Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure as acts of genocide. Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys appealed to prosecutors of the International Criminal Court, requesting arrest warrants against Russia.
The appeal cites Russia’s large-scale aerial attacks on critical infrastructure and civilian targets, which Budrys said could qualify as genocide.
“These systematic attacks, clearly aimed at leaving the Ukrainian population without electricity, heating, and water in the middle of winter, cannot be classified as anything other than a deliberate attempt to physically destroy Ukrainians as a group,” the minister wrote in a letter.
The information is on the website of Lithuania’s Foreign Ministry.
Russia has previously received ICC arrest warrants, including those issued for President Vladimir Putin and Children’s Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova, who are suspected of deporting Ukrainian civilians, including children, to Russia. In 2024, arrest warrants were also issued for Russia’s former defense minister and military commanders. The Kremlin considers these warrants invalid, as it does not recognize the court’s jurisdiction.
Earlier, The Ukrainian Review reported on a Russian attack on January 7, when a drone strike on a civilian passenger train in the Kharkiv region killed civilians.
