JAKARTA - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres made a very urgent appeal on Thursday, pleading for an end to Russia's war against Ukraine, which he said was increasingly becoming a "spiral of death."
"The direction of the war - the escalation and intensification we are witnessing - risks getting out of control. The risk of miscalculation. The risk of escalation with unknown and undesirable consequences," Guterres said at a meeting of the Security Council, Anadolu (29/5) reported.
"So, let's talk frankly. The current direction is unsustainable. This trajectory must change. The spiral of death must be stopped. What is needed now is de-escalation - immediate and sustainable. What is needed now is a full and unconditional ceasefire. What is needed now is more diplomacy," he added.
Underlining the severity of the conflict, the United Nations recorded more civilian deaths in Ukraine in the first four months of 2026 than in the same period since 2022, the year Russia started the war.
Meanwhile, the battle lines largely remained stagnant.
Earlier on Thursday, Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu said the Russian-US peace initiative in Ukraine was "hampered."
"The main obstacle to its implementation remains the absence of political will for peace from the Kyiv regime and their constant desire to escalate," Shoigu said at the International Security Forum in the Moscow region.
Shoigu argued that Ukrainian leadership is afraid of a settlement because they have to be held responsible for the consequences of their policies, including what he described as a demographic crisis in the country.
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