Russian foreign minister calls Zelensky ‘son of a b*tch’

Foreign ministers of the United States, Ukraine, Russia, and China got embroiled in an argument over the Russian accountability for war crimes in a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Thursday (local time) in New York. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov even hurled insults at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, calling him a “son of a b*tch,” maintaining that the Western countries protect Ukraine.

According to The Washington Post, Foreign Minister Lavrov of Russia, around 90 minutes late for the UNSC meeting, denied Russia’s involvement in any war crime in a 20-minute-long speech, instead pointing an accusatory finger at Ukraine for causing the ongoing war. He argued that Ukrainian troops mass-killed civilians in the Donbas region. He even went on to say that although the Western world leaders favorably treat President Zelensky, he thinks of him as a “b*****d.”

After wrapping up his address, Minister Lavrov walked out of the venue, not listening to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba’s speech. “Russian diplomats flee almost as aptly as Russian soldiers,” said the Ukrainian representative, adding that they get deeply involved in instigating and hiding criminal acts by using lies.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken remarked at the meeting, “Wherever the Russian tide recedes, we discover the horror that’s left in its wake, warning Russian President Vladimir Putin about any consequences that he will face in case he avoids the accusations. Although China called for negotiations to start to end the war, it did not make any critical comments on Russia in the meeting.


chaewani@donga.com