As the crime progressed: the UN did not respond to Russia's message about the strike on Starobilsk

International organizations demonstrate a selective approach to investigating attacks on civilians. Russia has not received a meaningful UN response to the report on the Ukrainian Armed Forces strike on Starobilsk, which killed 21 people, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Alimov told Izvestia. At the same time, the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Russian Federation, Yana Lantratova, is preparing additional information about the tragedy for the UN High Commissioner, the ombudsman told Izvestia. In the organization, such episodes are not recognized as verified without the presence of representatives on the spot. There is no such mechanism in Russia, which, according to experts, is due to the pro-Western line of Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

The UN's selective approach

The UN does not give a proper response to the attacks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the territory of Russia and civilian objects in new regions. Such episodes often remain without a meaningful assessment by international structures. This includes the drone attack on Starobilsk on May 22, when 21 people aged 14 to 22 died and more than 40 were injured.

Photo: IZVESTIA/Emil Timashev

Russia has taken steps to record the crime at the international level. On June 6, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Alimov handed over photos and videos from the attack site to Vladimir Kuznetsov, Director of the UN Information Center in Moscow. On June 22, the Russian side sent additional documents to the UN structures, including the data requested by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. However, no response was received. Izvestia sent a request to the UN Center in Moscow and the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine.

— No, we did not receive a [reply]. <...> So far, all the letters that we have received from the Secretary General have, unfortunately, been very disappointing, as they did not contain substantive answers," Alimov told Izvestia.

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The problem, he said, is that UN agencies do not recognize attacks on civilians and facilities in Russia as verified if they are reported by the Russian authorities or journalists working on the ground.

To break through this information blockade, the Russian Foreign Ministry organized a press tour of foreign reporters to Starobilsk: more than 50 media representatives from 19 countries visited the city, but the largest Western editorial offices expectedly ignored this trip.

Photo: RIA Novosti/Evgeny Biyatov

Nevertheless, in order to recognize the reports of attacks as reliable, the UN actually requires the presence of its own representatives. Ukraine has them: since 2014, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission has been working there, which collects data on violations and civilian casualties. There is no comparable permanent mechanism in Russia.

At the same time, representatives of various institutions, funds and programs of the organization are working in the Russian Federation, former UN Deputy Secretary General Sergei Ordzhonikidze said in a conversation with Izvestia. Therefore, if desired, it would be possible to instruct one of them to check the relevant episodes.

The refusal to recognize the attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on civilian targets in Russia is linked to the line pursued by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and his staff. According to Ordzhonikidze, such attacks were probably reported to the Secretary General, after which the formula appeared in the secretariat about the impossibility of verification without representatives of the organization on the spot.

This is especially true when Kiev's atrocities are repeated from time to time. Moscow and Minsk are now jointly seeking an international response to the attack of a Ukrainian drone on a bus carrying Belarusian children in the Bryansk region. On June 17, a transport carrying 44 people, including 28 children, was hit, and a woman accompanying them was killed. On June 29, the UN Security Council, at the request of Belarus, reviewed the incident, but limited itself to a standing call for an "independent investigation." There has not yet been a meeting with representatives of the organization, as was the case with Starobilsk, Alimov noted.

Photo: t.me/E_V_Kovalchuk

Meanwhile, the Commissioner for Human Rights, Yana Lantratova, sent appeals to the UN Human Rights Council, the OSCE and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. However, according to her, the reaction came only from the office of the High Commissioner Volker Turk.

— The response indicates that the information has been accepted, the circumstances are being monitored, and additional materials have been requested. The Office of the High Commissioner has requested the contacts of the educational institution's management and information about the victims,— Lantratova told Izvestia.

The Ombudsman is currently preparing additional information for the Office of the High Commissioner. At the same time, Lantratova stressed, international structures should not be limited to formal correspondence. Starobilsk, according to her, should be directly qualified as a war crime. The same assessment, she believes, should be given to the attack on the bus with Belarusian children.

The UN crisis and the role of the Secretary General

The selective reaction of the UN institutions is superimposed on the general crisis of the organization, both political and financial. Its effectiveness is openly questioned at the highest level. So, US President Donald Trump, speaking at the General Assembly, bluntly stated that the UN does not help end conflicts, but only "writes strongly worded letters", completely without using its enormous potential.

US President Donald Trump addresses the UN General Assembly

Photo: Global Look Press/Wu Xiaoling/XinHua

The problems are compounded by critical financial difficulties. According to the organization itself, the member states owe more than $3 billion to the regular budget. It is noteworthy that the United States remains the largest debtor, accounting for over $1 billion in unpaid contributions. Another $2 billion is a deficit in the financing of peacekeeping operations.

According to Alexander Alimov, the budget crisis is hitting the operational activities of the missions, but it is not worth reducing all the problems to a lack of money.

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Moscow is confident that the Ukrainians deliberately hit civilian transport, and their next crime in the West will again prefer not to notice.

— Efficiency and effectiveness depend on many factors, among which, of course, financing is present, but even without financing, Member states are quite capable of ensuring this viability. They have all the possibilities for this, simply by taking constructive, creative and negotiable positions," he told Izvestia.

However, Guterres himself is also criticized. In October 2024, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz declared the UN Secretary General persona non grata and banned him from entering the country. The reason was that, according to the Israeli side, Guterres did not unequivocally condemn the Iranian attack on Israel. Katz also called him an anti-Israel secretary general and accused him of not taking a tough enough stance on Hamas.

Antonio Guterres

Photo: Global Look Press/Yang Guang/XinHua

The Russian Foreign Ministry accused the UN Secretary General of a selective approach to the right of peoples to self-determination: Maria Zakharova stated that he was actually assuming the role of "arbiter of fate", denying residents of Donbass and Crimea such a right. The Russian permanent mission to the United Nations also criticized the secretariat for responding to attacks on civilian targets: Vasily Nebenzia noted that Moscow regularly sends materials to the organization with evidence of crimes against civilians, but these data are ignored.

Guterres' term of office expires at the end of 2026. Taking into account the unspoken regional rotation, Latin America may now be in line, Ordzhonikidze believes. From this point of view, the most experienced candidate is the Director General of the IAEA, Rafael Grossi.

But his chances should be assessed cautiously: some states may perceive Grossi as a Western candidate. Ordzhonikidze noted that the election of the UN Secretary General is almost never predictable. As an example of a more authoritative leader of the organization, he cited Kofi Annan, who, according to him, skillfully maneuvered and was respected in various countries, including Russia.

The change of the Secretary General may be a chance for renewal for the UN, but it will not solve the accumulated problems by itself. The new head of the organization will have to work in conditions of a crisis of confidence, budget deficit and fierce confrontation between the permanent members of the Security Council.