Ukrainian Ambassador to UN warns Russia of `consolidated` response by international community

`Ukraine wants peace, security, and stability not only for itself but also for entire Europe. At the same time, I reiterate that in the event of Russia opting for escalation, Ukraine will defend itself,` said Ukrainian Ambassador to the UN Kyslytsya.

New York: Ukrainian Ambassador to United Nations, Sergiy Kyslytsya on Thursday warned Russia of a decisive consolidated response by the international community over its military build-up in the Donbas region.

Speaking at United Nations Security Council meeting on Ukraine, Kyslytsya said, "Russia has a choice to embark on the path of de-escalation and diplomatic dialogue or experience a decisive consolidated response by the international community."

Russia started shelling Stanytsia Luhanska in Ukrainian government-controlled territory in Donbas.

"Ukraine wants peace, security, and stability not only for itself but also for entire Europe. At the same time, I reiterate that in the event of Russia opting for escalation, Ukraine will defend itself," said Kyslytsya.

The Ukrainian Ambassador to the UN said that it remains up to Russia to implement all the resolutions in the Minsk agreements.

"We urge Russia to abandon its strategy on Ukraine. Ukraine remains committed to resolving differences diplomatically. We will do everything to ensure de-escalation," said Kyslytsya.

As world leaders scramble to find a diplomatic solution over the ongoing Russia-Ukraine tensions, talk has turned to the 2015 Minsk Agreement as a possible way out of the crisis.

The agreement, the second of its kind (and the one that matters), was hammered out in the Belarusian capital in a bid to end what was then a bloody 10-month conflict in eastern Ukraine.

But Minsk II has never been fully implemented, with its key issues still unresolved.

A rare meeting between Russian, Ukrainian, German and French leaders in February 2015 sought to bring peace to areas of Ukraine that had been taken over by pro-Russian separatists the year before. Those areas, in Ukraine`s Donbas region, became known as the Luhansk People`s Republic (LPR) and the Donetsk People`s Republic (DPR). The Ukrainian government in Kyiv asserted the two regions were in effect Russian-occupied.

The talks also aimed to work towards a political settlement for the region.

The result, Minsk II, was signed by representatives of Russia, Ukraine, the separatist leaders and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). It was subsequently endorsed by a UN Security Council resolution.

"Ukraine expects Russia to deliver on the commitments of the Minsk agreement. The Minsk II agreement outlines steps to end the conflict in Eastern Ukraine," said Sergiy Kyslytsya.