Nebenzya calls himself Ukrainian at UN Security Council meeting and declares "one nation" with russians

Russia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzya, said during a Security Council meeting dedicated to the fourth anniversary of russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine that he is of Ukrainian descent and that Ukrainians and russians are "one nation."

He said his parents are also Ukrainians and his surname comes from the Zaporizhzhia Cossacks.

"Technically, I am Ukrainian. And I have such a strange surname. Slavs know that it is difficult to find it even in Ukraine. It comes from the Zaporizhzhia Cossacks. My father is a sincere Ukrainian and so is my mother. They are Cossacks. More real than you... There is no difference for us, we are all one nation," Nebenzya said.

In the speech, he also claimed that Ukrainians and russians have a "common nationality," accused Ukraine of "betraying Kievan Rus" and repeted statements about "Nazis," adding that the war will last "as long as necessary."

Separately, the russian diplomat said that European countries represented at the UN are allegedly not interested in a peaceful settlement and "obviously not inclined" to support the current trilateral talks to resolve the "Ukrainian crisis." According to him, Europe is also "not interested in the future of the Ukrainian people."

Ukraine's representative to the UN, Deputy Defense Minister Mariana Betsa reacted to these statements during the same meeting.

"Nebenzya, you are not a Ukrainian - do not pretend to be a Ukrainian. Secondly, no nation that unites with Russia will ever become a single nation with Russia," she said.

Betsa also said that Ukraine is a democratic and free European state, while russia is "a state that carries aggression, terrorism, war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide."

What statements at the UN Nebenzya is famous for?

In 2022, russia's Permanent Representative to the UN stated that Ukraine and the United States were allegedly developing biological weapons using infected mosquitoes. He claimed that the occupiers had discovered drones with special devices for spreading infected insects in the Kherson Region. Nebenzya claimed that such devices transport containers with a large number of mosquitoes - carriers of infections - and release them in a certain area, after which people become infected with pathogens of dangerous diseases during a bite.

Nebenzia also spoke about alleged "Ukrainian Nazis" during a meeting that addressed russian crimes against children in Ukraine. He claimed that residents of one of the Ukrainian villages allegedly told him about the "Banderites" who had been settled there. According to him, five years after that, teenagers in the village allegedly became "Banderites" and marched under Nazi flags.