Four years after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said the war there remained "as a stain on our collective conscience" and reiterated calls for an immediate ceasefire.
In remarks for a session of the United Nations Security Council to mark the fourth anniversary of Russia's invasion, Mr Guterres commended the efforts of the United States and others to end the war, but said concrete measures were needed to de-escalate and create space for diplomacy.
Referring to Russia's invasion, Mr Guterres said: "We have witnessed the cascading consequences of this blatant violation of international law."
He said more than 15,000 civilians had been killed in Ukraine since the start of the war and over 41,000 hurt. Among those killed or hurt were 3,200 children.
Mr Guterres' remarks were read on his behalf by Rosemary DiCarlo, the UN under-secretary-general for peacebuilding.
He warned that the fighting posed direct risks to the safe and secure operation of Ukraine's nuclear sites, and added: "This unconscionable game of nuclear roulette must cease immediately."
He urged UN member states to fully fund humanitarian assistance and said that any settlement to the war must uphold the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.
"Enough with the death. Enough with the destruction. Enough with the broken lives and shattered futures," he added.
"It is time for an immediate, full and unconditional ceasefire - the first step toward a just peace that saves lives and ends the endless suffering."
Watch: Zelensky gets standing ovation from EU Parliament
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on the European Union to set a date for Ukraine's accession to the bloc and for the EU's latest €90 billion loan package for Kyiv to be implemented.
He made the remarks this morning during a video speech to members of the European Parliament on the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Not setting a date for Ukraine gaining membership of the EU, said Mr Zelensky, would allow Russian President Vladimir Putin to find a way "to block Ukraine for decades by dividing Europe".
Mr Zelensky’s speech listed other key priorities for Ukraine as it enters the fifth year of the war, namely the need for clarification on the kind of post-war security guarantees his country can expect to receive and tougher sanctions for Russian oil exports, as well as sanctioning other senior Russian officials who have taken a roll in directing Moscow’s four-year war.
Ukraine’s president said that the threat his country faced from Russia had "not become smaller".
"We also need the full range of security guarantees for Ukraine if it becomes the target of a new Russian war," Mr Zelensky said.
It was a reference to the still vague promise of a post-war US security guarantee for Kyiv, though there was no overt criticism of Washington.
Instead, he emphasised the need to maintain strong transatlantic relations.
On stricter sanctions against Russia, Mr Zelensky said there must be "no place in the free world for Russian oil".
He took aim at Mr Putin’s 26-year record as Russian president, characterising him as a president who is "war himself", having launched wars in Chechnya and Georgia before invading Ukraine.
He also took aim at Russia’s military actions in Syria in the past decade, suggesting that Moscow’s military aid for the former Assad regime had contributed to Europe’s migrant crisis.
"In many ways, this is also what caused the waves of migrants to Europe," he said.
It sounded like a message directed at far-right MEPs who have voiced opposition to military aid for Ukraine since the start of the invasion.
Mr Zelensky was largely speaking to a room of friends and called on MEPs to support what he termed Ukraine’s "diplomacy for peace".
But it is the Trump administration that he needs to convince to make sure Kyiv's diplomatic efforts are not sidelined as the war drags on.
