Haley calls on Russia to accept responsibility for actions in Donbas, MH17 plane crash
U.S. Permanent Representative to the UN Nikki Haley has said that the United States has no doubt that it is Russia that caused the conflict in Donbas and called on the Russian authorities to accept responsibility for actions in eastern Ukraine and for the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17.
"Despite its transparent denials, there is no doubt Russia is driving the Ukrainian conflict," she said at a UN Security Council briefing on Ukraine on Tuesday, May 29.
Haley added that the conflict in Donbas was the result of the actions of the Russian military.
"[Russia] has permitted – if not instructed – its forces to detain, threaten, and even shoot at [OSCE] monitors, their vehicles, cameras, and observation drones. In short, Russia has created a catastrophe of suffering in Ukraine," she said.
She also urged Russia to admit its guilt for the crash of Flight MH17 in the sky over Donbas.
"We strongly support Australia's and Netherlands's call on Russia to acknowledge its role in the tragedy and cooperate in bringing to account those responsible for shooting down MH17. And like its role in the MH17 tragedy, we ask Russia to acknowledge another reality that everyone here knows to be true: Russian soldiers are in Ukraine," Haley said.
She clarified that sanctions against Russia would remain in place.