The Russian Federation actually has full control over the work of the UN Secretariat in key areas, now about 400 Russians work there, Ukrainian diplomat, Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the UN in 2015-2019 Volodymyr Yelchenko has said.

"We must understand that even with the military victory of Ukraine, with access to the borders of 1991, the war, in fact, will not end, and its consequences will not end. Why? Because after that, work will begin, it has already begun, but it will enter a decisive phase. This is the creation of an international tribunal, or compensation to Ukraine for the damage suffered during the war. Many other issues. For all this, binding decisions of the UN Security Council are needed. And we are well aware that as long as the Russian delegation is sitting there, in the Security Council, these decisions have no chance of being approved," Yelchenko said during a press conference "Russia's illegal presence in UN: Problem and its solution" at Interfax-Ukraine.

Also, according to him, in the UN Secretariat there is "not just a neutral-positive position, but simply playing along with the Russian delegation and the Russian Federation."

"Over the years of the UN existence, Russia has been able to promote hundreds of employees to work in the Secretariat of the organization - now there are about 400 of them, who work in virtually all key positions. It determines the reports that are written in the Secretariat, and many other things. Of these 400 employees, half, if not more, are secret or open agents of the special services of the Russian Federation. And as 'icing on the cake' is the occupation by Russians of such positions, for example, as UN Under-Secretary-General of Counter-Terrorism, no matter how ridiculous it sounds, Mr. Voronkov," Yelchenko noted.

In addition, the diplomat noted "dozens, if not hundreds" of employees from other countries who over the years have either been bought or recruited by Russian special services.

As Yelchenko said, "the UN Secretariat has, in fact, turned into such a branch of the Russian FSB."

"Therefore, we have a situation where, on the one hand, the Russian illegal presence in the UN, and on the other, its virtually complete control over the work of the UN Secretariat in key areas, in fact, paralyzes all the efforts that not only Ukraine and many of our allies are making in order to, if not stop this war, then at least reach some solutions that could alleviate the humanitarian situation, etc." the Ukrainian diplomat said.

As an example, he recalled the tragedy in the colony in Olenivka, as a result of which more than 50 Ukrainian prisoners of war died due to a Russian terrorist attack, but the UN expert group never reached this place because the Russians did not provide security guarantees. In addition, the UN team was never able to get to the left bank of Dnipro in Kherson region to help residents affected by Russia's undermining the dam of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant.

"Or an absolutely passive, inadequate reaction of the IAEA leadership, which is actually part of the UN, regarding the events at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant, and now the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant is under threat," Yelchenko added.