UN Secretary-General António Guterres emphasized that “the war in Ukraine is absurd and we must stop it through dialogue and international law”, noting that “developing countries are suffering from the climate change crisis and do not have the means to confront it. An energy crisis, and this war is believed to “threaten the world with famine and a food crisis after rising food and fuel prices.”

Guterres had previously seen that “humanity is in one uncalculated step that could lead to nuclear annihilation” at a time when it faces a threat “unprecedented since the height of the Cold War” and noted that “we have been fortunate so far exceptionally . But luck is not a strategy, and it does not protect against geopolitical tensions that could lead to nuclear conflict.”

Guterres’ announcement comes as Russian forces continue their special military operation in Ukraine, which has been ongoing since Feb. 24, as operations are concentrated in the Ukrainian Donbas, which includes the separatist areas of Donetsk and Luhansk, as opposed to Ukraine’s Western armaments.