Melnyk at the UN Security Council pointed out that the population of the Russian Federation still lacks toilets, which increases the rage of the invaders towards Ukraine 04/21/2026 03:35 Ukrinform Ukraine’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Andriy Melnyk, stated that a significant portion of Russia’s population lives without access to basic sanitation, while the Kremlin continues to claim the status of a “great power” and pursues imperial policies.
He said this at a meeting of the UN Security Council on Monday, according to Ukrinform’s correspondent in New York.
Melnyk referred to official statistical data, according to which about a quarter of Russian households do not have access to centralized sewage systems or internal sanitary facilities. In rural areas, according to him, the situation is even worse – in some regions, up to two-thirds of households are forced to use outdoor cesspools.
The diplomat emphasized the contrast between the internal living conditions in Russia and Moscow’s foreign policy ambitions.
“On the one hand, Russia demands recognition as a ‘great superpower,’ claiming the right to redraw state borders by force and impose a new sphere of influence,” Melnyk said.
At the same time, according to him, about 35 million Russian citizens are forced to use outdoor toilets. This number is comparable to the population of countries like Poland or Saudi Arabia, or the states of Texas and California, he noted.
“Mr. Putin wants Russia to be perceived as a respected global player, while the living conditions of a significant part of its population are no better than in the early Middle Ages,” Melnyk said.
Melnyk dedicated a separate part of his speech to Russia’s war crimes in Ukraine, mentioning Bucha and other settlements in the Kyiv region.
He recalled that after the liberation of Bucha, more than 450 dead civilians were found in the city.
According to testimonies and investigation results, one of the factors contributing to the particular brutality of the Russian military could be the social and domestic inequality between the invaders and the local population.
“Russian soldiers, many of whom still live in medieval conditions and use cesspools, encountered what they never expected to see: ordinary Ukrainian families living with dignity in modern homes, in communities that have built prosperity over thirty years of independence,” he said.
It was this contrast that fueled the rage and barbarity among the Russian invaders, he said, adding that their mass crimes against the civilian population had become “one of the darkest pages of modern history.”
As Ukrinform reported, the UN Security Council convened on Monday to discuss Russia’s recent shelling of Ukrainian cities.
Melnyk UN Security Council Toilet War with Russia
Источник: www.ukrinform.ua