Ukrainian MFA’s spokesman on Crimea and Donbas: UNGA has already responded by rejecting Russia’s illegal land grabs

Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhiy Tykhyi commented on the recent dialogue between UN Secretary-General António Guterres and a Russian journalist regarding the possibility of applying the principle of self-determination to Crimea and Donbas.

“Russia asked the UN if it recognises ‘self-determination’ for the Donbas similar to Greenland. Somebody has to tell these idiots that the UN has already responded: in October 2022, 143 UNGA members rejected Russia’s illegal land grabs,” Tykhyi said on X Friday.

“Bingo card: get the hell out of Ukraine,” he added.

According to media reports, at a press conference in New York, responding to a Russian journalist’s question about whether the UN could consider the case of Crimea and Donbas as one to which this principle should be applied, Guterres noted: " “There are two important principles. The first principle is the territorial integrity of states. The other principle is the self-determination of peoples." However, he emphasized that self-determination of peoples is only possible if a number of necessary conditions are met, citing the opinion of the UN Office of Legal Affairs. "We have concluded that the principle of self-determination cannot be applied to Crimea and Donbas, so in this situation the principle of the territorial integrity of Ukraine prevails," the Secretary-General emphasized.