Ukraine envoy warns against 'appeasement' of Putin as war drags on

By Emma Farge

A top Ukrainian diplomat warned against any appeasement of Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying that the latest deadly attacks on Ukraine showed he had no desire for peace, and asked allies for further help.

Russia pounded Ukraine's power grid in the largest air strike in almost three months on Sunday in a move that Ukraine's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva said showed Putin's determination to continue the 1,000 day-old war and "plunge Ukraine into darkness and cold".

"They demonstrate that Putin doesn't want peace. He wants war," Yevheniia Filipenko told Reuters in an interview.

The career diplomat from Kyiv struck a defiant tone amid growing expectations of peace talks with Putin next year due to a change in the U.S. administration and signs of war weariness.

"He (Putin) sees these attempts (to start talks) as a weakness. And what we need now is not weakness and appeasement. We need strength," she said, without saying who was seeking talks. Some allies have criticised German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's phone call with Putin as a sign of weakened unity.

In a policy shift, President Joe Biden's administration has allowed Ukraine to use U.S.-made weapons to strike deeper into Russia, Reuters reported. The Kremlin has called the decision reckless and warned that it would raise the risk of confrontation with the U.S.-led NATO alliance.

Asked to respond, she said: "We should not be afraid of Russia's threats. Instead, we should take decisive actions to counter the threats coming from Russian aggression."

She called for additional aid, requesting extra help with air defences and more diplomatic pressure on Russia.

Since Moscow's invasion in February 2022, Filipenko has sought alongside Western allies to condemn and isolate Moscow at the U.N. European headquarters in Geneva which is a hub for diplomacy, human rights and humanitarian action. She cited as successes that Russian officials had been blocked from 40 key international posts and dozens of other U.N. measures.

"We do not feel war fatigue amongst partners," she said.

U.N. humanitarian aid for Ukraine has fallen since its 2022 peak but Filipenko dismissed the perceived risk of further falls under U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.

"I think it's really too early to be scared," she said. "We do have confidence in (the) American people, (who) have demonstrated their sincere support to Ukraine."