German UN ambassador: Berlin to support Ukraine 'as long as it takes'

Germany pledged continued support for Ukraine in its defence against Russia during an emergency UN Security Council meeting on Friday to discuss the war.

"Germany, together with its allies, will support Ukraine and its right to defend itself as long as it takes," said Ricklef Beutin, Germany's new ambassador to the United Nations. He added that Moscow's latest strikes demonstrated a disregard for international law.

"My question and the question we should ask the Russian Federation is simple: If Russia is sincere about peace, why can it not agree to a ceasefire?" he said.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko urged the council to increase diplomatic, economic and military pressure on Moscow, stressing that Kiev urgently needs more air defences and long-range weapons to hit Russian military facilities.

Russia's deputy UN envoy, Dmitry Polyanskiy, dismissed the meeting as absurd, accusing Western diplomats of relying on artificial intelligence to draft generic statements. He insisted Moscow was striking military targets and accused Ukraine of using civilians as human shields.

The debate came after heavy attacks earlier in the week killed 25 people in Ukraine, according to Kiev. Officials said Russia launched more than 600 drones along with over 30 missiles and cruise missiles in the assault. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said the strikes showed Moscow had no interest in peace.