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NEW YORK : "Mama, I am in Ukraine. There is a real war raging here. I am afraid. We are bombing all of the cities together, even targeting civilians. We were told that they would welcome us and they are falling under our armoured vehicles, throwing themselves under the wheels and not allowing us to pass. They call us fascists. Mama this is so hard," read a Russian soldier's text to his mother.
Ukraine's ambassador to the UN, Sergiy Kyslytsya flagged this message at the UN General Assembly session.
The Russian soldier in his final text to his mother (reportedly he was killed in Ukraine) said that he was ‘afraid’ and that his army was ‘even targetting civilians’.
Kyslytsya read out the message at the UN General Assembly which were retrieved from the smartphone of the Russian soldier.
According to the messages, the soldier told his mother that it was hard in Ukraine, where people "are falling under our armoured vehicles".
Holding up the images of the text messages, the envoy added: "This was several moments before he was killed. Just realise the magnitude of this tragedy."
Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the invasion of Ukraine on 24 February and has since been advancing to its capital Kyiv, shelling many cities, including Khardiv on Tuesday.
During session at the UN General Assembly, Russia defended its decision to invade its neighbour as nation after nation urged peace.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres pleaded, "The fighting in Ukraine must stop. Enough is enough."
Representatives of more than 100 countries are expected to speak over three days as the UN decides if it will support a resolution that demands Russia immediately withdraws its troops from Ukraine. A vote is expected Wednesday, and it must reach a two-thirds threshold to pass.
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