Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told the UN General Assembly on Friday that Russia wants to "destroy" his country as top Western diplomats used the eve of the second anniversary of the war to lambast Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin.
There seems no end in sight to Russia's war in neighbouring Ukraine, with the conflict effectively at a stalemate.
That outcome is in stark contrast to Kremlin expectations that their objectives would have been reached within weeks of the full-scale invasion, which Russia launched on February 24, 2022.
"Russia's aim is to destroy Ukraine and they are quite outspoken about it," Kuleba said in New York.
"The only reason for this war has been and remains Russia's denial of Ukraine's right to exist and its continued colonial conquest."
Russian UN Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya hit back by saying in the regions of Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk and around Kherson there had been referendums where voters chose to join Russia.
"The reality is there are no temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine," he said. However, most of the international community does not recognize the referendums, which observers say were rushed and fixed.
Kuleba later read a joint statement by more than 50 countries calling on Russia to end the conflict.
"We reiterate our demand to Russia to stop its war of aggression against Ukraine and to ensure the full, immediate and unconditional withdrawal of all Russian forces and military equipment from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders," the statement read.
Kuleba also called on Russian partners such as Iran, Belarus and North Korea to cease arms deliveries and other forms of Russian military support.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres meanwhile called for "a just peace, based on the United Nations Charter, international law and General Assembly resolutions," as he warned against an expansion of the conflict to eastern Europe.
"The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine reported civilians and prisoners tortured, and more than two hundred cases of sexual violence, mostly at the hands of the Russian Federation forces," Guterres said. "All perpetrators must be held to account."
"Many Ukrainians are experiencing the living nightmare of losing their children," the UN boss said, calling for all deported children to be reunited with their families.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock earlier also mentioned last week's death of Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalny to further slam Russia.
"President Putin has proved again and again that to him, human lives count for nothing – neither abroad nor at home, where he now doesn't even shy away from arresting Russian children for laying down flowers to mourn the death of Alexei Navalny," she said.
British Foreign Secretary Lord David Cameron added: "This is not a man seeking compromise. Rather, this is a neo-imperialist bully who believes might is right. We must recognize the cost of giving up.
Putin has said there will be no peace until Russia's goals are achieved."
The two Western diplomats earlier used a Wall Street Journal event to call on the United States not to slacken its support for Ukraine in view of a tug-of-war in Washington over further financial aid for Kiev.
A new US aid package, which includes $60 billion for Ukraine, has already passed the Senate but looks unlikely to get through the House of Representatives at present as Republicans stall under pressure from former president and 2024 challenger Donald Trump.
