UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (center, front) speaks at a Security Council meeting on the Ukraine crisis at the UN headquarters in New York, Feb 23, 2024. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

UNITED NATIONS/KYIV – UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday called for an end to the Ukraine crisis.

He made the appeal at a Security Council meeting scheduled to coincide with the second anniversary of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine.

Two years on, the conflict in Ukraine remains an open wound at the heart of Europe. It is high time for peace – a just peace, based on the UN Charter, international law and UN General Assembly resolutions, said Guterres.

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It is time to recommit to the (UN) Charter and renew respect for international law. That is the path to peace and security – in Ukraine and around the world.

Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary-General

International disputes shall be settled by peaceful means and all states shall refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any other state, he said.

The danger of the conflict escalating and expanding is very real. Around the world, the conflict in Ukraine is deepening geopolitical divides, fanning regional instability, shrinking the space available to address other urgent global issues, and undermining the shared norms and values that make the world safer, he said.

The conflict accelerated a surge in food prices, economic shocks and a global cost-of-living crisis, which hit developing countries the hardest. In addition, the prospect of this conflict resulting in a nuclear accident chills spines around the world, he added.

"It is time to recommit to the (UN) Charter and renew respect for international law. That is the path to peace and security – in Ukraine and around the world," he said.

Russian surveillance plane down

Ukrainian Air Force Commander Mykola Oleschuk said Friday that the Ukrainian military shot down another Russian A-50 surveillance aircraft.

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"I am grateful to the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry and all those who ensured the result," Oleschuk said in a Telegram post.

The Ukrainian forces continue their work, he added.

The Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said in a statement that the plane, estimated to value at $350 million, lost speed and height near the city of Yeysk in Russia's southern Krasnodar region.

Russia used the plane as an air command post for long-range radar detection, control and guidance for strikes on Ukraine with missiles from strategic aviation, the intelligence said.

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Last month, Valery Zaluzhny, then a chief commander of the armed forces of Ukraine, said the Ukrainian air force had destroyed a Russian A-50 plane in an area close to the Sea of Azov.