U.S. To Russia:  "End The Killing And End The War"

The United States on Wednesday chaired a UN Security Council briefing on Ukraine and denounced Russia’s ongoing war, as well as its increasing reliance on North Korea for missiles, munitions, and troops in violation of multiple Security Council resolutions.

"President Putin thought his forces would march into Ukraine with little to no resistance. But he was wrong. The Ukrainian people have shown extraordinary strength and resilience. They did not ask for this war, and they cannot stop it. The one who can is Putin," U.S. Mission to the UN said in a statement. "Let us continue to demand Russia end the killing and end the war. And let us stop at nothing to ensure accountability of those who wage it," reads the statement.

Washington earlier this week briefed the current and incoming members of the UN Security Council on intelligence that it possesses on the nature, scope, and scale of Russia-North Korean relationship and its strategic implications, deputy U.S. Representative to the UN Ned Price told reporters during a briefing organized by New York Foreign Press Center.

Price declined to elaborate on classified intelligence. As for the latest on North Korean involvement on the front line, he deferred to Washington officials' statements saying that there were about 12,000 DPRK forces part of the conflict. "I believe we’ve also confirmed that DPRK forces are fighting on the front lines.  They have sustained injuries. Some have been killed in this fighting as well," he said.

When it comes to the U.S. response to the evolving crisis, Price supported the administration's strategy saying that "we have provided our Ukrainian partners with precisely what they need to defend themselves."

"Again, this is a mission of self-defense for our Ukrainian partners.  They have been provided weapons capabilities, reinforcements to do that, even as they are the ones, of course, calling the shots on how those systems and capabilities are used and how they use them most effectively," he told TURAN's correspondent.