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Media Stakeout by Vassily Nebenzia, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations, on Ukraine, Navalny, Afghanistan and Gaza. Asked about the Russian authorities not handing the body of Russian’s opposition figure Alexei Navalny to his relatives, Russia’s Ambassador said, “because the forensic medical investigation is not over yet, the exact cause of the death was not yet disclosed." Speaking to journalists today (19 Feb) outside the Security Council, Vasily Nebenzya, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the UN said, "Well, our Western colleagues rushed to claim 15 minutes after it happened, after the news was published, that this was the responsibility of the Putin's regime.” He said, “I would like to appeal to these self-proclaimed fighters for freedom of speech, where were you when the Kyiv regime imprisoned your own citizen?” He continued, “I mean, the US citizen, independent journalist Gonzalo Lira on falsage charges who then was tortured and didn't receive proper medical care until his death in the Ukrainian prison.” “He had the courage to tell the truth about the real state of affairs in Ukraine and therefore became an inconvenient person for you, for them that had to be taken care of,” Nebenzya added. The Ambassador said, “We know the value of this empty slogans of Western countries about protecting human rights. We would recommend focusing on protecting their own citizens rather than making baseless accusations against Russia.” Nebenzya also said, “When it comes to investigating such heinous crimes, and sabotage like the Nord Stream, for example, our Western colleagues are taking their time. The Swedish authorities already closed the investigation, and nobody else is hurrying with making the truth known. So I think that they better, look for themselves before they make these accusations, even before any evidence came, came to light.” In his statement to journalist, Nebenzya said, “Facing massive failures in the battlefield, namely the recent loss of the strategic town of Avdiivka because the Kyiv regime is trying to make up by intensifying its terrorist attacks against civilians.” He continued, “we call on the UN Secretariat and the agencies to condemn these heinous crimes against civilians and civilian infrastructure carried out by the Kyiv regime in violation of the international humanitarian law. Our national investigation is underway. The perpetrators of these crimes will be identified and prosecuted.”