UN chief: Ukraine war ‘unwinnable,’ country cannot be conquered

The United Nations chief says his discussions with officials indicate “there is enough on the table to cease hostilities now” and seriously negotiate peace between Russia and Ukraine.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres tells reporters that the war is “unwinnable,” and the only question is how many more lives will be lost and how many more cities like Mariupol will be destroyed before the war moves from the battlefield to the peace table.

“From my outreach with various actors, elements of diplomatic progress are coming into view on several key issues,” he said, enough to end hostilities now.

Guterres did not state what those elements are or answer any questions.

He said the war is intensifying and “getting more destructive and more unpredictable by the hour.” Ten million Ukrainians have already been forced to flee their homes.

“Even if Mariupol falls, Ukraine cannot be conquered city by city, street by street, house by house,” the secretary-general says.

Guterres says “the Ukrainian people are enduring a living hell,” and the war’s reverberations “are being felt worldwide with skyrocketing food, energy and fertilizer prices threatening to spiral into a global hunger crisis.”