Poroshenko urges UN to help resolve situation in Ukraine

"The Armed Forces of Ukraine and volunteers desperately fight in Donbas against the Russian aggression. Unfortunately, Ukraine is one of those countries that need assistance of the United Nations," the President said. Poroshenko called on the UN General Assembly member states to support Ukraine granting it a status of non-permanent member of the Organization. "Should Ukraine gain a seat in the Security Council for the term of 2016-2017 with the [local] elections to be held in just a few weeks, the issue of consolidation of UN peacekeeping will be among our key priorities," Poroshenko said. "Ukraine has well deserved its reputation as a "peacekeeping nation". Since its independence, more than 34,000 Ukrainian "blue helmets" have participated in over 20 operations under UN auspices, bringing peace and security to war-torn regions. The courage of Ukrainian helicopter pilots in the UN Operations in Cote d'Ivoire and Liberia has become legendary," the President said.