New York, 3 January 2024 (dpa/MIA) - The French ambassador to the UN Security Council, who holds the presidency for January, says he is pessimistic about the fighting in Ukraine in 2024.

"I think it's not improving, I think it's deteriorating," said France's UN Ambassador Nicolas de Rivière in New York on Tuesday.

The number of Russian drone and missile attacks is increasing and they are obviously targeting Ukraine's civilian infrastructure, said de Rivière.

"There is a clear agenda, designed to scare the population," he said. "All of this is totally contrary to international humanitarian law."

De Rivière had no hope that negotiations between the warring parties would be possible in the short term, but efforts to bring peace to Ukraine should be maintained as a matter of urgency, he said.

MIA file photo