UN Chief Appoints Russian Ambassador to Lead Global Mine Action Unit
António Guterres has named Gleb Desyatnikov, Russia's former ambassador to Jordan, as the new head of the department coordinating peacekeeping police and mine clearance worldwide.
By Anthony Shevchenko ·
The United Nations now has a Russian diplomat leading its global mine action and police coordination efforts.
Secretary-General António Guterres announced the appointment of Gleb Desyatnikov as the Assistant Secretary-General for Mine Action and Police. The decision places Desyatnikov in charge of a division within the Department of Peace Operations. This office manages UN police contingents in peacekeeping missions and coordinates mine action activities globally.
Desyatnikov has spent more than 35 years in government and multilateral diplomacy. The UN described his career as spanning conflict-affected regions and roles in international relations. His background includes work in political affairs and security issues. He is proficient in English and Arabic. He graduated from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations.
His most recent role was Russia's ambassador to Jordan, a position he held starting in 2018. Before that, he served as deputy director of the Middle East and North Africa Department at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2010 to 2018. From 2004 to 2010, he worked as a senior adviser on regional affairs at the Russian Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York. He also served on the UN Special Commission on Iraq from 1994 to 1997.
The appointment follows a similar move in April 2017. At that time, Guterres named Alexandre Zouev, another Russian official, as Assistant Secretary-General for Rule of Law and Security Institutions. Zouev’s portfolio included oversight of UN peacekeeping police and the UN Mine Action Service. The current selection has drawn attention to the presence of Russian officials in sensitive UN security roles.
The decision arrives amid high geopolitical tension. In March 2022, the UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to condemn Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The resolution called for the immediate withdrawal of Russian troops. Ukrainian diplomats urged the Secretariat to remove Russian citizens from senior and security-related positions during that period.
Further diplomatic developments have added complexity to the situation. In March 2023, the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin regarding the unlawful deportation of Ukrainian children. That same month, a UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry released a report documenting evidence of widespread torture, executions of civilians, and sexual violence committed by Russian forces in Ukraine.
Russian military structures and private military companies have also influenced the closure of UN peacekeeping missions in Africa. Missions in Mali and the Central African Republic have seen Russian support for military juntas. Human rights reports have named these entities in connection with mass killings of civilians in the region.
Mine action is particularly relevant to Ukraine's current needs. In April 2024, UN bodies and the Ukrainian government stated that Ukraine had become the most heavily mined country in the world. More than 156,000 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory require surveying and clearance of mines and unexploded ordnance. Desyatnikov's new role will involve overseeing the global coordination of these clearance and police operations.
