UNITED NATIONS, July 23. /TASS/. The US-led coalition’s strikes on the Houthi rebels in Yemen have failed to weaken their potential but only consolidated their authority in the region, which entailed an increase in the number of attacks on civilian vessels, Russian Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya said.

"Instead of making efforts to calm down the situation, some countries are extinguishing fire with gasoline and are opting for a force method. This can be said about the situation in the Red Sea, where the so-called coalition led by the United States and United Kingdom is carrying out aggression against Yemen," he said at a meeting of the UN Security Council on the situation in Yemen. "Although strikes on the territory of this sovereign Middle East country have been continuing for nearly six months, they have failed to impair the Houthis’ military potential and we saw it on the example of their attack on Tel Aviv. Moreover, we see an opposite effect: the movement has consolidated its authority in the region and the intensity of attacks on commercial ships increased."

"Russia rejects the use of forces against Yemeni opponents," he stressed. "We insist on the need to ensure safe navigation, condemn any actions that threaten ships."

Following the escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis warned that they would launch strikes on Israeli territory while barring ships associated with the Jewish state from passing through the waters of the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait until Tel Aviv ceased its military operation against Palestinian radical group Hamas in the embattled enclave. Since mid-November, dozens of civilian ships have been attacked by the Houthi in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

In response to Ansar Allah's actions, the US authorities announced the creation of an international coalition and preparations for an operation codenamed Prosperity Guardian, expected to ensure freedom of navigation and protection of ships in the Red Sea. Since then, the United States and the United Kingdom have been regularly delivering strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen.