Ukraine’s president is accusing Russia of undermining all norms of war and the United Nations Charter
Ukraine’s president accused Russia of waging “a criminal and unprovoked aggression” that undermines all norms of war and the U.N. charter Wednesday at a meeting of the U.N. Security Council. Volodomyr Zelenskyy also urged world leaders to strip Russia of its veto power.
The Ukrainian leader told the council that his proposal to end the 19-month war starts with adherence to the charter that ensures the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all 193 U.N. member nations. He stressed that restoration of all Ukrainian territory is the key to peace.
Before the meeting started, there was intense speculation about whether Zelenskyy and Russia’s top diplomat, Sergey Lavrov, would clash, speak or totally avoid each other. But no confrontation happened because Zelenskyy left the council soon after his address.
The meeting started with a clash over his speech. Before Lavrov arrived, Russian U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia protested the council president’s decision to allow Zelenskyy to speak ahead of the 15 council members.
He said Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, this month’s council president, was trying to turn the meeting into “a one-man stand-up show,” adding that it would be “nothing more than a spectacle” — a dig at Zelenskyy’s past as a comedian.
Rama cited the council rule allowing a nonmember to speak first. He added that “this is not a special operation by the Albanian presidency,” eliciting laughter with a quip about Russia’s insistence on referring to its offensive against Ukraine as a “special military operation.”
After another heated exchange over whether Nebenzia had referred to Rama as Albania’s prime minister and a NATO member instead of as the council president, Rama declared: “I take note, and we’ll continue with our session.”
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres then briefed the council, reiterating that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 was “in clear violation of the United Nations charter and international law.
