The Russian Federation assumed presidency of the U.N. Security Council on April 1, as Moscow wages war on Kyiv, in a move that Ukraine’s president said showed the institution’s “total bankruptcy.”
Russia last held the post at the intergovernmental body, which is tasked with maintaining peace and combating acts of international aggression, in February 2022, when President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of neighboring Ukraine in violation of Article 2(4) of the U.N. Charter.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called Russia’s presidency of the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) a “slap in the face to the international community.”
As Russia takes charge of the council, Putin stands accused by the International Criminal Court (ICC) of war crimes. The ICC is an international justice body that’s not associated with the U.N.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also expressed outrage at the situation, calling the U.N.’s adherence to its procedural rules in the face of clear violations by member states an absurd and destructive move.
“Unfortunately, we ... have some obviously absurd and destructive news,” he said in his daily video address, adding that Russian shelling had killed a 5-month-old boy on March 31.
“And at the same time, Russia is chairing the U.N. Security Council. It’s hard to imagine anything that proves more the total bankruptcy of such institutions.”
The Kremlin and Russian officials vowed to “exercise all its rights” in the role, following what it said were attempts by the United States to strip it of its right to assume the presidency.
Dmitry Polyansky, Russia’s first deputy permanent representative to the U.N., said on his Telegram channel that “international law and procedure rules, developed over decades are actually in effect in the U.N., instead of the ‘rule-based order,’ which the collective West seeks to replace international law with,” reported Russian state media TASS.
“As a president should be, we will act as an honest broker, just like we did in February 2022, when our presidency coincided with the beginning of the special operation,” the official noted. “Any attempts to provoke us are doomed to fail in advance. Unlike our former Western partners, we play fair [in] the international arena and we do not promote double standards.”
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on March 30 urged Russia to “conduct itself professionally” when it assumes the role, saying there were no means to block Moscow from the post.
“Unfortunately, Russia is a permanent member of the Security Council, and no feasible international legal pathway exists to change that reality,” she said, adding that the United States expects Russia “to continue to use its seat on the council to spread disinformation.”
Zelenskyy, echoing conservative voices in the West, says it’s time for a general overhaul of global institutions, including the Security Council.
“Reform is obviously necessary to prevent a terrorist state—and any other state that wants to be a terrorist—from destroying the peace,” he said.
Some 400 days into the war—which has killed thousands, destroyed Ukrainian cities, and forced millions of civilians to flee—Russia continues to take over parts of the country, pressing on with its assault in the east.
Earlier, Zelenskyy adviser Andriy Yermak also hit out at Iran, which Kyiv and its allies accuse of supplying Russia with arms. Tehran denies that it’s giving weapons to Russia.
