Topline
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for Russia to be removed from the U.N. Security Council during a video address to the council Tuesday, questioning the intergovernmental body’s effectiveness in promoting peace as his government presents mounting evidence that Russian forces have committed war crimes in Ukraine.
President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the United Nations’ Security Council in New York City on … [+] Tuesday.
AFP via Getty Images
Key Facts
“Where is the security that the Security Council is supposed to guarantee?” Zelensky said, demanding Russia to be removed from its permanent seat on the Security Council, which gives it the ability to veto any actions proposed by other members of the group.
In his speech, Zelensky described in detail evidence that Russian troops massacred hundreds of civilians in the Kyiv suburb Bucha.
Zelensky also called for an international tribunal similar to the Nuremberg trials to prosecute those accountable.
Crucial Quote
“Are you ready to close the U.N.? Do you think that the time of international law is gone? If your answer is no, then you need to act immediately,” Zelensky said through a translator in his address.
Key Background
President Joe Biden said Monday he believes war crimes had been committed in Bucha, calling for Russian President Vladimir Putin to be prosecuted. The European Union is sending investigators to Ukraine to support a war crimes probe, Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said Monday. Russia has maintained that Ukraine had faked a massacre in Bucha, but U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, told reporters Tuesday the reports out of Bucha are “more than credible,” saying there’s evidence it was “a deliberate campaign to kill, to torture, to rape, to commit atrocities.”
Surprising Fact
In February, the U.N. Security Council voted to adopt a resolution demanding Russia end its invasion of Ukraine, but Russia, which has veto power as a permanent member of the council, blocked the resolution.
Tangent
The European Union proposed a ban Tuesday on Russian coal imports to the bloc, which would be the first EU ban of any energy product from Russia, which is the EU’s largest coal supplier. Biden said Monday the U.S. will soon unveil further sanctions against Russia related to the new reports of atrocities.
Further Reading
Ukraine’s Zelensky to Address U.N. With Claims of Alleged Russian War Crimes (Wall Street Journal)
Biden Urges War Crimes Trial Against Putin After Bucha Massacre, Says More Sanctions Coming (Forbes)
EU Proposes First Energy Ban Against Kremlin, Halting Russian Coal Imports (Forbes)
