Ukraine to demand Russia's removal from UN Security Council
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Russia's President Vladimir Putin accuses the West of attempting to "tear apart" his nation.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy appears on a screen as he addresses the United Nations Security Council via video link during a meeting. April 5, 2022. (Reuters)
Ukraine is prepared to demand that Russia be excluded from the UN Security Council on Monday, while Moscow says it stopped Kiev's most intense drone attack on its territory.
Kiev will make the demands ten months into the war in Ukraine and as Russia's President Vladimir Putin accused the West of attempting to "tear apart" his nation.
Russia claimed to have shot down a Ukrainian drone on Monday at its airfield in Engels, which is located more than 600 kilometers (370 miles) from the Ukrainian border.
Russian news agencies, quoting the defense ministry, said three people were killed by debris. Moscow blames Ukraine for attacks on its territory while there was no comment from Kiev.
Read next: Excluding Russia from UNSC only possible if UN disbanded: Diplomat
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Sunday that Kiev will call for Russia to be stripped of its permanent membership in the UN Security Council, which Moscow sits on with the US, the UK, France, and China.
"Tomorrow we will officially express our position. We have a very simple question: Does Russia have the right to remain a permanent member of the UN Security Council and to be in the United Nations at all?" Kuleba said. "We have a convincing and reasoned answer -- no, it does not." The five permanent members of the powerful 15-seat Security Council have veto power that can block any resolution.
Earlier this week, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has stated that he is not optimistic about the possibility of "effective" peace talks between Ukraine and Russia in the near future.
''I do believe that the military confrontation will go on,'' said Guterres at the UN Headquarters in New York. Adding that they will have to wait for serious peace negotiations, Guterres said "We have no illusions that true peace negotiations will be possible in the immediate future.''
Last month, Putin said Europeans are adopting a policy targeted at excluding Russia in numerous formats, including the Nagorno-Karabakh issue. "As for the meeting in Prague without the participation of Russia. Why without our participation — it is clear to us, and there is no need to explain to anyone," Putin said.
"Our European partners are pursuing their policy in such a way as to try to exclude Russia from all formats. It is completely clear, that in some situations it is absolutely unrealistic, it is impossible, for example, as in this case," he underlined.
