Ukraine's UN ambassador urges Security Council to strip Russia of permanent member status over attacks on Ukraine

Andrii Melnyk, Ukraine's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, has called on member states to find a political and legal mechanism to strip Russia of its status as a permanent member of the UN Security Council.

Source: Melnyk during an open UN Security Council debate, as reported by Ukrinform

Details: Melnyk said that among all wars and conflicts around the world, Russia's aggression against Ukraine "truly stands out for the brutality and systematic nature of violence inflicted against civilians".

Quote: "The first four months of this year [has been] the deadliest period for Ukrainian civilians ever."

Details: He noted that Russia had repeatedly targeted Ukraine's energy infrastructure throughout the winter in an attempt to "freeze millions of civilians into submission".

Melnyk also pointed to Russia's use of so-called double-tap strikes, in which a second attack follows shortly after the first "just to kill medical personnel and rescue workers".

Quote: "All the obligations to protect civilians will ultimately ring hollow unless acts of aggression like this and related war crimes are punished."

Melnyk urged Security Council members and the wider UN community to "confront this grotesque reality and to identify, finally, a political and legal way toward revoking Russia's status as a permanent member of this [Security] Council".

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