Zelensky Demands Russia Be Expelled From UN Security Council

Update(11:54ET): In a dramatic Tuesday video address to the UN Security Council, Ukraine’s Zelensky detailed what he alleges are mass killings of civilians by Russian troops, complete with a brief graphic video showing death and destruction in recently retaken towns, including in Bucha. The Hill describes of the footage presented at the UN, “Among the images included what appeared to be the body of a man at the bottom of a well, the unclothed body of a child who was blindfolded and lying on top of other dead bodies, charred bodies piled on top of each other and trenches filled with bodies.”

Zelensky called into the question “the whole architecture of global security” which allows Russia to “go unpunished” and argued that Russia must be expelled from the UN Security Council. Here’s what he said: 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a dramatic video appearance at the United Nations called on the body to remove Russia from the Security Council days after evidence circulated of executions and atrocities by Russian troops in his country.

Zelensky said Russia should be removed from its place as a permanent member of the Security Council, where it holds veto power, arguing that it was time to reform the global peace-keeping body.

“We are dealing with a state that is turning the veto [in] the UN Security Council into the right to die,” Zelensky said in his remarks. “This undermines the whole architecture of global security and allows them to go unpunished.” 

“The main thing is today, it’s time to transform the system, the United Nations.” He went so far as to say the body should be “dissolved” if Russia remains in such a powerful position.

“If there is no alternative and no option, then the next option would be dissolve yourself altogether,” he said. 

Zelensky goes into graphic detail before the U.N., accusing Russian forces of slitting Ukrainians’ throats, raping and killing women in front of their children, cutting out tongues “because they didn’t hear what they wanted to.” He asks the security council where the security is.

— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) April 5, 2022

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is addressing the United Nations Security Council on the events in the city of Bucha, where Ukraine says at least 300 civilians were tortured and killed by Russian troops, which has triggered a fresh round of EU sanctions which are expected to hit Russian energy. Zelensky is expected to urge more help from the West before an international audience after previously charging Moscow with conducting “genocide”.

Biden had on Monday talked about “war crimes” and the need to bring Vladimir Putin to international justice at The Hague. As The Wall Street Journal describes, “The scale of the killings prompted Western leaders to vow a wide-ranging investigation into alleged war crimes and impose further penalties on Moscow as international outrage grows.” Biden had told reporters of Putin, “This guy is brutal, and what’s happening in Bucha is outrageous and everyone has seen it.” Watch Live:

Zelensky has in the past days accused the Kremlin of a cover-up in progress. 

“Probably, now the occupiers will try to hide the traces of their crimes,” Zelensky said as Ukrainian military videos depicting dead bodies strewn about the streets went viral. “They didn’t do this in Bucha when they retreated. But in another area it is possible.”

“It is now 2022. And we have much more tools than those who prosecuted the Nazis after World War II,” he said previously.

The Kremlin for its part has called the allegations over Bucha “without foundation” and an attempt to “smear” the Russian army, with a spokesman dismissing the charge of mass killings as a “monstrous forgery”. 

“It is a simply a well-directed – but tragic – show,” Kremlin spokesman Dimitry Peskov responded at a press conference. “It is a forgery aimed at denigrating the Russian army – and it will not work. We once again urge the international community: detach yourself from such emotional perceptions and think with your head.” He added: “Compare the facts and understand what a monstrous forgery we are dealing with.” Further Peskov called Biden’s war crimes remarks directed at Putin “unacceptable and unworthy” of a US leader.

developing…