Ending weeks of speculation, Russian forces started attacking Ukraine today morning. The invasion was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin announced in an early morning speech on TV warning other nations against interfering in Russian operations in Ukraine. Putin said that Russia has no plan to occupy Ukraine, but added that the response will be instant if anyone tried to stop the Russian military.
Shortly afterwards, Ukrainian military bases were bombed using cruise and ballistic missiles. Reportedly, all air force bases in Ukraine have been destroyed by the Russian bombing. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said that Putin has launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and announced that martial law has been imposed in the country.
Amid this invasion, the Ukrainian Ambassador to the United Nations delivered a strongly worded speech, directly addressing the Russian ambassador. During an emergency meeting of the Security Council, Ukrainian ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya told his Russian counterpart Vasily Nebenzya that war criminals go straight to hell.
At the meeting held in New York almost an hour after the address by Putin, the Ukrainian Ambassador blasted the Russian Ambassador for launching the attack on his country. He said that less than an hour ago he was planning confirm from the Russian envoy that Russia will not attack Ukraine today, but that has become useless now.
“So when I was coming here an hour ago, I was intending to ask the Russian ambassador to confirm on the record that the Russian troops will not start firing at Ukrainians today. It became useless 48 minutes ago. Because about 48 minutes ago your president declared a war on Ukraine,” he said.
It is too late to speak about the escalation (of Russian hostilities), Ukraine’s ambassador to UN Sergiy Kyslytsya tells the Security Council.
— CNBC International (@CNBCi) February 24, 2022
Addressing his Russian counterpart, Kyslytsya said: “You declared a war. It is the responsibility of this body to stop the war.” pic.twitter.com/7b0kGrTK6r
At present Russia is the President of the UN Security Council, and Sergiy Kyslytsya asked Russia to leave the position if it is not able to protect Ukraine from the invasion by Russia. “If you are not in the position to give an affirmative answer, the Russian Federation ought to relinquish responsibilities of the President of the Security Council, pass these responsibilities onto a legitimate member of the Security Council, a member that is respectful of the charter,” he said.
He also appealed the members of the UNSC to convene an emergency meeting immediately and consider all necessary decisions to stop the war. “Because it is too late my dear colleagues to speak about de-escalation, too late. The Russian President declared war,” the ambassador said.
He also asked the Russian envoy whether he should play the video of Putin’s address. He reiterated his demand that Russia should step down from the presidency of UNSC and asked Vasily Nebenzya to call Putin to end the war. He told Nebenzya, “There is no purgatory for war criminals, they go straight to hell ambassador.”
In response, Vasily Nebenzya said that Russia is only aggressive towards the government in Kyiv and not against general Ukrainians. The Russian ambassador further said, “I am sure the ppl of Ukraine will be happy when they are liberated from the regime that occupied them”.
The Ukrainian Ambassador also told the media that it’s a historical embarrassment that the UN failed to prevent the war against Ukraine by Russia.
It’s a historical embarrassment that the #UN failed to prevent the war against #Ukraine by #Russia, @SergiyKyslytsya tells reporters. pic.twitter.com/M8lL5NvmEk
— Steve Herman (@W7VOA) February 24, 2022
After the video of the Ukrainian Ambassador’s speech at the UNSC appeared on social media, netizens reacted by reminding how the United Nations have yet again failed to stop a war. They noted that while the United Nations Security Council is responsible for ensuring that sovereign nations are not invaded by hostile nations, Russia is actually a permanent member of the UNSC, and its president for the current month.
What a fucked up UN system we have with five permanent members of the security council. And guess what; one of those members (Russia) happens to be chairing the SC this month. Guess what will happen? Nothing. Putin will take full advantage of this. https://t.co/kqmOv58VYg
— Nigel Bankes (@BankesNigel) February 24, 2022
As the five permanent members of UNSC have veto power, it means that any resolution against Russia will not be passed. This means, the most important UN body at this moment has become lame duck. Netizens remarked that Putin will take full advantage of this situation.
“The UN was created to prevent wars exactly like this. What a mockery that Russia presided over the Security Council to justify what the Security Council was founded to prevent,” remarked American author Ben Rhodes, who was former Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications and Speechwriting under President Barack Obama.
The UN was created to prevent wars exactly like this. What a mockery that Russia presided over the Security Council to justify what the Security Council was founded to prevent.
— Ben Rhodes (@brhodes) February 24, 2022
Journalist Siobhan Kennedy noted the irony that the very moment the UNSC meeting chaired by Russia had started, Putin had launched his invasion of Ukraine.
The irony that as the UN Security Council, currently chaired by none other than Russia, holds an emergency meeting about Ukraine, is the very moment Putin launches his invasion. https://t.co/j1VC9uFcPI
— siobhan kennedy (@siobhankennedy4) February 24, 2022
Washington Post journalist Paul Sonne tweeted that it is “perhaps one of the most powerless moments for the United Nations Security Council”, as it can’t take any action against its permanent member Russia.
Perhaps one of the most powerless moments for the United Nations Security Council, reading statements as Russia fires on multiple Ukrainian cities at once.
— Paul Sonne (@PaulSonne) February 24, 2022
Avi Yemini from Rebel News kept it short and simple, “The UN is the most useless body in the world”.
The @UN is the most useless body in the world.
— Avi Yemini (@OzraeliAvi) February 24, 2022
RT if you agree. #DefundTheUN
pic.twitter.com/XXO5imizbx
It may be noted that United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had made a personal appeal to Russia to not invade Ukraine. He had appealed to Putin to stop the Russian troops from entering Ukraine, but that appeal proved to be futile.
As the United Nations failed to stop yet another global crisis, it is found in meddling in affairs that it has no business to be interfering. At a time when Russia was mobilising its troops along the Ukraine border, the UN was busy in inferring in a legal investigation in India against so-called journalist Rana Ayyub.
Rana Ayyub had collected a large amount in donations in the name of helping victims of flood and covid, but she herself had admitted that she could not spend the amount. There were multiple irregularities in her fundraising campaign, and as a result, ED had attached her property worth Rs 1.77 crore.
This was just a regular fraud probe against a citizen, but the UN had made it a global issue by claiming that it was a “relentless misogynistic and sectarian attacks online against journalist Rana Ayyub”, and had called for an investigation. The official Twitter handle of UN Geneva had called the legal action against Rana Ayyub “judicial harassment”.
Similarly, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) has also become heavily biased towards Islamists, and as a result, has become a defunct body. It was found to be taking Pakistan’s line on Kashmir and had condemned the deportation of illegal Rohingya refugees by India. In fact, the USA has already quit UNHRC calling it a “cesspool of political bias”.
The United Nations and other bodies associated with have been utterly unable to prevent any wars or conflicts, and has been shown to act only at those who threaten the status quo of the global order. Despite repeated violations of human rights and regular threats to invade Taiwan, the UN is unable to take any action against China. But when terrorists are killed or legal actions are taken against fraudsters in India, the UN and its affiliates become active to condemn India.
