Ukraine’s Permanent Representative to the UN Andriy Melnyk has once again drawn the attention of the United Nations to the questionable legal grounds on which Russia obtained its permanent seat on the UN Security Council, and called for it to be deprived of this status.
He made the remarks on Wednesday at high-level open debate “Upholding the Purposes and Principles of the UN Charter and Strengthening the UN-centered International System".
“It is time for the UN member states to finally show Russia a red card and deprive it from this unearned privilege,” Melnyk said.
He stressed that Ukraine was among the founding members of the United Nations, and that the Ukrainian people paid for the victory over Nazism in World War II with “millions of lives”.
“Therefore, for us, Ukrainians, the principles enshrined in the UN Charter are not abstract concepts written on paper. They are part of a legacy paid for with millions of lives,” the Permanent Representative said.
