UNSC to hold several meetings in January on Russian war against Ukraine - de Rivière

The UN Security Council in January will hold several meetings on the issue of Russia’s war against Ukraine in the wake of intensified strikes targeting Ukrainian cities.

That’s according to Permanent Representative Nicholas de Rivière of France, the country currently presiding over the Security Council.

“As the president of the security council, the only thing I can tell is that it's pretty likely that we will have meetings on Ukraine during the month of January,” de Rivière said, adding that the first such meeting could be held as early as next week if the issue is agreed with other UNSC member states.

“The situation in Ukraine remains extremely dire. I think it's not improving. I think it's deteriorating. You may have seen over the last days that numbers of military actions, bombings, missiles and drones from Russia on Ukraine as increased,” the diplomat said.

Russia is targeting civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, including power plants, energy facilities, schools, and hospitals, he stressed.

“So there is a clear agenda designed to scare the population,” de Rivière said, adding that this is “totally contrary” to the international humanitarian law to the Geneva Conventions.

“And I think this all war in Ukraine is just a blatant violation of the UN Charter,” he underlined.

There is currently no hope for any peace negotiations in the short term, the official believes.

Among the priorities of the Security Council's work in January, its current chair named improving the situation in the Middle East, Ukraine, Sudan, the Sahel region, the Horn of Africa, and Haiti.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, in January, the UN Security Council is chaired by France. Since year-start, the UNSC composition has been updated by a third. Algeria, Guyana, Slovenia, Sierra Leone, and South Korea became non-permanent members. Albania, Brazil, Gabon, Ghana, and the UAE completed their two-year membership in the UNSC.