MFA Ukraine spox reports on progress of expelling Russia from UN

This was stated by the spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Oleg Nikolenko, Ukrinform reports.

He praised the high interest of Ukrainian lawmakers in the topic of Russia's expulsion from the UN Security Council and the UN in general.

The spokesman emphasized that Russia’s abuse of the right of veto has reached an alarming scale and has become especially acute after February 24, 2022, when the Kremlin launched a full-scale war against Ukraine, blocking any actions of the key UN body responsible for maintaining international peace and security.

MFA Ukraine is convinced that numerous Russian crimes are a direct consequence of the violation of the procedures defined by the UN Charter for the acquisition by Russia of UN membership and status of a permanent member of the Security Council, which took place 31 years ago. That is why, having involved the best Ukrainian and foreign international legal experts, Ukrainian diplomacy developed a detailed, reasoned position on the illegitimacy of Russia's very presence in the UN Security Council and the UN as a whole, as well as on the need for the country’s expulsion.

"This position is that on December 1991, the Russian delegation usurped in the UN Security Council, without any statutory grounds, a seat of the USSR, a state that had ceased to exist at that time. The acquisition of the status of a permanent member of the UN Security Council by the Russian Federation was illegal. Having grossly violated the UN Charter, the Russian Federation felt total permissiveness and impunity. Evil unpunished in the past has led to bloody consequences in the present," Nikolenko stressed.

The diplomat added that on December 26, 2022, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine made an official statement and notified UN member states about the start of a systematic campaign to deprive Russia of its status as a permanent member of the UNSC. The statement strengthened the relevant resolution of the Verkhovna Rada, adopted early December.

"The government and parliament of Ukraine acted as one front to rally an international response against Russia's abuses at the UN," Nikolenko emphasized.

Immediately after posting the official statement, MFA Ukraine launched large-scale and systematic diplomatic efforts to mobilize a coalition of like-minded figures and promote the topic of Russia’s expulsion, the spokesman said. Minister Dmytro Kuleba repeatedly touched on the topic in his public speeches and at media briefings.

"Ukrainian diplomats have already worked on this in more than two dozen countries with the aim of involving them in taking part in global advocacy efforts for Russia's expulsion from the UN Security Council. In addition, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is already working with more than three dozen public opinion leaders and authoritative representatives of political, academic, and expert circles to lobby for the Ukrainian initiative. We are engaging people who could advocate this not only in specific countries, but also at the international level," Nikolenko informed.

According to the spokesperson, MFA Ukraine is currently finalizing the plan of measures and steps of the public advocacy campaign to expel Russia from the Security Council, while simultaneously holding consultations with partners regarding further diplomatic steps in this regard.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized that the issue is among the priorities of Ukraine's foreign policy, and invited all interested MPs to join forces to this end.

As reported, more than a hundred deputies of the Verkhovna Rada collected signatures for an appeal to Minister Kuleba to report on the progress of work toward Russia's expulsion from the UN Security Council.

On December 26, Ukraine initiated a complex process aimed at depriving Russia of its status as a permanent member of the UN Security Council and expelling the country from the UN as a whole.