Tensions rise at the United Nations Security Council meeting amid Russian efforts to annex Ukrainian territory and the United States introducing a resolution condemning Moscow over so-called referendums being carried out in four regions of Ukraine.
US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield declared that the UN Security Council did not support the use of force to redraw borders. The resolution is expected to be largely symbolic as Russia will most likely veto it.
UN Security Council Meeting
However, Thomas-Greenfield said that the United States will seek to bring the vote to the UN General Assembly in the case that Moscow "chooses to shield itself from accountability." Furthermore, the resolution would require Russia to withdraw its military forces from Ukraine, said the ambassador.
US diplomats are expected to engage with all nations in the security council behind the scenes, including diplomats from China and India, in an effort to get them to vote in favor of the resolution. Thomas-Greenfield argued that Russia wants to annex the Ukrainian territories in an attempt to take them by force, which the UN charter was designed to prevent, as per CNN.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, instead of attending the high-level week, announced a renewed conscription effort in Russia. He also instructed areas under Moscow's military control to prepare for illegitimate snap referenda.
Thomas-Greenfield argued that Putin sent an emissary, who threatened the use of nuclear weapons, on a non-nuclear country, to secure Russia's illegitimate military gains. She said that the purpose of these was to try to annex Ukrainian territories.
According to the Washington Post, the situation comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russia just concluded "sham referendums." The official argued that Moscow's actions rule out any talks as long as Putin remains president. He also called for Russia's "complete isolation" and urged tough new global sanctions.
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Annexing Ukrainian Territories
Zelensky spoke to the UN Security Council via video link despite Russian objections and urged additional military and financial support to help Ukraine defend itself against Moscow's aggression. The referendums, which Kyiv denounced and its Western allies argued were rigged, took place in the Russian-controlled Luhansk and Kherson regions, as well as in occupied areas of the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions.
On Tuesday, pro-Moscow officials said that residents in all four occupied areas of Ukraine voted in support of joining Russia. It was a likely prelude to annexations possibly within the next few days that would set the stage for a new and possibly more dangerous phase of the war.
Zelensky warned that any form of annexation in the modern world is a crime against all states that consider the inviolability of borders to be vital for themselves. The Ukrainian president accused Moscow of destroying the "main body of international law."
The UN Security Council, which has met more than 20 times on Ukraine this year, has yet to take meaningful action because Russia is a permanent veto-wielding member along with Britain, China, France, and the United States. Vassily Nebenzia, Russia's ambassador to the UN, did not directly address the resolution brought by Thomas-Greenfield, Reuters reported.
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