One year into its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia today on April Fool's Day, assumes the presidency of the UN Security Council, a development described as both "a bad joke" and “the lowest point in the history of the United Nations."
Ukraine has called for Russia to be removed from the Security Council over its full-scale invasion launched in February last year, and the U.S. has also criticised the move.
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"A country that flagrantly violates the UN Charter and invades its neighbor has no place on the UN Security Council," White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said.
"Unfortunately Russia is a permanent member of the Security Council and no feasible international legal pathway exists to change that reality," she added, calling the presidency "a largely ceremonial position."
"Russian UN Security Council presidency on April 1 is a bad joke," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on Twitter earlier this week.
Russian UN Security Council presidency on April 1 is a bad joke. Russia has usurped its seat; it’s waging a colonial war; its leader is a war criminal wanted by the ICC for kidnapping children. The world can’t be a safe place with Russia at UNSC #BadRussianJoke #InsecurityCouncil
— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) March 30, 2023
Here are just some of the murderous things Russia has done in the last week alone...
Sunday 26th
- Russian forces opened fire on a humanitarian aid delivery point in the city of Kherson, injuring two civilians.
- Two civilians were killed after the towns of Chasiv Yar and Toretsk were hit by Russian artillery.
- Five civilians were injured in Kherson as a result of shelling by Russian forces.
- New drone footage shows the extent of Russian destruction of the city of Vuhledar.
A bit more than a year ago this used to be the town of Vuhledar of around 15k residents. Then russia erased it from the ground. Terrorist state can't take us over, but it can kill us & destroy our settlements, town by town. Why are we denied F16 and Atacms?
— Olena Halushka (@OlenaHalushka) March 26, 2023
Photo Pavlo Kyrylenko pic.twitter.com/IL7ilp7wTN
Monday 27th
- NATO condemns Putin’s announcement that Russia will station tactical nuclear weapons in neighbouring Belarus as “dangerous and irresponsible.”
- Russian missiles punched through buildings in the eastern Ukrainian town of Sloviansk on Monday, killing two people in their cars and wounding more than 30, police said. Dmytro Nogin, a senior officer from Kramatorsk district police, told journalists that "at around 10:30 there was a missile attack on the city. Two people have already died. It was people driving by, chance victims."
- One civilian was injured when a kamikaze drone hit the town of Nikopol.
Tuesday 28th
- Russia launches overnight kamikaze drone attack against Ukrainian cities.
Late at night on March 27, 2023, russian terrorists attacked Ukraine using drones and guided aerial bombs. 14 out of 15 attack UAVs "Shahed-136/131" were shot down.
— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) March 28, 2023
- The Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office reveals 465 Ukrainian children have been killed and over 943 injured since the launch of the full-scale invasion last year.
- One civilian was injured by a Russian guided bomb in Sumy region.
- Ukrinform releases a video showing how Russians have destroyed hundreds of Ukrainian churches and prayer houses since the launch of the full-scale invasion last year.
Wednesday 29th
- One civilian is injured after a Russian strike damages houses and a kindergarten in the Kharkiv region.
- Officials reveal 19,514 Ukrainian children have been illegally deported to Russia houses since the launch of the full-scale invasion last year.
Thursday 30th
- One civilian was killed and two more were injured by Russia shelling of Huliaypole, Zaporizhzhia region.
- Russia launches overnight drone attack against Ukrainian cities.
❗️Consequences of rocket attacks on Kharkiv and #Shahed attack on #Izium district.
— KyivPost (@KyivPost) March 31, 2023
As a result, five people were injured.
An administrative building and a critical infrastructure facility were damaged, the #Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor's Office reported. pic.twitter.com/yAIGCOhCQO
Friday 31st
- Two civilians – including a baby boy – are killed by Russia shelling in Avdiivka, Donetsk region.
- Two civilians were injured by Russian shelling in the Zaporizhzhia region.
- Friday also marked the one-year anniversary of the liberation of Bucha where Russia committed numerous atrocities.
When Bucha was de-occupied, the heinous truth about what was happening in the temporarily occupied territories was revealed to the world.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) March 31, 2023
We will never forget the victims of this war, and we will certainly bring all Russian murderers to justice. pic.twitter.com/jyuVQ8VMvB
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