Kuleba: Russian UN Security Council presidency 'a slap in the face to the international community'

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba urged the UN Security Council members to "thwart any Russian attempts to abuse its presidency."

In an April 1 tweet, Kuleba called Russia "an outlaw" in the council, arguing that Russia took the place of the USSR as a permanent member of the UN Security Council without legitimate ground, according to the UN Charter.

Russia will lead the United Nations Security Council in April, AFP News Agency reported on March 30, which Kuleba called earlier called "a bad joke" after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The Presidency of the United Nations Security Council rotates monthly between 15 member states.

The Security Council comprises five permanent members, including the U.S. and Russia, and ten non-permanent members that the General Assembly chooses for a two-year term.

Russia has repeatedly abused its position at the United Nations while attempting to justify its war of aggression against Ukraine.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told the U.N. General Assembly that Russia had “no choice” but to invade Ukraine, U.N. News reported in September 2022.

“I am convinced that any sovereign, self-respecting state would do the same in our stead, which understands its responsibility to its own people," Lavrov claimed, denying Ukrainian sovereignty on an international platform.

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Russian officials have also been condemned for documented war crimes committed on Ukrainian territory.

The Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) issued on March 17 arrest warrants for Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, the Russian official allegedly overseeing the forced deportations of over 16,000 Ukrainian children to Russia.

In response to the announcement, Russian ex-President Dmitriy Medvedev went on to threaten on March 20 a missile strike against the Hague.

"Everyone walks under God and missiles. It's quite possible to envision a scenario where a Russian ship stationed in the North Sea could strategically strike the Hague courthouse with a hypersonic Onyx (cruise) missile," Medvedev, who is currently the deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, wrote.

He went on to warn judges of the International Criminal Court to "look carefully at the sky."

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