On Wednesday night (23), the UN holds an emergency Security Council meeting to discuss the crisis between Russia and Ukraine. The meeting started around 9:40 pm in New York (11:40 pm in Brasília).
The first speech was by Antônio Guterres, UN Secretary General. He made a clear appeal to Russian President Vladimir Putin: If an operation is being prepared, I have only one thing to say: stop your troops from attacking Ukraine. Give peace a chance. Many people have already died.”
A few minutes after Guterres’ speech, Putin announced in a speech on Russian state TV a military operation in Ukrainian territory.
The UN meeting, however, continued in the same vein. Representatives of Security Council members continued to read their speeches in which they generally asked to resolve the issue diplomatically, despite warnings of the seriousness of the situation.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, US Representative, gave one of the most incisive speeches. “We are here tonight because we believe that a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine is imminent. Tonight, we saw Russia close airspace, move troops into Dombass and move forces into combat positions.
Ambassador Ronaldo da Costa Filho spoke on behalf of Brazil. “Reports of troop movements in certain areas of Ukraine are of great concern. The threat or use of force against the territorial integrity, sovereignty and political independence of a UN member state is unacceptable,” he said.
The SC meeting is chaired by Vasily Nebenzya, representative of Russia. The leadership position of the collegiate is rotating and changes every month. According to The Guardian, he told reporters: “I’m starting to like the night meetings.”
This was the second emergency CS meeting in three days. On Monday (21), the representatives also held a night meeting, which ended without the announcement of measures.
Russia is a permanent member of the Council and, as such, has veto power to bar resolutions. Thus, it is able to contain measures that harm it. The collegiate can apply international sanctions and order the deployment of peacekeepers, among other functions. Currently, Russia is also the chairman of the Council — the position rotates and changes every month.
