Russia’s exclusion from UN Security Council is among top priorities of Ukraine's foreign policy - Ukrainian MFA

Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleh Nikolenko made the statement on his Facebook page.

The Foreign Ministry spokesperson emphasized that this issue is one of the priorities of Ukraine's foreign policy, and the Foreign Ministry is "finalizing the plan of activities and steps of the public campaign to advocate for this process, while consulting with partners on further diplomatic steps in this direction."

"We are convinced that the implementation of such a complex task requires consolidation of all efforts in the public, political and diplomatic spheres. We are open to cooperation and invite all interested members of the Ukrainian Parliament to join forces in this area. We will be grateful for the involvement of MPs in the work at all possible levels and platforms," Nikolenko added.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted that the abuse of the veto by Russia "has become outrageous," and especially aggravated after February 24, 2022, when Russia launched a full-scale war against Ukraine, while blocking any actions of the UN Security Council, which is responsible for maintaining international peace and security.

"Numerous Russian crimes are a direct consequence of the violation of the procedures for Russia's membership in the UN and permanent membership in the Security Council, which took place 31 years ago," the Foreign Ministry emphasized. 

According to the spokesperson, the ministry engaged Ukrainian and foreign international lawyers and developed a reasoned position on the illegitimacy of Russia's membership in the UN Security Council and the UN as a whole and the need to expel it.

"This position is as follows: in December 1991, the Russian delegation usurped the seat of the USSR, a state that had ceased to exist at that time, in the UN Security Council without any statutory basis. The Russian Federation's acquisition of the status of a permanent member of the UN Security Council was illegal. Having grossly violated the UN Charter, the Russian Federation felt total permissiveness and impunity. Unpunished evil in the past has led to bloody consequences in the present," the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman said. 

The ministry also reminded that it had made an official statement and officially notified UN member states of the launch of a systematic campaign to deprive Russia of its status as a permanent member of the Security Council.

"Ukrainian diplomats have already worked in more than 20 countries to engage them in global advocacy for the expulsion of Russia from the UN Security Council. In addition, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is already working with more than 30 opinion leaders and authoritative representatives of political, academic and expert circles to advocate for the Ukrainian initiative. We are engaging people who could advocate not only in specific countries but also at the international level. The work is ongoing, so the number of countries and advocates will continue to grow," the Foreign Ministry added.

• On December 26, 2022, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that Ukraine had initiated the process of expelling Russia from the Security Council and the UN as a whole.

• On December 28, the Polish Foreign Ministry said that international law allows Russia to be expelled from the UN.

• On February 9, an outlet reported that 101 members of the Verkhovna Rada called on Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba to report on the progress of Russia's expulsion from the UN.