Russia's UN Security Council presidency looks extremely cynical amid Ukrainian POW's brutal execution

The Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the United Nations shared its statement on Twitter.

“Against the backdrop of this heinous crime, the presidency of the Russian Federation in the UN Security Council looks extremely cynical and detrimental for the credibility and capability of this organ. We reiterate that the country that has been acknowledged as the aggressor state by the UN General Assembly, the country that persists in committing the crime of aggression, war crimes and crimes against humanity, should not lead the activities of the UN organ, vested with primary responsibility to maintain international peace and security,” the statement says. 

Ukraine calls on the United Nations to verify Russia's compliance with the organization's Charter: “We rely on strong and resolute stance by the UN Member States in condemning the Russian war crimes and in addressing the incompatibility of the actions of the Russian Federation with the notion of "peace-loving State" in the meaning of the Article 4 of the UN Charter.”

The diplomats emphasized that Russia is deliberately implementing its policy of torture, violence, abuse, and the deliberate killing of captured Ukrainian military and civilians.

“We are appalled by a horrific video, posted yesterday on Russian propaganda social media accounts, with a Ukrainian prisoner of war, being decapitated by Russian soldiers. While posing on camera, Russian executioners take the life of a person with particular cynicism,” the statement says. 

The behavior of the Russian forces constitutes a gross violation of the Geneva Conventions and a war crime under the provisions of the Criminal Code of Ukraine and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. The horrific number of war crimes committed by the occupying Russian forces in Ukraine continues to grow every day, providing the world with new evidence of cruelty and inhumanity.

• On the evening of April 11, a video was posted online showing the Russian troops executing a man, calling him a Ukrainian soldier. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy also reacted to the video.

• Ukraine's Foreign Ministry asked The Hague to react to the video showing the execution of a Ukrainian soldier by the Russian forces. At the same time, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called for Russia's expulsion from the UN.

• Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov commented on the video of the execution of a Ukrainian prisoner of war by the Russian military and said it needed to be verified.

• The United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine and Council of Europe Secretary General Marija Pejčinović-Buryić reacted to the execution of a prisoner of war.