![](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/78\/590x\/secondary\/Russian-foreign-minister-Sergei-Lavrov-and-Volodymyr-Zelensky-refused-to-hear-one-another-s-speeches-4970034.jpg?r=1695245558753\")
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Any hopes of civility between Ukrainian and Russian officials at Wednesday\u2019s United Nations Security Council meeting were dashed before the top UN official Antonio Gutierrez could even speak.<\/p>\n
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was due to open the session despite not being a member of the council. The 15 countries present, minus Russia, wished to discuss Vladimir Putin\u2019s illegal invasion.<\/p>\n
But Russia\u2019s UN ambassador immediately tried to shut down the welcome before the Ukrainian leader could address the famous horse-shoed table.<\/p>\n
Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia accused the Albanian President, this month\u2019s council head, of trying to turn the meeting into a \u201cone-man stand-up show\u201d, a jab at Mr Zelensky\u2019s former job as a comedian, and implored the countries present to reconsider their invitation.<\/p>\n
The response from Albania\u2019s leader was blunt. \u201cGet out of Ukraine and Zelensky won\u2019t have to take the floor,\u201d he said. From then on, the meeting was doomed to fail – and it did not disappoint.<\/p>\n
READ MORE <\/strong> Ukraine’s Zelensky thrust into icy face-off with Russia at UN meeting[REVEAL ] <\/strong><\/p>\n Moments after the tense opening exchange, Mr Zelensky, having described Russia as a \u201cterrorist state\u201d, turned quickly against the council itself, furious that Ukraine\u2019s invaders remained a permanent member with veto powers that still allow them to block any UN action against them.<\/p>\n \u201cAll in the world see what makes the UN incapable,\u201d he said. \u201cThis seat in the Security Council, which Russia occupied illegally, through backstage manipulations following the collapse of the USSR, has been taken by liars whose job is to whitewash Russia\u2019s ongoing aggression and genocide.<\/p>\n \u201cVeto power in the hands of the aggressor is what has pushed the UN into a dead end. Regardless of who you are, the current UN system still makes you less influential than the veto power possessed by a few and misused by one \u2013 Russia \u2013 to the detriment of all other UN members.\u201d<\/p>\n After reciting his proposals to restructure the council, he concluded: \u201cUkrainian soldiers are currently doing at the expense of their blood what the UNSC should do by its voting – stopping aggression and upholding the UN Charter.\u201d<\/p>\n Throughout his impassioned speech, delivered to many of Ukraine\u2019s allies, Russia\u2019s ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, stared at his phone.<\/p>\n Don’t miss… <\/strong> We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info<\/p>\n UK deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden later accused Russia of being \u201cimpervious to United Nations demands\u201d.<\/p>\n Anthony Blinken, the US secretary of state, then opened his address by reciting in harrowing detail a visit to Yahidne, north Ukraine, where Russian soldiers tortured civilians in their own basements. As he continued detailing the dangerousness of the Kremlin\u2019s invasion, Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, hurriedly entered the room and sat down nearby. He was due to speak next.<\/p>\n The US is suffering from a \u201ccomplex of superiority\u201d, Lavrov said in his opening remarks. The US were ultimately responsible for a \u201ccoup\u201d in Ukraine that overthrew the \u201crightfully elected\u201d pro-Kremlin president Viktor Yanukovych in 2014, he added, justifying the \u201cspecial military operation\u201d. He then defended Russia\u2019s veto power at the UN as \u201clegitimate\u201d.<\/p>\n While his comments were nothing novel, Mr Blinken meticulously took handwritten notes as his Russian counterpart spoke. The Ukrainian ambassador, Sergiy Kyslytsya, responding in kind to his Russian counterpart during Mr Zelensky\u2019s speech, duly stared at his phone throughout.<\/p>\n Perhaps the most telling failure of the council meeting, however, was the absence of any of the five leaders of permanent seat holders, namely Russia, China, the US, the UK and France, all of whom hold unmatched sway in debates.<\/p>\n China\u2019s President Xi Jinping chose to skip the United Nations summit altogether amid tensions with the US and anger at its \u201cde-risking\u201d strategy. Vladimir Putin could not attend because the International Criminal Court has issued his arrest warrant, meaning he would be detained the minute he stepped on US soil. These two allied absences were obvious.<\/p>\n But President Joe Biden skipped the meeting because he was dealing with other matters in New York, while Rishi Sunak missed the event because he was busy watering down net zero pledges in London and French President Emmanuel Macron opted out to entertain King Charles in Paris. These were not instances of snubbing but rather evidence of a genuine apathy towards the council.<\/p>\n \u201cIt may be a reflection of what they see as the value of this organisation,\u201d Matthew Kroenig, senior director of the Atlantic Council\u2019s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, told the Financial Times.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s the place where leaders come and give public speeches but that really nothing meaningful gets done.\u201d<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/78\/590x\/secondary\/Vassily-Nebenzia-refused-to-pay-attention-as-Mr-Zelensky-addressed-the-council-4970038.jpg?r=1695245558812\")
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Putin humiliated as Ukraine saboteurs blow up planes at ‘doomsday’ airfield[REVEAL ] <\/strong>
Zelensky proposes peace plan as he warns Putin could expand conflict in Europe[REPORT] <\/strong>
Zelensky urges Donald Trump to show him his Ukraine peace plan to end war[REVEAL ] <\/strong><\/p>\n