Russia SC presidency a slap in the face: Ukraine

Russia’s presidency of the UN Security Council for the month of April is “a slap in the face to the international community”, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Saturday.

“I urge the current UNSC members to thwart any Russian attempts to abuse its presidency,” Kuleba said at the start of Russia’s tenure of the body’s rotating presidency.

In a statement on Twitter, Kuleba called Russia “an outlaw on the UNSC”.

Later this month, Moscow has said Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is planning to chair a UN Security Council meeting on “effective multilateralism”.

Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has also said that Lavrov will lead a debate on the Middle East on April 25.

The United States has criticised Russia’s role and its permanent seat on the Security Council.

“A country that flagrantly violates the UN Charter and invades its neighbour has no place on the UN Security Council,” White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said earlier.

“Unfortunately Russia is a permanent member of the Security Council and no feasible international legal pathway exists to change that reality,” she added, calling the presidency “a largely ceremonial position.”

Kuleba had earlier called Russia’s Security Council presidency “a bad joke”.

The presidency rotates every month between the 15 member states, and Moscow last chaired the council in February 2022.

Russia would hold little influence on decisions but would be in charge of the agenda.

Kyiv orders 100 armoured vehicles from Poland

Meanwhile, Ukraine has ordered 100 Rosomak multi-purpose armoured vehicles, which are made in Poland under a Finnish license, Poland’s prime minister said on Saturday. “I bring an order placed yesterday by (Ukrainian) Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal for 100 Rosomaks that will be fabricated here,” Mateusz Morawiecki said during a visit to the Rosomak manufacturing site in the southern Polish town of Siemianowice Slaskie.

The order will be financed through funds that Poland has received from the European Union and US funds that Ukraine has received, he said, without providing details or the overall cost of the contract.

The United States and its allies have provided Ukraine with a host of funding and weapons after Russia invaded its pro-Western ex-Soviet neighbour in February 2022.

The Rosomak is an 8x8 multi-purpose armoured vehicle manufactured under the license from Finland’s Patria.