The Ukrainian president addressed the Security Council, in the presence of the Russian ambassador to the UN.
Like the day before, the UN headquarters was the scene of lively discussions on the war in Ukraine on Wednesday September 20. Ukrainian President Volodylyr Zelensky spoke in an exceptional, in-person speech to the United Nations Security Council. In a sign of a tense atmosphere, the Russian ambassador complained at the start of the meeting that the Ukrainian president was allowed to speak before the other members of the Council, denouncing an instance “transformed into a one-man show” and in “show”. Franceinfo looks back at the highlights of the day.
Arms exchange between the Ukrainian president and the head of Russian diplomacy at the UN Security Council
The Ukrainian president and the head of Russian diplomacy Sergei Lavrov engaged in a long-distance skirmish before the UN Security Council. At the heart of the discussions: Russia’s right of veto.
“It is impossible to stop this war because all efforts are vetoed by the aggressor or those who support the aggressor”, launched Volodymyr Zelensky. He then called on the United Nations to withdraw Russia’s right of veto in the Security Council, linked to its seat as a permanent member inherited from the victorious USSR in World War II. He spoke of a major reform that is now necessary because “the right of veto in the hands of the aggressor blocks the UN”.
Once the Ukrainian president left the Council room, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov entered the inner circle, where his American counterpart Antony Blinken had just spoken. He replied to the Ukrainian president that the veto was a legal instrument “legitimate” vested in the five permanent members of the Security Council (United States, China, Russia, United Kingdom and France).
“The use of the veto is an absolutely legitimate tool stipulated in the Charter of the United Nations with the objective of preventing decisions leading to breakup” of the UN, defended the Russian minister. For around twenty minutes, he engaged in a violent diatribe against Ukraine, which he once again accused of having enacted laws “racist” against the Russians and being in the hands of “neo-Nazis”.
Poland announces that it no longer supplies arms to Ukraine
Tensions between kyiv and Warsaw are high. Poland summoned “emergency” the Ukrainian ambassador on Wednesday to protest against Volodymyr Zelensky’s comments at the UN. The Polish approach targets the remarks made on Tuesday by the Ukrainian president, according to which “some countries feign solidarity [à l’égard de l’Ukraine] by indirectly supporting Russia”. The Polish Deputy Foreign Minister, who received the Ukrainian diplomat, denounced this “false thesis with regard to Poland and particularly unjustified concerning Poland which has supported Ukraine since the first days of the war”according to the ministry press release.
kyiv responded by inviting the Polish side to “put emotion aside”. Tensions between Warsaw and kyiv, caused by the conflict over Ukrainian grain, imports of which Poland has banned to protect the interests of its farmers, have increased in recent days.
The Polish Prime Minister then declared on Wednesday evening that his country was no longer supplying weapons to kyiv because it was focusing on its own armament. “We no longer transfer any weapons to Ukraine, because we arm ourselves with the most modern weapons”said Mateusz Morawiecki, asked by a journalist about Poland’s military and humanitarian support for Ukraine despite the grain conflict.
Ukrainian strikes foiled in Crimea
The authorities of Crimea, annexed in 2014 by Moscow, announced that they had foiled Ukrainian strikes targeting Sevastopol and the region of this major port used by the Russian fleet. According to the governor of Sevastopol, Ukrainian forces targeted the city with missiles and two neighboring towns, Katcha and Verkhnessadovoye, with drones. All targets were shot down in the air by anti-aircraft defense, the leader assured on Telegram.
“Everything is calm in the city. Information on possible damage caused by the fallen pieces of the downed missiles and the victims is being clarified”, he indicated. On the Ukrainian side, Adriï Yussov, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense, simply indicated that kyiv’s forces continued to target “military targets of the occupiers” in Crimea.
Ukraine claims to have shot down Russian drones overnight
Ukrainian air defenses destroyed 17 Russian Shahed-type drones (out of 24) overnight, the Ukrainian army said in its daily report at the start of the day. The day before, 28 of these same devices out of 31 had been destroyed by Ukrainian air defenses, the army also indicated.
Russia uses these Iranian-made devices and missiles almost daily to attack Ukrainian cities. Two Russian drones were destroyed in the Dnipropetrovsk region (center-east), the local governor said, also on Telegram. The head of the military administration of the Poltava region (center) explained that the Kremenchuk oil refinery had been hit by a missile attack and that its activity was “temporarily suspended”.