Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday questioned the effectiveness of the United Nations if Russia, as a permanent member of the Security Council, can simply veto any action proposed by the world body.
In a chilling and at times graphic video message to the nations on the Security Council, Mr. Zelenskyy described through a translator what he had seen Monday in Bucha, a suburb of Kyiv that had recently been abandoned by occupying Russian forces.
He said a number of women and children were murdered, with their hands tied behind their backs. Some were shot in the back of the head, execution-style, while others had their throats slashed. Russian tanks, Mr. Zelenskyy said, drove over civilian cars while people were still inside them.
“Women were raped and killed in front of their children,” he said, comparing the atrocities to actions from terrorist groups such as Islamic State. “But here it’s being done by a member of the United Nations Security Council.”
He said Russia has committed similar actions in other areas it has occupied following the invasion of Ukraine, charges the Kremlin has denied.
“Russian troops are deliberately destroying Ukrainian cities to ashes with artillery and air strikes. They are deliberately blocking cities [and] creating mass starvation,” Mr. Zelenskyy said. “They are deliberately shooting columns of civilians on the road who are trying to escape.”
Mr. Zelenskyy called for a wholesale reform of the United Nations. Allowing Russia to wield its Security Council veto power with impunity “undermines the whole architecture of global security,” he said.
“The U.N. system must be reformed immediately so that the veto is not just a ‘right to die,’” Mr. Zelenskyy said.
He also called for the establishment of a judicial body such as the post-WWII Nuremberg Tribunal to judge Russia‘s actions since the invasion began Feb. 24.
“The Russian military and those who gave them orders must be brought to justice immediately for war crimes,” Mr. Zelenskyy said.
The government of Russian President Vladimir Putin “wants to turn Ukraine into silent slaves,” the Ukrainian leader said at one point.
“The Russian military are looting openly the cities and villages that they have captured. This is why it’s called looting,” he said. “They are stealing everything, starting with food and earrings. Gold earrings that are pulled out and covered with blood.”