Ukraine’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Andriy Melnyk, stated that the official inclusion of the Russian army in the lists for sexual violence and crimes against children provides a definitive basis for the immediate removal of Russian personnel from all peacekeeping and police missions of the organization.
Andriy Melnyk / © Ukrinform
The inclusion of the Russian Armed Forces on the list of shame for rape and other forms of conflict-related sexual violence serves as grounds for Russia’s exclusion from participating in peacekeeping missions under the UN flag.
This was announced by Ukraine’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Andriy Melnyk, during a Security Council meeting, as reported by Ukrinform.
“What a disgrace for this inglorious Russian army and so-called law enforcement agencies, which are nothing more than a gang of rapists,” the permanent representative emphasized.
According to him, these crimes are not new to Ukraine, as they have been systematically documented since the beginning of the Russian occupation of Crimea and parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in 2014. Now, these facts have been independently verified and officially recorded by the UN.
Melnyk quoted the Secretary-General’s report, which confirms: “310 cases of conflict-related sexual violence, including rape, gang rape, genital mutilation, electric shock, and beatings of genitals concerning 280 men, 26 women, and four girls, committed by Russian armed and security forces, including the Federal Penitentiary Service, the Armed Forces of Russia, and the Federal Security Service.”
Melnyk addressed the Russian delegation with a proposal to leave the United Nations, as representatives of the Russian Federation had expressed criticism of UN documents concerning Moscow’s war crimes.
“If Russia is uncomfortable with all the General Assembly resolutions demanding the unconditional withdrawal of its troops, or more accurately, its war criminals from Ukrainian soil, if Russia rejects independent reports from relevant UN bodies exposing Moscow’s barbaric policies, perhaps it is time to say goodbye and leave the UN,” said the permanent representative.
He stressed that the Russian Federation was never properly admitted to the UN: “I don’t think anyone in this hall will shed tears when Russia finally slams the door and leaves. Every day, the Russian representative spits in all our faces with their lies, while we politely pretend it’s just rain.”
As the diplomat recalled, the Russian armed forces have been included in the UN Secretary-General’s report on violations concerning children in armed conflicts for three consecutive times.
“Now Russia is included in the lists within two key UN Security Council mechanisms – concerning children and armed conflict, and concerning conflict-related sexual violence,” Melnyk pointed out.
According to him, this decision cannot remain “merely a symbolic gesture.” Military forces that the Secretary-General has listed for conflict-related sexual violence cannot and should not participate in operations under the UN flag, the permanent representative noted, emphasizing that “Russian personnel must be removed from UN peacekeeping and police missions.”
Melnyk provided details about recent Russian shelling of Ukrainian cities, the strike on the spent nuclear fuel storage facility in the Chernobyl zone, and also refuted the lies about occupied Starobilsk, which Moscow is actively trying to spread on Putin’s orders.
Responding to further statements by the Russian delegation about the alleged staging of the Bucha massacre, Ukraine’s permanent representative expressed the opinion that in modern history, there is no other war crime that has been documented better. “And this will be the final verdict for the political leadership of Russia, because Bucha is a disgrace that will be borne not only by your government but also by the Russian people for decades and centuries,” he stated, addressing the representatives of the Russian Federation.
It should be noted that on Monday, June 8, the UN Security Council convened at Ukraine’s request for an emergency meeting following the latest massive Russian attack.
We remind you that the United States stated during a UN Security Council meeting that Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine had suffered a strategic failure.
Earlier, we wrote about the UN adding Russia to the “list of shame” for crimes against Ukrainian children.
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