Ukrainian, Russian envoys spar at heated UN meet

UNITED NATIONS • A visibly emotional Ukrainian ambassador traded barbs with his Russian counterpart during a heated late-night emergency United Nations Security Council meeting on the Russia-Ukraine crisis.

Mr Sergiy Kyslytsya on Wednesday implored the UN council, chaired by Russia, to "do everything possible to stop the war" against his country.

"It is the responsibility of these bodies to stop the war," Mr Kyslytsya told the meeting of the 15-member council, which began shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a military operation in Ukraine.

He urged Russia's UN ambassador Vassily Nebenzia to "call Putin, call (Foreign Minister Sergey) Lavrov to stop (the) aggression".

Mr Kyslytsya told Mr Nebenzia to "relinquish your duties as chair". Russia currently holds the rotating presidency of the council.

"There is no purgatory for war criminals. They go straight to hell, ambassador," he said.

In a series of heated exchanges, Mr Nebenzia said Russia was merely carrying out "a special military operation".

"This isn't called a war," he told his Ukrainian counterpart.

Mr Nebenzia later added: "I wanted to say in conclusion that we aren't being aggressive against the Ukrainian people, but against the junta that is in power in Kyiv."

After the meeting, Mr Kyslytsya described as "lunacy" the Moscow envoy's comments that Russia's incursion was not a war.

"You want me to dissect the crazy lunatic semantics of a person whose president violates the Charter, whose president declared a war and he is playing with words?" Mr Kyslytsya said in response to a question by a reporter. "And you have asked me to interpret. It is lunacy. It is lunacy."

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres made a direct, impassioned plea to Mr Putin to stop the military assault on Ukraine.

Speaking on Wednesday after the emergency Security Council session, a clearly emotional Mr Guterres said it was "the saddest day" of his tenure as United Nations chief.

"President Putin, in the name of humanity, bring your troops back to Russia.

"In the name of humanity, do not allow to start in Europe what could be the worst war since the beginning of the century," he said.

The United States said it would present a resolution condemning Russia's aggression against Ukraine at the Security Council yesterday, with a vote expected the following day.

"The council will need to act," said US ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield. However, the resolution is unlikely to pass because Russia has veto power.

Nato has no troops in Ukraine and has no plans to send any into the country, the alliance's secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg told a news conference.

"We have made it clear that we don't have any plans and intention of deploying Nato troops to Ukraine," he said.

"What we have made clear is that we have already increased and we are increasing the presence of Nato troops in the eastern part of the alliance on Nato territory."

Ukraine is a partner of the Western defence alliance, but not a Nato member.

Nato, the North Altantic Treaty Organisation, yesterday ordered its military commanders to intensify preparations to defend allied territory after Russia invaded Ukraine, putting hundreds of warplanes and ships on alert and agreeing to increase troop numbers on its eastern flank.

Mr Stoltenberg also said he had convened a virtual emergency summit of the alliance's 30 nations for today, which is set to include US President Joe Biden. They would be joined by the leaders of Sweden, Finland and European Union institutions.

The Nato chief said the invasion would have long-term effects on the Western alliance's relationship with Russia and Nato's security posture. "We don't have all the answers today. But it will be a new reality. It will be a new Europe after the invasion we saw today," he said.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS