Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave an impassioned speech to the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday, urging representatives not to let permanent member Russia continue to go unpunished for what he described as "The most terrible war crimes" since World War II. His remarks come a day after he visited the city of Bucha, where bodies were found in the streets and basements after the withdrawal of Russian forces.
Zelenskyy described the alleged atrocities there and said the world is likely to see similar horrors in other cities still occupied by Russia - in addition to large-scale consequences like food insecurity and political chaos far beyond Ukraine's borders.
Zelenskyy called on the Security Council to implement internal reforms to hold Russia - and, as he put it, other would-be war criminals - accountable, and he urged it to remove Russia as a member "So it cannot block decisions about ... its war." If not, he said, it should "Dissolve" itself.
Zelenskyy urged the council to act immediately to stop the Russian invasion and called for a war crimes tribunal - like the Nuremberg trials after World War II - to hold Russia accountable.
Zelenskyy suggested convening a global conference to discuss how to enforce U.N. goals such as guaranteeing recognition of borders.
"We must do everything in our power to pass onto the next generation an effective U.N. with the ability to respond preventively to security challenges and thus guarantee peace, prevent aggression and force aggressors to peace," he said at one point.
Vasily Nebenzya, Russia's ambassador to the U.N., later repeated Russia's claims without evidence that Ukraine had staged the scenes in Bucha and said that civilians were allowed to move around freely, use their cell phones and leave the town while it was under Russian control.
