Draft Proposal At The UN Security Council Withers Before Being Discussed, Russia Accuses Of Pressure From The West

Illustration of voting in the United Nations Security Council. (Wikimedia Commons/US Department of State)

JAKARTA - The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) will no longer vote on Friday on Russia-drafted calls for aid access and civilian protection in Ukraine, with Russia's envoy to the United Nations accusing Western countries of a "pressure" campaign. which has never happened before.

Diplomats said Russia's move would fail, with most of the 15-member council likely to abstain from voting on the draft resolution, because it did not discuss accountability or acknowledge Russia's invasion of its neighbor, nor did it push for an end to fighting or a withdrawal of Russian troops.

"Many colleagues from many delegates told us about the unprecedented pressure by Western partners, that their weapons are twisted, including blackmail and threats," Russia's Ambassador to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia said on Thursday, citing Reuters March 18.

Speaking at a council meeting on Ukraine's humanitarian situation, which was requested by Western councilors, Nebenzia said: "We understand how difficult it is for those countries to withstand this kind of onslaught."

Meanwhile, US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield told Reuters after the meeting: "The only people doing the detours here are the Russians and they have to do it if they want to get anyone to support them."

Nebenzia said Russia would ask the council to meet on Friday, when a vote is scheduled, to discuss "the US bio-laboratory in Ukraine using new documents we obtained during special military operations."

At a UN Security Council meeting on the same issue last week, which was also requested by Russia, Thomas Greenfield said there were no US-backed Ukrainian biological weapons laboratories. The United Nations also says it has no evidence that Ukraine has a biological weapons program.

Russia has described its invasion of Ukraine as a "special military operation" targeting Ukraine's military infrastructure. Moscow denies attacking civilians.

Meanwhile, the United Nations' human rights agency has recorded 726 deaths, including 52 children, and 1,174 injured people, including 63 children, between February 24 and March 15, US political affairs chief Rosemary DiCarlo told the Security Council on Thursday.

"The actual number is likely much higher," he said, without specifying who was to blame.

"Most of these casualties were caused by the use of explosive weapons in populated areas with a large impact area. Hundreds of residential buildings have been damaged or destroyed, as have hospitals and schools," DiCarlo said.

"The magnitude of civilian casualties and the destruction of civilian infrastructure in Ukraine is undeniable. This demands a thorough investigation and accountability," he said.

Separately, the World Health Organization (WHO) has verified 43 attacks on healthcare services in Ukraine that have killed 12 people and injured dozens, including health workers, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the Security Council.

"In any conflict, attacks on health services are a violation of international humanitarian law," Tedros criticized the council, without specifying who was to blame.