‘War, destruction and death’: U.N. Security Council members slam Russia’s Ukraine escalation

U.N. Security Council members had one clear message for Russian President Vladimir Putin: We know what you’re up to, and you need to quit it now — or else.

Putin escalated the crisis he started by sending so-called peacekeepers into two Russian-backed breakaway territories inside Ukraine that he formally recognized as “independent” earlier on Monday. The global community has quickly mobilized to respond, announcing some sanctions and teasing further action before organizing an emergency session of the U.N. Security Council.

The dramatic meeting on Monday night turned into a gang-up on Russia, with Western countries slamming its actions as a break with international law and an implicit attack against the territorial integrity of every U.N. member state.

“President Putin is testing our international system” and “seeing how far he can push us all,” said Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. “We must meet the moment and must not look the other way.” Ferit Hoxha, Albania’s representative, posed the overarching question after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine: “Who is next?”

Taking off his face mask to speak, the Ukrainian ambassador to the U.N., Sergiy Kyslytsya, called Russia a “virus” for instigating war and chaos for eight years: “The United Nations is sick. That’s a matter of fact. It’s been hit by the virus spread by Kremlin.” And with a defiant tone, Kyslytsya declared, “We are not afraid of anything or anyone. We owe nothing to anyone. And we will not give away anything to anyone.”