Ukraine calls Russia's upcoming UN presidency "bad joke"

Ukraine on March 30 said Russia’s upcoming presidency of the United Nations Security Council this week was “a bad joke.”

“Russian UN Security Council presidency on April 1 is a bad joke. Russia has usurped its seat; it’s waging a colonial war; its leader is a war criminal wanted by the ICC for kidnapping children,” Kyiv's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on Twitter, per Al Arabiya.

“The world can’t be a safe place with Russia at UNSC,” he added.

The presidency rotates every month between the 15 member states.

Russia would hold little influence on the decisions but be in charge of setting the agenda.

Ukraine has called for Russia to be removed from Security Council over its invasion launched in February last year.

Russia last chaired the council in February 2022 when the Kremlin ordered troops to Ukraine.