UNITED NATIONS — The Security Council has scheduled a meeting on Ukraine on Thursday afternoon, one day before an expected vote Friday on a Russian humanitarian resolution that makes no mention of its responsibility for the war against its smaller neighbor.
“Russia is committing war crimes and targeting civilians. Russia’s illegal war on Ukraine is a threat to us all,” tweeted the U.N. mission of the United Kingdom, one of the six countries that asked for the meeting of the U.N's most powerful body.
The tweet said the U.S., France, Ireland, Norway and Albania also requested the meeting. All six countries are Security Council members.
Russia circulated a proposed Security Council resolution Tuesday demanding protection for civilians “in vulnerable situations” in Ukraine and safe passage for humanitarian aid and people seeking to leave the country but never mentioning the war. The draft resolution underscores the need for “the parties concerned” to agree on humanitarian pauses to rapidly evacuate “all civilians” but never identifies the parties.