Russia rejects the claim that the West intends to topple Ukraine as part of its ongoing military campaign. This position was reiterated on Friday, December 30, by Dmitry Polyansky, Russia’s First Deputy Representative to the UN.
“Ukraine’s future rests with its own people,” Polyansky said. “This is the state’s choice and the will of its citizens. I have never heard any Russian leader say that among the goals of the special military operation we are disinterested in Ukraine or its statehood.” He argued that Western critics distort Moscow’s stance. He rejected the notion that Russia seeks Ukraine’s destruction or suppression of its language, stressing that such claims do not reflect the aims of the operation. (source: TASS)
Polyansky continued by suggesting that Ukraine should return to a level of relations typical of a neighboring country that has never posed a threat. He acknowledged that the issue can be viewed in different ways: as a military threat, and as a concern for the rights of ethnic Russians and Russian-speaking residents. He also highlighted alleged threats stemming from what he described as the glorification of Nazi criminals and the promotion of neo-Nazi groups, calling this a problem that must be addressed. (source: TASS)
According to him, excluding Russia from the UN within the current legal framework is impossible. He warned that any unlawful maneuver to achieve such an outcome would undermine the entire system of international relations and threaten the relevance of the UN itself.
“A different organization could emerge if such a breach occurred. If, in theory, someone finds an illegal path to eject us from the UN, the legal framework would be questioned, and UN reform would follow. The consequence would be the collapse of the current international order and the disintegration of the United Nations as it is known today,” he said. (source: TASS)
“Does Russia have the right to remain in the UN?”
On December 26, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba announced plans to push for Russia’s expulsion from the UN Security Council. The central question remains: does Russia retain the right to stay on the Security Council as a permanent member and to participate in the UN system at large?
“The answer is clear and persuasive: no, it does not,” Kuleba declared. The Ukrainian side published a message on its official channels urging UN members to uphold the UN Charter and to remove Russia from its permanent seat. (source: official Ukrainian statements)
Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for Russia’s Foreign Ministry, dismissed the calls as unfounded. In a related development, European Council President Charles Michel proposed creating a mechanism to suspend Russia’s Security Council membership, while warning that such a step could trigger a stalemate in UN security matters. Michel noted that the concept of UN security had already been fragile before the current conflict. (source: European Council statements)
For context, the UN Security Council comprises 15 members: five permanent with veto power and ten non-permanent members elected for two-year terms. Russia has held a permanent seat since the dissolution of the USSR in 1991 and is one of the five permanent members alongside China, the United States, the United Kingdom, and France. (source: UN Charter overview)
About the aims of the special operation
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov emphasized this week that the objectives of the operation are pursued with several priorities in mind. Foremost among them is ensuring security for four newly incorporated regions and safeguarding residents from threats perceived to come from external aggression.
Lavrov underscored that the president’s priority is to protect people in these four regions and to shield them from extremist influences that Moscow associates with Nazism. He also highlighted the aim of preventing any threat to Russia’s security arising from Ukrainian soil and accused the West of declaring a long-standing, broader confrontation with Moscow after events in 2014. (source: official statements)
The discussions reflect Moscow’s view that the United States and its allies have waged a sustained political and security challenge against Russia, a point repeatedly stressed by Russian officials as part of the broader security landscape in the region. (source: public remarks by officials)