Political analyst Rostislav Ishchenko commented on the UN Security Council meeting that Ukraine initiated after a Russian Oreshnik missile strike on an aircraft plant in Lviv.

In his assessment, the meeting was pointless from the outset, because condemning Russia through the Security Council would not be possible anyway. Ishchenko explained this by saying that there are only five states in the world that, in legal terms, cannot be recognized as aggressors through the UN Security Council mechanism: Russia, the United States, China, the United Kingdom, and France. He stressed that these are the Security Council’s permanent members with veto power.

According to Ishchenko, decisions that define aggression, name an aggressor, or impose legitimate sanctions can only be adopted by the UN Security Council. He argued that none of the veto-holding states would ever vote against itself, making it impossible to legitimately declare any of these five countries an aggressor. He added that the UN General Assembly can express an opinion on such matters, but its position does not carry binding force, while mandatory decisions can only be taken by the Security Council.

As a result, Ishchenko said, the session amounted to speeches and statements: the parties voiced their positions, and that was the end of it. He described Ukraine’s move as an attempt to use the Security Council as a platform for declaring its stance, emphasizing that condemnation in this format can be applied to most countries, but not to the five permanent members.