Russia has assumed the presidency of the UN Security Council, despite Ukraine asking members to block the move. Each of the 15 board members serves as chairman for one month on a rotating basis. In essence, the Security Council is chaired by a country whose president is the subject of an international arrest warrant for alleged war crimes.

The International Criminal Court, which is not a UN body, issued a warrant for Vladimir Putin last month.

Despite Ukraine’s claims, the United States has said it cannot block Russia, a permanent member of the Council, from assuming the presidency. The other permanent members of the council are Great Britain, the United States, France and China.

The role is mostly formal, but Moscow’s UN ambassador Vasyl Nebenzia told Russian news agency TASS that he plans to observe several debates, including one on arms control.

He said he would discuss a “new world order” which he said should “replace the unipolar one”.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, called the Russian presidency “the worst April Fool’s joke” and “a harsh reminder that something is wrong with the way the international security architecture works.”

Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to the President of Ukraine, called this step “another violation of international law…an entity that wages an aggressive war, violates the norms of humanitarian and criminal law, disrespects the UN Charter, neglects nuclear safety, cannot lead the world’s main security body.”

President Volodymyr Zelenskyi last year called for the organization (the Security Council) to be reformed or “disbanded”, accusing it of not doing enough to prevent a Russian invasion. He also called for the withdrawal of Russia from the composition.

But the US said its hands were tied because the UN Charter does not allow for the recall of a permanent member. “Unfortunately, Russia is a permanent member of the Security Council, and there is no real international way to change that reality,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during a press briefing this week.

The UN Security Council is an international body responsible for maintaining peace. Five countries are permanently represented in the Security Council.

Members of this group work with 10 non-permanent member countries.

To pass the bill, the Security Council must have nine votes in favor and none of the five permanent members voted against. Last February, Russia vetoed a resolution aimed at ending the Russian invasion of Ukraine (China, India and the United Arab Emirates abstained).