Zelenskyy urges UN Security Council to expel Russia for war crimes or dissolve itself: "They want to turn Ukrainians into silent slaves"

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged the United Nations Security Council to expel Russia from its seat or and hold the occupier accountable for war crimes committed in Ukraine or dissolve itself entirely.

Zelenskyy added that Russia wants to turn Ukrainians into "silent slaves" as he insisted that Vladimir Putin's forces be brought to justice.

In the impassioned speech, he also said that Russian soldiers are "deliberately creating conditions in occupied territories so that as many civilians as possible are killed" during their invasion of Ukraine.

"Russian troops are deliberately destroying Ukrainian cities to ashes with artillery and air strikes, they are deliberately blocking cities, creating mass starvation," he added.

The comments follow evidence of genocide and brutal war crimes specifically discovered in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha over the weekend, as well as in Irpin and Sumy Oblast.

Zelenskyy accuses Russia of acting "no different from other terrorists," and yet, he points out the country remains a UN Security Council member.

"They inflame wars and deliberately lead them in such a way that to kill as many regular civilians and cities."

"Civilians were crushed by tanks, women were raped & killed in front of their children. What Russian military did in Bucha is cruelty. The UN Charter has been violated literally."

Zelenskyy lists alleged atrocities from Russia in speech to U.N. Security Council. He says some Ukrainians had "their tongues pulled out only because the aggressor didn't hear what they wanted to hear from them." https://t.co/NkUWnp0R60 pic.twitter.com/T7Ncp3BSHt

— CBS News (@CBSNews) April 5, 2022

"Everyday, we see more and more how little Russia respects human rights," U.S. Ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield said, calling for the removal of Russia from the UN Human Rights Council.

The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres began the meeting in New York by saying: "The war in Ukraine is one of the greatest challenges ever to the international order and the global peace architecture founded on the United Nations Charter because of its nature, intensity and consequences."

Several European countries have expelled Russian diplomats from their borders since the start of the war 41 days ago, with the US, EU, and the UK together sanctioning over 1,000 Russian individuals and businesses.

Ireland expelled four “senior officials” from the Russian Embassy, with the government saying their actions are not in accordance with the standards of diplomatic behaviour.

Russian Ambassador Yury Filatov was not among those being expelled but the Department of Foreign Affairs has said he was summoned to the department and informed officially of the decision.