public service, along with these other television providers. giving you a front row seat to democracy. >> earlier today, ukrainian president zelenskyy addressed the u.n. security council about russia's invasion of its country. this portion of the meeting is about 30 minutes. >> thank you very much for this opportunity. i'm sure that all the

representatives of the united nation member states will hear me today. yesterday i returned from our city recently liberated from russian troops. not far from kyiv. so there is not a single crime that they would not commit there. the russian military surged and killed anyone who served our country. they killed women outside their houses when they just tried to call someone who is alive. they killed entire families, adults and children and they tried to burn the bodies. i am addressing you on behalf of the people who honor the memory of the deceased every single day in the memory of the civilians who died, who were shot and killed in the back of their head after being tortured. some of them were shot on street, others were thrown into their wells. so they died there in suffering. they were killed in their apartment houses, blowing up

grenades. civilians were crushed by tanks while sitting in their cars in the middle of the road. just for their pleasure.

they cut off limbs, cut their throats, slashed their throats. women were raped and killed in front of their children. they were their tongued were pulled out only because the aggressor didn't want to hear what they wanted to hear from them. so this is no different from other terrorists like da'ish. and here it's done by a member of the united nations security council, destroying internal unity borders, countries, and taking the ride of more than a dozen countries who are selfdetermined and independent. they pursued consistent policy of destroying ethnic and religious diversity. they inflame wars and deliberately lead them in such a way that to kill as many regular civilians and cities. and to leave the country where they deployed their troops in ruins and failed with mass graves. you all see that and they support hatred at the level of the state and seek to support it through other countries through their system of propaganda and political corruption. they provoke a global food crisis that could lead to famine in africa, asia, and other countries. and surely in large cases in many countries and destroying their domestic security. so where is the security that the security council needs to guarantee? it's not there, although there is a security council. so where is the peace? what were those guarantees that the united nations needs to guarantee?

it is obvious that the key institution of the world, which must ensure the coercion of any aggressor simply cannot work effectively. now, the world can see that the russian what the russian military did in bucha while keeping the city under their occupation. but the world has yet to see what they have done in other occupied cities and regions of our country. geography might be different, but cruelty is the same. crimes are the same. and accountability must be inevitable. ladies and gentlemen, i would like to remind you of article 1, chapter 1 of the u.n. charter. what is the purpose of our organization? its purpose is to maintain peace and make sure that peace is adhered to.

and now the u.n. charter is violated literally starting with the article 1. and if so, what is the point of all other articles? today, as a result of russia's actions in our country, in ukraine, the most terrible war crimes of alltime we see since the end of world war ii and they are being committed. russian troops are deliberately destroying ukrainian cities to ashes with artillery and air strikes. they are deliberately blocking, creating mass starvation. they are shooting people on the road who is trying to leave. they deliberately blow up shelters where civilians hide from air strikes. they are deliberately creating conditions in the temporarily occupied territories so that as many as civilians as possible are killed there. the massacre in our city of bucha is only one, fortunately, only one of many examples of what the occupiers have been

doing on our land for the past 41 days. there are many more cities, similar places where the world has yet to learn the full truth. mariupol, kharkiv, dozen of other ukrainian communities, each of them is similar to bucha. i know and you know perfectly well what the representatives of russia will say in response to the accusations of these crimes. they have said that many times the most significant was after they shot down the malaysia boeing over donbas or during the war in syria. they will blame everyone just to justify their own actions. they will say that there are various versions, different

versions, that it is impossible to establish which one of those versions is true. they will even say that the bodies were of those killed were allegedly thrown away. and they are staged. but it is 2022 now. we have conclusive evidence. there are satellite images. we can conduct full and transparent investigation that this is what we're interested in, maximum access for journalists. maximum access for international institutions. involvement of the international criminal court. complete truth and full accountability. i'm sure that every member state of the u.n. should be interested in this. for what? in order to punish once and for all those who consider themselves privileged and believe that they can get away with anything. so show all the other potential war criminals in the world how

they will be punished if the biggest one is punished, then everyone is punished. and why did ukraine come to ukraine? i will tell you. because russia russia's leadership feels like colonizers in ancient times. they need our wealth. they need our people. russia has deported hundreds of thousands of citizens to their country. they have adopted more than 2,000 children. just simply conducted be a ducked those children and continue to do abducted to do so. they want to turn them into silent slaves. they are looting villages there they have captured. they are stealing everything starting with food, ending with earrings, gold earrings that are pulled out and covered with blood. we are dealing with a state that is turning the veto into the u.n. security council into the right to die.

this undermines the whole architecture of global security. it allows us to go unpunished so they are destroying everything they can. if this continues, the countries will be relying only on the power of their own arms to ensure their security. and not on international law. not rely on international institutions. the united nations can be simply closed. ladies and gentlemen, i am ready to are you ready to close the u.n.? do you think the time of international law is gone? if your answer is no, then you need to act immediately. the u.n. charter must be restored immediately. the u.n. system must be reformed immediately so the veto is not the right to die, that there is a fair representation in the security council of all regions of the world.

the aggressor must be brought to peace immediately. determination is needed. the massacre from syria to somalia, from afghanistan to libya, that should have been stopped a long time ago, to tell you the truth. if tyranny had at least once received such a response to the war it had it reached, it would have ceased to exist and honest peace would be guaranteed after it and the world would have changed for sure. and then, perhaps, there would not be war in my country against our people against ukrainian people, against our citizens. the world watched and did not want to see either the occupation of crimea or the war against georgia or taking the entire part from moldova and how

russia was preparing the basis for other conflicts and wars near their borders. how to stop it? right away, the russian military and those who gave them orders must be brought to justice immediately for war crimes in ukraine. anyone who has given criminal orders and carried out them by killing our people will be brought before the tribunal, which should be similar to the nuremberg tribunals. i'd like to remind russian diplomats, has not escaped punishment for crimes in world war ii. i would also like to remind you that those did not did not go unpunished. nobody of them escaped the punishment but the main thing

today is to it's time to transform this system at the united nations. so therefore, i propose to convene a global conference and we can do it here in peaceful kyiv in order to determine how we are going to reform the world security system, how we will rely how do we establish guarantee of recognition of borders and integrity of states and countries, how we will serve the rule of international law. it is now clear that the goals set in san francisco in 1945 for the creation of a global security international organization it has not been achieved. and it is impossible to achieve it without reforms. therefore, we must do everything in our power to pass onto the next generation an effective u.n. with the ability to respond

to security challenges and prevent aggression and force aggressors to peace, have the determination and ability to punish if the principles of peace are violated. there can be no more exceptions of privileges. everybody must be equal. all participants of international relations, regardless of economic strength, geographical area and individual ambitions. the power of peace must become dominant. the power of justice and the security power. as humanity has always dreamed of it. ukraine is ready to provide a platform for one of the main offices of the newly updated security system as similar to the geneva office that deals with human rights, the nairobi office that deals with environmental protection. in kyiv, we can have a new office that can specialize in preventive measures to maintain

peace. i'd like to remind you of our peaceful mission in afghanistan. when we, ukrainians, evacuated from that country over more more than 1,000 people from our own expense. it was a very difficult phase. and ukraine came to their help. we took in people of different nationalities, ethnic groups, different faiths, afghan citizens of european countries, u.s., canada. we did not look who needed help, was it one of our own or somebody else. we helped all of them. we saved everyone. every time there was a need, everyone in the world would be confident that help would come. the world would be definitely safer. therefore, ukraine has been the moral right to propose a reform of the world security system.

we have proven that we help others not only half the time but in dark times, too. and now we need decisions from the security council for peace in ukraine. if you do not know how to make this decision, you can do two things. either remove russia as an aggressor and a source of war so it cannot block decisions about its own aggression, its own war. and then, do everything that we can do to establish peace. or the other option is please show how we can reform or change the and work for peace. or if there is no alternative and no option, then the next option would be dissolve yourself altogether. and i know you can admit if there is nothing you can do

besides conversation, we need peace. ukraine needs peace. europe needs peace. and the world needs peace. and finally, i would kindly ask you very much to watch this short video. please, give us one more minute of your time. the video that we want to show, one, one country can violate rights. and that's the result of being unpunished. if possible, please, watch this video because it is impossible to get everyone to come to our country and see it with your own eyes. therefore, i would ask you to watch this video. thank you very much. >> i'm not sure of the video.

is it coming? >> madam president, uploaded to the technician of the security council. so they have it in their possession. president woodward: i we will sort that one out technically. we don't have the video, so i propose that while we sort that out i thank his excellency, mr. zelenskyy for his compelling and powerful remarks. we'll come back to the video when we sort out the technical issues around it. may i say, speaking in my national capacity, may i express appreciation to the president for his leadership in wartime and for the extraordinary fortitude and bravery of the ukrainian people under this unprovoked and illegal invasion. i resume my function as the president of the security council, and while we sort out

the technical video, i propose to give the floor to those councilmembers who wish to make statements. and i now give the floor to the representative of the united states. ambassador thomasgreenfield: thank you, madam president. let me also start by thanking u.a.e. and the ambassador for her successful presidency during the month of march. madam president, as you begin your security council presidency, i want to thank the united kingdom for your leadership and for organizing this vital discussion on ukraine today. i also want to thank the secretary general for his remarks and the other briefers. and i'd like to extend a warm welcome to president zelenskyy. i was so moved by the address he made recently to our congress, and we're truly honored by his presence here under the circumstances that he and ukraine face today.

madam president, last night i returned from a trip to moldova and romania. i saw with my own eyes the refugee crisis caused by russia's unconscionable war. i spoke to refugees who indicated to me their desires to return to their home. we have all seen the images on tv of the bombed-out buildings. but what we have not seen is that behind those destroyed buildings are destroyed lives and destroyed families. i met with women and children who have fled ukraine who stuffed their lives into backpacks and left the only home they have ever known. these were sobering conversations. one young woman i spoke to came with her 6-year-old brother who had autism and is struggling with cancer.

their single mother helped them escape to save their lives. but russia's war has interrupted the care her brother desperately needs. another woman i spoke to fled with her 8-year-old from odessa. the father, who they left behind, told them there was shelling right next to their apartment that very night. and they very well could have died had they not left. a third woman i met told me that she used to love to travel, but never expected her next trip would be to flee her life. flee for her life. when i asked her where she was from, she started to say, then she stopped with tears in her eyes and said, i'm sorry. i don't know how to say it. but i live in kyiv or whether i used to live in kyiv.

she was realizing in the moment just how dramatically her life changed because of this senseless war. these are three stories of more than 10 million people. six million internally displaced, four million who left ukraine all together. four million people who have relied on the big heartedness of countries like moldova, romania, poland, slovakia, hungary, and other countries around the world to welcome and support all those leaving ukraine in search of safety. ukraine's neighbors are bearing the brunt of europe's most significant refugee crisis since world war ii. and i want these countries to know that they have a committed

partner in the united states. and that is why the united states announced recently that we are prepared to provide more than one billion u.s. dollars in new funding toward humanitarian assistance for those affected by russia's war in ukraine. and it's severe impact around the world. and it's why we are welcoming up to 100,000 ukrainians and others fleeing russia's aggression to the united states. we will continue to assist humanitarian efforts to help the people of ukraine and all those fleeing putin's violence. but as heart wrenching as the stories are that i heard in moldova and romania, there are some stories we will never get to hear.

those are the people we saw in the images out of bucha. we have all seen the gruesome photos. lifeless bodies lying in the streets, apparently summarily executed. their hands tied behind their backs. as we work to independently confirm the events depicted in these images, i would remind this council that based on the currently available information the united states has assessed that members of russia's forces have committed war crimes in ukraine. even before seeing the images from bucha, president zelenskyy along with others in the region were reporting that children were being abducted. we heard him say that today. also abducted are mayors and doctors, religious leaders, journalists, and all who dared defy russia's aggression. some of them, according to credible reports, including by the mariupol city council, have been taken to so-called filtration camps where russian forces are reportedly making tens of thousands of ukrainian

citizens relocate to russia. reports indicate that russian federal security agents are confiscating passports and i.d.'s. taking away cell phones, and separating families from one another. i do not need to spell out what these so-called filtration camps are reminiscent of. it's chilling. and we cannot look away. every day we see more and more how little russia respects human rights. and that is why i announced yesterday that the united states in coordination with ukraine and many other u.n. member states will seek russia's suspension from the u.n. human rights council. given the growing mountain of evidence, russia should not have a position of authority in a

body whose purpose, whose very purpose is to promote respect for human rights. not only is this the height of hypocrisy, it is dangerous. russia is using its membership on the human rights council as a platform for propaganda to suggest russia has a legitimate concern for human rights. in fact, we will hear some of that propaganda here today, i know. and i will not dignify these lies with a response. only to say that every lie we hear from the russian representative is more evidence that they do not belong on the human rights council. 140 u.n. member states voted to condemn russia over its unprovoked war and humanitarian crisis it has unleashed upon the people of ukraine. here's my message to all of you.

now is the time to match those words with action and show the world that we can work responsibly. and i share president zelenskyy's view that this moment requires responsible world powers and global leaders to show some backbone and stand up to russia's dangerous and unprovoked threat against ukraine and the world. the secretary-general said that confronting this threat is a security council's charge. it is. and it is also the responsibility of u.n. leaders and leaders around the world, every single member state with a voice in the g.a. no one can be a shield for russia's aggression. suspending russia from the human rights council is something we collectively have the power to do in the general assembly.

our votes can make a real difference. russia's participation on the human rights council hurts the council's credibility. it undermines the entire u.n. and it is just plain wrong. let us come together to do what is right and do right by the ukrainian people. let us take this step to help them to start to rebuild their lives. let us match the courage of president zelenskyy who we are so honored to have with us today. president zelenskyy, i want you to know that we stand with the people of ukraine as you face down this brutal attack on your sovereignty, on your democracy, and on your freedom. thank you. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute,

which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2022] >> c-span has unfilterrered coverage of the u.s.' response to the russian invasion of ukraine. bringing you the latest from the president and other white house officials, the pentagon and the state department, as well as congress. we also have international perspectives from the united nations and statements from foreign leaders, all on the c-span networks, the c-span now free mobile app, and c-span.org/ukraine. our web resource page where you can watch the latest videos on-demand and follow tweets from journalists on the ground. go to c-span.org/ukraine. >> c-span's "washington journal," every day we take your calls live on the air on the news of the day. and we discuss policy issues that impact you. coming up wednesday morning, texas republican congressman michael burgess discusses president biden's economic and energy policy. then georgetown university center on health insurance

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