New York: The United States has expelled 12 members of Russia's diplomatic mission to the United Nations (UN), said Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN Vassily Nebenzya during a press conference on Tuesday.

The UN General Assembly held an emergency special session on Ukraine on Monday.  Assembly President Abdulla Shahid underscored that the military offensive launched by Russia five days ago was a violation of the integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine

“The ongoing military offensive is inconsistent with this. It is an affront to the founders of this Organization and everything it stands for,” he said. 

“The violence must stop. Humanitarian law and international humanitarian law must be respected. And diplomacy and dialogue must prevail.” 

Ukraine's Ambassador, Sergiy Kyslytsya, remarked that for the first time since the UN was established, a full-fledged war was unfolding in the centre of Europe. Some 352 Ukrainians, including 16 children have been killed to date, he reported, while more than 2,000 were injured. 

If Ukraine does not survive, international peace will not survive,” Mr. Kyslytsya told the General Assembly. 

Speaking through an interpreter, Russian Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya said the actions of his country are being “distorted and thwarted”, with media and social networks proliferating what he called “these lies”. 

The goal of the special military operation is to protect people in Luhansk and Donetsk, two regions in eastern Ukraine, “who for eight years were subject to torment and genocide by the Kyiv regime,” he said. 

#WATCH 12 members of Russia's diplomatic mission to the UN have been expelled by the United States, said Russia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia during a press conference
(Source: UN Web TV) pic.twitter.com/0JVT66C3nu

— ANI (@ANI) March 1, 2022