UK Refusal to Hold UNSC Meeting on Bucha Allegations ‘Unprecedented’, Russian Envoy Says

UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) - The United Kingdom’s refusal to hold a UN Security Council meeting requested by Russia on allegations of atrocities in the Ukrainian town of Bucha is unprecedented in UN history, Russian Ambassador to the UN Vassily Nebenzia said on Monday.

"This thing that happened, that is something that is unbelievable and unprecedented in the history of the United Nations," Nebenzia said at a press conference on the situation. Holding a meeting would not benefit Western delegations and the anti-Russian narrative that they promote, Nebenzia added.

Russia has now requested a Security Council meeting on April 5 at 19:00 GMT to discuss the Bucha allegations, Nebenzia said.

The decision to not urgently hold the emergency meeting is a disgrace for British diplomacy, Nebenzia stated.

Russia has factual evidence that proves that Russian forces have not committed the alleged atrocities, which it  intends to present to the Security Council as soon as possible, Nebenzia said.

Russian armed forces withdrew from Bucha as part of an effort to bolster peace talks in Turkey well before the allegations of atrocities emerged, according to Nebenzia. The accusations are a staged provocation of the situation in Ukraine, Nebenzia said.

"Besides the warfare, we have an information war, and the information war is raging. And we have evidence that that was premeditated, that was arranged by the Ukrainian information-warfare machine." Nebenzia said during the press conference.

The United States cannot independently verify the alleged atrocities in Bucha, a senior defense official also said on Monday.