Russia is blocking Security Council action on the Ukraine war – but the UN is still the only international peace forum

People gather outside the U.N. headquarters in New York City to protest the war in Ukraine on March 2, 2022. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

When Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation” in Ukraine on Feb. 23, 2022, the U.N. Security Council was conducting an emergency late-night meeting chaired by Russia on the mounting crisis.

Western powers expected the invasion to happen, but Putin’s timing marked an unprecedented rebuke to the U.N., the global body uniquely tasked with maintaining international peace.