WASHINGTON — A stormy, angry session of the United Nations’ highest body on Monday heightened deep global rifts and raised new accusations about the Russian troop buildup around Ukraine, with the American and Russian sides harshly accusing each other of escalating the conflict.
The United States, backed by most Western countries on the 15-nation U.N. Security Council, requested the meeting and quickly came into bitter confrontation with Russia, backed by China. Russia accused Washington and its Western allies of “whipping up hysteria” and contending that Russia had no aims to again invade Ukraine.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, U.S. ambassador to the U.N., characterized the crisis over the former Soviet republic as dangerous for Europe and the United Nations.
