Thomas D. Grant, Columnist

How the UN Can Expel Russia and Remain Relevant

Russia’s seat on the United Nations Security Council is a travesty. But that’s something freedom-loving nations can change if they are determined.

March 20, 2022 at 11:29 PM UTC

By Thomas D. Grant

Thomas D. Grant served as senior adviser for strategic planning in the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation at the U.S. Department of State. He is the author of "Aggression Against Ukraine: Territory, Responsibility, and International Law."

Decision time for the United Nations.
Photographer: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Provide news feedback or report an error

Site feedback:

Take our Survey

This article is for subscribers only.

Members of the U.S. Congress rightly have been asking how countries that value security and freedom might remove Russia from the United Nations Security Council. In fact, it’s not impossible, as some have argued; or even unprecedented.

In 1990, when Iraq’s Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait and tried to wipe that country from the face of the earth, the Security Council took action. The Council demanded that Iraq immediately withdraw and, when Iraq refused, authorized the use of force to expel the aggressor. The Security Council today, by contrast, has not so much as censured Vladimir Putin, whose invasion of Ukraine poses a far greater threat to international peace and security.