The morning of February 24 began with the start of an undeclared war between Russia and Ukraine. As early as 5 a.m. Latvian time, the airspace in south-west Russia was closed to civil aviation, and an hour later all Russian TV channels carried Russian President Vladimir Putin's announcement of a military invasion of Ukraine.
Even before Putin's announcement, Russian missiles had already started hitting key elements of Ukraine's air defense system, airbases and military installations in almost all regions of Ukraine. On the morning of February 24, the Russian military announced that the entire Ukrainian air defense system had been destroyed.
What is happening is undoubtedly Russian aggression and an undeclared war against an independent state that has been a member of the United Nations since 1945. Unfortunately, from the point of view of international law, Russia's war against Ukraine will probably not even be recognized as aggression, although that is what it undoubtedly is. The reason why international law is so different from reality is hidden in the foundations of the United Nations (UN). When the UN was founded in 1945, its main mission was to prevent a future global catastrophe similar to the one that the Second World War turned into for the whole of humanity. The instrument through which peace was to be secured was the balancing of the interests of the great powers. That is why the UN gave the five superpowers - the US, China, Russia, Britain and France - enormous power over the others. The United Nations Security Council is made up of fifteen countries. The five permanent members of the UN Security Council (the US, the UK, France, Russia and China) have veto power over any decision of the UN Security Council. For the UN Security Council to adopt a decision, nine of the 15 countries must vote in favor, and none of the permanent UN Security Council members may vote against. If even one of the permanent members of the UN Security Council votes against the decision, it is rejected.
When the UN was created, it was established that the UN Security Council alone (Article 24 of the UN Charter) was: responsible for maintaining international peace and security; determining the existence of any threat to the peace, breach of the peace or act of aggression; making recommendations for the prevention of threats to international security; deciding what measures, other than the use of armed force, should be taken to maintain or restore international peace and security; deciding whether to launch military operations against aggressors; recommending the admission of new members, etc.
That is why Palestine is not admitted to the UN, because the US regularly opposes it, and Kosovo is not admitted to the UN because both Russia and China oppose it. The invasion and total occupation of Iraq by the US-led coalition in 2003 was not recognized as aggression under international law either, because it was opposed by the US, France and the UK, and so on.
However, the world order of the mid-20th century no longer corresponds to today's reality. Former US President Donald Trump made this point very vividly in his speech to the UN General Assembly on September 19, 2017: "Too often the focus of this organization has not been on results, but on bureaucracy and process." Latvia's national position, which was expressed at the UN General Assembly in September 2017 by the then President of Latvia Raimonds Vējonis, was also a call to reform the UN decision-making system: "As the only truly global organization, the United Nations must be able to effectively respond to the serious global issues which we face: regional conflicts and humanitarian crises, the threat of terrorism, and insecurities related to migration, climate change, and poverty... It is no secret that the organization has grown too complex and bureaucratic to be able to respond to today's challenges in a swift manner. Some even question its credibility and relevance. The UN must preserve, and in some instances, regain, the trust of citizens and member states in its ability to prevent and respond to crises, and to promote a rules-based global order."
Latvia's position is clear: "the time has come to move forward in reforming the UN Security Council". Latvia supports the proposal to voluntarily limit the use of the veto in the Security Council in situations involving mass violent crimes. Latvia also supports an ethical rule that would prevent any member of the Council from voting against actions aimed at stopping and preventing crimes of mass violence.
Unfortunately, even to change the UN Charter requires the support of the United Nations Security Council, and if even one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, including Russia, does not agree, then reform is impossible.