Ukraine requested an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) on Monday night in response to Russia’s military incursion.

The rotating presidency of the UNSC happens to be held by Russia at the moment.

This is how things work at the United Nations of Dictators and Despots in New York. 

At the meeting, the U.S. denounced ceasefire violations by Russian-supported separatists in eastern Ukraine and warned other members, “The risk of major conflict is real and needs to be prevented at all costs.”

U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said Russia was committing “a clear violation of international law” and seeking a “pretext” to push further into Ukraine and destabilize the entire region. She noted Putin’s claim of all former Russian Imperial territories could be an excuse to invade most of Eastern Europe, from Estonia to Finland.

“Russia’s clear attack on Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity is unprovoked. It is an attack on Ukraine’s status as a U.N. Member State, it violates a basic principle of international law, and it defies our Charter,” she said.