'Make the Right Choice': US Warns Russia During UN Security Council Stand-Off Over Ukraine

A rare public confrontation on the world stage took place between the U.S. and Russia.

It came during an open session of the UN Security Council called to discuss Russia's troop buildup on the Ukrainian border.

The unusual back-and-forth started when Russia's ambassador accused the U.S. of "whipping up hysteria," about Moscow's military deployments. America's ambassador responded by condemning Russia's use of threats and military escalation to strong-arm the international community.

"The discussions about the threat of war is provocative in and of itself. You are almost calling for this. You want it to happen, You're waiting for it to happen as if you want your words to become a reality," said Russian Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya through a translator. 

American ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield fired back that the West and Ukraine are not the aggressors here. 

"This is the largest, hear me clearly, mobilization of troops in Europe in decades, and as we speak Russia is sending even more forces and arms to join them," Thomas-Greenfield said. 

Moscow insists the West wants to weaken Russia by creating tension with Ukraine and the rest of the world. 

"We do not think this will help to bring this council together. Rather, we fully understand that the desire of our American colleagues to whip up hysterics regarding its own situations, regarding the proposed, so-called 'Russian act of aggression.' This is of great harm, this hysteria to Ukraine itself," Ambassador Nebenzya stated.

"You heard from our Russian colleague that we're calling for this meeting to make you all feel uncomfortable. Imagine how uncomfortable you would be if you have 100,000 troops sitting on your border in the way that these troops are sitting on the border with Ukraine," Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield responded.

Meanwhile, efforts are underway in the Senate to pass a massive, bipartisan sanctions bill to be used against Russia, should it move on Ukraine. 

"It's to include a variety of elements, massive sanctions against the most significant Russian banks, crippling to their economy, meaningful in terms of consequences to the average Russian in their accounts and pensions, more lethal assistance to Ukraine, the ability to deal with Russia's sovereign debt, to look at sectoral elements of Russia's economy, which is largely an extracting economy on energy, to sanction its sovereign debt," said the bill's co-author Sen. Bob Menendez.

In a statement following today's Security Council meeting, President Biden said the U.S. is prepared for every scenario, writing: "If Russia is sincere about addressing our respective security concerns through dialogue, the United States and our allies and partners will continue to engage in good faith. If instead, Russia chooses to walk away from diplomacy and attack Ukraine, Russia will bear the responsibility, and will face swift and severe consequences." 

***Please sign up for CBN Newsletters and download the CBN News app to ensure you keep receiving the latest news from a distinctly Christian perspective.***