New York, New York - In a high-profile appearance at the United Nations Security Council, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky lamented the powerlessness of the UN in preventing conflict and called for fundamental overhauls of the premier global body.

Zelensky spoke on Wednesday at a special Security Council session focused on the Russian invasion that has ravaged his country for nearly 19 months.

He criticized that the UN reacts to problems with "rhetoric" instead of "real solutions."

"We should recognize that the UN finds itself in a deadlock on the matter of aggression. Humankind no longer pins its hopes on the UN when it comes to the defense of the sovereign border of nations," he said.

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It was the first time Zelensky had addressed the Security Council in person since Russia's unprovoked assault began on February 24, 2022.

He directed his ire at Moscow, saying the increasingly authoritarian government of President Vladimir Putin was leading the UN, which was created in the wake of the devastation wrought by World War II, into a dead end thanks to the use of its veto power.

Five countries - China, France, Russia, Britain, and the US - are permanent members of the UN Security Council and wield veto power over UN resolutions.

Zelensky said the war unleashed by Russia exposed the dire need for the UN to be drastically reformed. He suggested the 193-member UN General Assembly be given the ability to overcome a Security Council veto.

For years, the body has been considered largely incapable of taking significant action due to the US, China, and Russia blocking resolutions on a range of critical issues.

A fundamental reform of the Security Council has been discussed for decades without any progress.

Zelensky pushed for the council to be expanded to include more permanent members and for a mechanism to respond early to attacks on the sovereignty of other states.

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He said Germany should join as a permanent member because it had become one of the "key global guarantors of peace and security."

"Latin America must be represented here permanently, and the Pacific states as well," he added, also listing the African Union.

"It cannot be considered normal when countries like Japan, India, or the Islamic world remain outside the permanent membership of the Security Council," he continued.

Zelensky spoke a day after he addressed the General Assembly, where he warned that Russia was "weaponizing" essentials like food and energy, impacting all countries.

Putin, who is facing an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court, stayed away from New York. Putin's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, went in his place.

Lavrov chose to miss Zelensky's speech on Wednesday at the Security Council, sending Russia's UN Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya to listen to it. Lavrov is expected to address the council later in the day.