Since 1991, Russia has had a seat at the U.N. illegally. It is the only participating country that has neither signed the organization’s 1945 founding Charter nor ever been voted a member by the General Assembly. Instead, its place in the U.N. is the result of a tacit consent that has lasted more than three decades. According to Article 4 of the U.N. Charter, new member states must be admitted by a vote of the General Assembly. But Russia avoided this by claiming to continue the membership formerly held by the USSR. Moscow simply changed the nameplates from “USSR” to “Russia Federation” and hoped the world would look past it. When it comes to U.N. membership, only Russia has gotten away with tacit rather than formal consent to take the place of its predecessor. Russia’s illegitimate presence in the U.N.—and even worse, as a permanent member of the Security Council—has had disastrous consequences. It exploits the U.N. both as a platform for its propaganda and to block via veto power any attempts by the international community to counter its predatory behavior. This has to stop. Please consider signing the petition to kick Russia out of the UN: Video: top: Lavrov declares that Russia is ready for negotiations at the UN Security Council meeting. Bottom: people in Kharkiv look at their home burning down after a missile attack Russia launched hours after Lavrov's speech.