Vassily Nebenzia, permanent representative of Russia to the United Nations, speaks during a meeting of the UN Security Council, March 29, 2022, at United Nations headquarters. A week before the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin’s U.N. ambassador claimed that the West is driven by its determination to destroy Russia and declared: "We had no choice other than to defend our country, defend it from you, to defend our identity and our future." (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)