Ukraine says no place for Russia on UN human rights body

There should be no place for Russia on the United Nations Human Rights Council, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Tuesday.

"Spoke with UN Secretary General @AntonioGuterres on the current security situation and the Bucha massacre," Kuleba said on his Twitter account.

"Stressed that Ukraine will use all available UN mechanisms to collect evidence and hold Russian war criminals to account. No place for Russia on the UN Human Rights Council."

Earlier, the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres discussed in a telephone conversation with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba the current humanitarian situation in Ukraine, the press office of the UN chief said in a statement.

"They discussed the security and human rights situation in Ukraine," the statement reads.

"The Secretary-General briefed Foreign Minister Kuleba on the objectives of the mission of Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths to Moscow and Kiev and reiterated the commitment of the United Nations for a humanitarian ceasefire in Ukraine and enhanced humanitarian support to the Ukrainian people," the statement added.

UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths held a meeting on April 4 in Moscow with Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin and they discussed the situation in Ukraine.

The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement later that Fomin "noted successful joint work with representatives of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs accredited at the Russian Defense Ministry in Moscow. The ministry's coordination headquarters for humanitarian response in Ukraine regularly refer documents with objective information on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine to UN employees."