The UN General Assembly held a historic session on Ukraine

 Delegations stand for a moment of silence during the emergency session of the UN General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York. February 26, 2022.

Ukraine and the West on Monday appealed to the international community to support a draft resolution in the UN General Assembly. The proposal calls for an immediate ceasefire, condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine as Russian forces intensify their bombings in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city.

The General Assembly is meeting under the "United for Peace Resolution".

The resolution allows all members to convene a special meeting when the UN Security Council is unable to act on an issue and cannot enforce its mandate to maintain or restore international peace and security. Russia's veto on the Ukraine issue has put the Security Council on hold.

Russia's ambassador to Russia, Vasily Nebenzia, said Moscow's move was "distorted". He also sought to portray Moscow's attack as a defense of UN Charter policy.

Although the Council is practically divided on many issues, it keeps track of UN meetings, with the Security Council reporting that the "United for Peace Resolution" has been called less than a dozen times since its adoption in 1950. The last call was made 40 years ago in 1982; On issues related to Israel.

The debate could continue until Wednesday, when representatives from more than 100 countries asked for a floor to speak.

The resolution requires a two-thirds majority of MPs to vote.

China was Russia's only major ally to speak on Monday morning. Chinese Ambassador Zhang Jun said the situation has reached a stage that China does not want to see.

Other Russian allies, including Syria, Belarus, Venezuela and North Korea, are also on the list.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Monday that more than 400 people had been killed and more than 400 injured.

The UN refugee agency says more than half a million people have already crossed the border into Ukraine, most of them into Poland. This number is increasing every hour.