| Native Name Lang: | ru |
| Office: | 16th Permanent Representative of Russia to the United Nations |
| President: | Vladimir Putin |
| Term Start: | 27 July 2017 |
| Predecessor: | Vitaly Churkin |
| Office2: | Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation |
| President2: | Vladimir Putin |
| Minister2: | Sergey Lavrov |
| Term Start2: | 3 June 2013 |
| Term End2: | 27 July 2017 |
| Birth Name: | Vasily Alekseyevich Nebenzya |
| Birth Date: | 26 February 1962 |
| Birth Place: | Volgograd, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union |
| Awards: | Order of Friendship |
| Alma Mater: | Moscow State Institute of International Relations |
Vasily Alekseyevich Nebenzya (Russian: Василий Алексеевич Небензя; born 26 February 1962) is a Russian diplomat and the current Permanent Representative of Russia to the United Nations.[1] His official title is Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary.[2]
Nebenzya was born 26 February 1962 in Volgograd. His father was Deputy Chairman of the USSR State Committee for Publishing Aleksei Andreevich Nebenzya (1923–1994). He graduated from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations in 1983. Since then he has pursued a diplomatic career.[2]
In February 2017, Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN Vitaly Churkin died. In March 2017, Nebenzya was named as one of the main candidates for the post alongside the Permanent Representative of Russia to NATO Alexander Grushko, and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Anatoly Antonov.
On 21 April 2017, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia nominated him for the post of UN Ambassador. The following month he was officially approved by the Federal Assembly of Russia.[3] [4] [5]
President Vladimir Putin appointed Nebenzya as Permanent Representative to the United Nations on 27 July 2017, and he presented his credentials to the UN Secretary-General António Guterres the following day.[1] [6]
At the time of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in late February 2022, Nebenzya was serving as the president of the UN Security Council, a position which rotates monthly between the 15 UN member states with seats on the Council. The holder of the presidency is considered to be the "face" and spokesperson of the UNSC. On 23 February 2022 (New York time), President Vladimir Putin announced the invasion via video message while the Security Council was meeting. When the Ukrainian Representative Sergiy Kyslytsya called upon Nebenzya to "call Lavrov right now" and "do everything possible to stop the war", Nebenzya simply stated that "waking up Minister Lavrov at this time is not something I plan to do".[7] Despite calls for his resignation, Nebenzya did not offer it. He vetoed a proposed resolution by the UNSC condemning the invasion.[8]
Speaking at the Eleventh emergency special session of the United Nations General Assembly on the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Nebenzya maintained that "… there is a need to demilitarize and de-nazify Ukraine" and that "media and social networks" had "distorted and thwarted" the image of Russia's actions.[9] On 30 September 2022, Nebenzya attempted to justify the Russian occupation of southeastern Ukraine, claiming that these Ukrainian regions had chosen to be part of Russia.[10] According to Nebenzya, one of the purposes of the Russian invasion of Ukraine is "undermining the military capability of the Ukrainian army which poses a threat to the security and territorial integrity of Russia".
During a meeting of the Security Council on 24 November 2022, he explained the purpose of Russian strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure, saying: "We’re carrying out attacks on infrastructure facilities in Ukraine in response to the country being loaded with Western weapons and unwise calls for Kyiv to wield a military victory over Russia." He claimed that "Ukraine’s air defence is to blame for residential houses getting damaged and civilians getting killed in Ukraine."[11]
At a UN Security Council meeting of 14 January 2023, Nebenzya stated that "only when the threat for Russia no longer emanates from the territory of Ukraine and when the discrimination against the Russian-speaking population of this country ends" it could stop its military actions.[12] Nebenzya continued that "Otherwise, Moscow will get what it wants militarily". Nebenzya further claimed that Russia does not want "the destruction of Ukraine as a state, its de-Ukrainianisation and forced Russification.
On 20 September, 2023, President of Ukraine Volodomyr Zelenskyy made his first appearance at the UN Security Council. Nebenzya protested Zelenskyy taking the floor, and accused the Prime Minister of Albania Edi Rama, who was serving as the council president, of turning the meeting into "a one-man stand-up show" and it would be "nothing more than a spectacle" to which Rama replied "this is not a special operation by the Albanian presidency" adding "There is a solution for this. If you agree, you stop the war and President Zelenskyy will not take the floor". Nebenzya did not agree.[13] [14] [15]
On 1 November 2023, several weeks after the Hamas-led attack on Israel, Nebenzya stated that Israel doesn’t have a right to self-defense in Gaza, since it is considered an "occupying power".[16]