US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday called for President Vladimir Putin to be held accountable as he confronted Russia at a Security Council meeting where the United Nations cataloged abuses in Ukraine.

“The very international order that we are gathered here to uphold is being shredded before our eyes,” Blinken told the Security Council in a special session as leaders met at the United Nations.

“We cannot – we will not allow – President Putin to get away with it,” he said.

Blinken accused Putin of adding “fuel to the fire” with recent moves, including calling up reservists and planning referendums in Russian-controlled Ukrainian territory.

The top US diplomat said it was crucial to show that “no nation can redraw the borders of another by force”.

“If we don’t defend this principle, if the Kremlin violates it so blatantly, we’re sending the message to attackers everywhere that they can ignore it.”

France, the current head of the Security Council, convened the meeting to highlight Ukraine’s drive for accountability.

“Without justice there is no peace,” French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna told reporters.

Opening the session, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the UN judicial body “saw a catalog of atrocities – summary executions, sexual violence, torture and other inhuman and degrading treatment of civilians and prisoners of war.

“All these allegations must be thoroughly investigated in order to be accountable,” he said, without pointing the finger directly at Russia.

“Perpetrators must be held accountable in fair and independent trials. Victims and their families have a right to justice, remedy and reparation,” Guterres said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was present, although he did not appear during the opening speeches. Ever since the invasion, Blinken has declined one-on-one talks with his Russian counterpart and doubts Moscow’s readiness for peace efforts.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday before the General Assembly called for a special tribunal and “punishment” for Russia over its invasion and abuses.

Highlighting evidence from Ukraine included International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan, who announced an investigation into possible war crimes just days after Russia invaded its neighbor in February.

“In my opinion, the echo of Nuremberg should be heard today,” he told the Security Council on Thursday, referring to the German city where the Nazi war crimes trials took place.

Khan has traveled to Ukraine and visited the city of Bucha, where the discovery of dozens of bodies on the streets and in mass graves shocked the world.

Moscow dismissed the atrocities as fake at the time, but at Thursday’s meeting, Khan pushed back.

“When I went to Bucha and went behind St. Andrew’s Church, the bodies I saw were not fakes.”

Ukraine’s representative at the Security Council meeting, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, called for “solidarity and unity” from UN member states to help Kyiv counter Russian aggression.

“The best way to prevent further Russian atrocities is to provide Ukraine with more necessary weapons,” he told reporters.