UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said yesterday that the risk of conflict between global powers was at a “historic high” and Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov warned the world was at a threshold “possibly even more dangerous” than during the Cold War.

Mr Guterres, seated next to Mr Lavrov in the UN Security Council, criticised Russia’s invasion of Ukraine for causing massive suffering and devastation in the country and fuelling global economic dislocation caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

“Tensions between major powers are at a historic high. So are the risks of conflict, through misadventure or miscalculation,” Mr Guterres told the meeting of the 15-member body on multilateralism and the founding UN Charter.

Mr Lavrov chaired the council meeting because Russia holds the council’s monthly rotating presidency for April.

“As during the Cold War, we have reached the dangerous, possibly even more dangerous, threshold,” Mr Lavrov said.

“The situation is worsened with the loss of trust in multilateralism.

“Let’s call a spade a spade. Nobody allowed the western minority to speak on behalf of all of humankind,” Mr Lavrov said.

A string of security council members, including the United States, France and Britain, condemned Russia for its war on Ukraine.

“Our hypocritical convenor today, Russia, invaded its neighbour Ukraine and struck at the heart of the UN Charter,” US Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, told the council.

“This illegal, unprovoked, and unnecessary war runs directly counter to our most sacred principle: that a war of aggression and territorial conquest is never, ever acceptable,” she said.

Ms Thomas-Greenfield also accused Russia of violating international law by wrongfully detaining Americans, calling for the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and ex-Marine Paul Whelan. ​

As the United Nations seeks to save an agreement that allows the safe Black Sea export of Ukraine’s grain that could expire on May 18, Mr Guterres also urged the continued implementation of that deal and a related pact in which the United Nations pledged to help facilitate Russia’s own grain and fertiliser exports.

“They clearly demonstrate that such co-operation is essential to creating greater security and prosperity for all,” he said.

Meanwhile, Russia repelled an attack by naval drones on its Black Sea fleet stationed in the Crimean port of Sevastopol in the early hours of yesterday, Russia’s defence ministry said.

Sevastopol, which is on the Crimean peninsula that Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, has come under repeated air attack since Russia sent troops into Ukraine last February. Russian officials have blamed the attacks on Ukraine.

“At about 3.30am (0.30am Irish time), the Kyiv regime tried to attack the base of the Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol with three unmanned high-speed boats,” the ministry said in a statement.

Russia destroyed all three of the naval drones, suffering no casualties or losses in the process, it said.

Reuters was unable to verify the claim.

There was no immediate reaction from Ukraine.

Kyiv almost never publicly claims responsibility for attacks inside Russia and on Russian-controlled territory in Ukraine.

Russia annexed Sevastopol, along with the rest of the Crimean peninsula which juts into the Black Sea, in 2014 but it is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine.

The city has been a major base for Russia’s navy for more than two centuries.

Separately yesterday, a local Russian official said a Ukrainian-made drone packed with explosives had been found crashed in a forest in the Moscow region. No casualties were reported.

Last month three people were injured and apartment blocks were damaged when Russia said it downed a Ukrainian drone south of the Russian capital.