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A Latvian MP was so furious that a Moscow delegation had been invited to attend a UN security meeting that he launched into an impassioned speech ending with the famous Ukrainian war quote, ‘Russian warship, go f*** yourself.’

Rihards Kols said it was ‘a disgrace’ that Vladimir Putin’s delegates were allowed to attend the gathering in Vienna, and said he could not sit in the same room as Russian lawmakers as if ‘nothing happened’ when thousands of Ukrainians had been killed when Putin invaded a year ago.

Kols, who was visibly seething during his blistering speech, pointed towards the Russian delegation and accused them of being war criminals.

He said the Russian’s presence was the ‘white elephant’ in the room and branded them a ‘disgrace’ who should not be allowed to attend.

In a video of the meeting posted online, Mr Kols said: ‘We say we stand for our principles and values, but we don’t. I mean, there is an elephant in this room whose name is the delegation of the Russian Federation.’

He said if he was a witness and ‘someone asked me who is the war criminal, I would point to the back benches in this room.’

‘It is shameful that this delegation is here. Especially a delegation consisting of members who are under sanctions in Russia, individuals who voted for the annexation of independent countries.’

‘I will convey a message to the Russian delegation sitting in this room, and I will quote the Ukrainian border guards.

‘Russian warship, go f*** yourself!’

The message of defiance was first uttered by Ukrainian defenders at Snake Island when they were ordered to leave their post by a Russian battleship in the early days of the war.

The 19 Ukrainian soldiers on the island were thought dead after Russian troops on the warship Moskva bombarded the island with artillery fire, but they miraculously survived and were later awarded bravery medals after returning to Ukraine in a prisoner swap.

The phrase has been adopted as an international slogan of resistance against Russian aggression, and was commemorated on a postage stamp in Ukraine just weeks after its first utterance.

Earlier in the meeting, Russia’s ambassador interrupted a minute’s silence for Ukraine as diplomats from the two countries faced off on the anniversary of their war at a session of the Security Council..

As everyone in the council chamber rose in silence, Russia’s United Nations envoy Vasily Nebenzia remained in his seat and asked for the floor.

He then broke the silence, saying: ‘We are getting to our feet to honour the memory of all victims of what has happened in Ukraine starting in 2014 – all of those who perished.’

His use of 2014 and double emphasis on the word ‘all’ referred to Russia’s claims that the conflict began that year after Ukraine’s Moscow-friendly president was driven from office by mass protests.

The scenes took place at a meeting of the Organisation for Security Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), a 57-member group created during the Cold War as a platform for dialogue between East and West. 

The group has a wide-ranging mission, including peace, human rights, arms control and other security issues.

Ukraine and Lithuania had boycotted the session due to the Kremlin’s presence, and a number of delegates walked out in disgust during the Russian ambassador’s address.

A Slovak delegate read out a statement from the Ukrainian delegation that said ‘the presence of these warmongers in Vienna is an affront to everything that the OSCE stands for.’

They are not here for genuine dialogue nor for cooperation,’ it added. ‘They are here to spread their propaganda … they are here to try and justify the war crimes they have committed and desecrate the principles of international law and human decency.’

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