Kiev ( Ukraine ) - (AFP) - Ukraine will demand Monday that Russia be expelled from the UN Security Council , in the wake of new statements by President Vladimir Putin accusing the West of pursuing a "divide and rule" policy.

"Tomorrow (Monday) we will announce our position officially. We have a very simple question: Does Russia have the right to remain a permanent member of the UN Security Council and to be a (member) of the United Nations?" Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on a Christmas TV programme.

"We have a convincing and logical answer: No, you don't have that right," he added.

Kuleba noted that the issue of Russia occupying a permanent seat in the UN Security Council - like the United States, Britain, France and China - is mainly discussed in diplomatic circles.

And after making it clear that this issue has not yet been raised in press conferences or public statements by leaders of states and governments, Kuleba said that "at a lower level, the question is already being raised about what Russia should become in order not to pose a threat to peace and security."

The UN Security Council, in its composition, reflects the balance of power after World War II. It includes 15 member states tasked with dealing with global crises, in particular by imposing sanctions, authorizing military action and agreeing to changes in the United Nations Charter.

However, each of the five permanent members of the Council has veto power, which allows it to prevent the adoption of any resolution. Several countries have long called for Security Council reform, with some criticizing the poor representation of African and Latin American countries in permanent seats.

On the other hand, the Russian Air Defense Forces shot down on Sunday night a Ukrainian drone as it approached an air base in southern Russia, killing three people when its wreckage fell, Russian news agencies reported.

"On December 26, at around 01:35 Moscow time (22:35 GMT Sunday), a Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicle was shot down at a low altitude as it approached the Engels military airfield in the Saratov region," TASS news agency said, quoting the Russian Defense Ministry. ".

She added that "as a result of the fall of the wreckage of the plane, three Russian servicemen and technicians who were at the airport were fatally wounded."

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday accused the West of seeking to "divide" Russia, stressing in an interview with state television that the attack on Ukraine aims to "unite the Russian people."

"Everything is based on the policy of our geopolitical opponents, who aim to divide Russia, historical Russia," Putin said. "Divide and conquer: always tried to do it, they are trying to do it now, but our goal is completely different: to unite the Russian people," he added.

The Russian president has justified military intervention in Ukraine on several occasions, pointing to the need to bring together Ukrainians and Russians, who for him constitute only one people.

He again condemned the position of Kiev and its Western allies, who "refuse (to hold) talks," stressing that he is "ready to negotiate with all participants in this process (to find) an acceptable solution" to the conflict.

Two weeks before their traditional celebrations, Orthodox Ukrainians celebrated Christmas Sunday in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, alongside Catholics.

"The war has brought us a lot of grief," Olga Stanko told AFP at a church in the city centre. "We cannot remain under Russian influence," she added.

Olena Zakharova Gorianska expressed her happiness at celebrating Christmas on December 25 for the first time, describing it as an obvious choice after suffering from the Russian occupation of the town of Gostomil, north of Kiev.

"I don't want anything to connect me with the occupiers, with the enemy," she said.

Ukraine, a country whose majority is Orthodox, is divided between a church affiliated with the Moscow Patriarchate - which announced that it had cut ties with Russia at the end of May due to the Russian attack - and a Russian church independent of Russian tutelage.