Ukraine's membership in the United Nations Security Council starts on January 1, 2016, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has stated.

"Today Ukraine's membership in the UN Security Council begins. We know the value of peace and justice!" he wrote on his Twitter page.

As reported, on October 15, 2015 the United Nations member states by secret ballot chose Ukraine as one of the ten non-permanent members of the UN Security Council for two years - 2016-2017. Some 177 countries voted for the decision with the quorum being 129 votes.