Watch: Moment vibrating phones alerted UN to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

UN ambassadors have told a new BBC documentary about the moment they learned of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

It happened while the UN Security Council was in the middle of an emergency meeting to try and prevent such an escalation from happening.

Russia’s ambassador to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, says even he was caught by surprise.

Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the UN, said: “The main reason for the UN is to maintain peace.. when you have a permanent member of the Security Council, invading another country… you see your mission crumbling.”

You can watch Putin vs the West: At War on BBC iPlayer on BBC Two at 21:00 on Monday 29 January.