Senior UN official admits international peacekeeping group 'not fit for purpose'

Mr Schmale, who heads up the UN in Ukraine, said fundamental reform was needed at the body if it were to avoid such a collapse.

He warned if things do not change, the UN could be facing "collapse".

Speaking to The Telegraph, Mr Schmale pointed to the fact Russia remains a permanent member on the UN’s Security Council, the body charged with upholding international peace and security, and holds veto powers.

He said: "It is anachronistic that we have a governing council, the Security Council, where five members have a veto right. That is not appropriate for a global body.

"Ukraine is an example of that; you have one of those [Security Council members] violating the norms that we stand for, and they can use the veto right to get themselves off the hook.

"That demonstrates that we are no longer fit for purpose...We may see, in the not so distant future, a collapse of what we have."

Mr Schmale, who acts as the UN Secretary-General’s personal representative in Ukraine, suggested granting stronger decision-making powers to other countries.

He also called for removal of veto powers from the UN's five permanent members: China, France, Russia, the UK and the US.

The 30-year veteran of humanitarian work said: "Fundamental reform is needed on the governance, peacekeeping and political side.

"If we had the opportunity to redesign this, I would certainly think it’s wrong to give a selected few any veto or permanency rights."

Actions taken by President Donald Trump have put the UN's budget under strain.

Secretary General, Antonio Guterres said he regretted the decision by President Trump to withdraw from 31 UN-related agencies, as he called on the White House to meet its "legal obligation" to pay the country’s outstanding UN fees, thought to be around $4billion.

President Trump is a vocal critic of the United Nations, criticising the UN for the aid it gave to asylum seekers hoping to enter the US.

In a speech given at the New York Headquarters last March, President Trump said: "The UN is supposed to stop invasions, not create them and not finance them."

Mr Schmale insisted the UN is now at a "watershed moment" that could see the end of the organisation after 80 years.

He said: "The League of Nations was created to solve common problems and when the member states realised it couldn’t do that, it was no longer fit for purpose. They gave it up and created something new.

"My hope remains that member states will find the momentum to reform [the UN] instead of letting it collapse.

"But I think it’s a really realistic option, sadly, that we may have to collapse to create something new."