The Council meets today because Russia continues to violate the Charter it is bound to uphold.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was not forced. It was, and continues to be, a deliberate act of aggression intended to erase another state’s identity.
In recent weeks, Russia has continued to subject Ukraine’s cities to drone and missile strikes in civilian areas. Last Wednesday night, 17 civilians were killed and at least 98 more injured in an attack involving 659 drones and 44 missiles.
Despite talk of an Easter ceasefire, so far this month, Russia has launched more than two hundred drones a day on average, exceeding even March’s record levels.
A full, immediate, and unconditional ceasefire is essential – that is what the Secretary-General has called for, and that is what the General Assembly called just a few weeks ago.
Russia has been aided in its war on Ukraine by its military partnership with Iran. This is an operational relationship that results in weapons, and weapons technology spreading their lethal consequences across regions – from Ukraine to the Middle East – in direct defiance of the UN Charter and this Council’s resolutions.
The result of this war will have consequences not only for Europe, but for the rest of the world. If Russia succeeds in showing the world that borders can be changed by force in Ukraine, it sets a very dangerous example.
So what we say in this chamber matters.
In Ukraine, Russia is the aggressor. Russia is the one that must show restraint, that must de-escalate, that must engage in meaningful dialogue.
How we engage as a Council will shape not only the outcome in Ukraine, but the rules that govern our collective security.
