Thank you, Mr Chair.
Russia’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine continues to inflict immense suffering on the Ukrainian people. As we marked recently here at the OSCE, Ukrainians have now endured over four years of Russia’s full-scale war. We must never become inured to the Russian military’s brutal attacks, nor allow the deaths of Ukrainian civilians to become normalised.
It is also worth us regularly recalling that Russia’s needless war of aggression against Ukraine has created insecurity and driven economic instability across our region, far beyond Ukraine’s borders. The global consequences of Russia’s war are significant, interconnected, and stem directly from Moscow’s decision to wage war on its sovereign neighbour.
A key example is the way that Russia’s actions continue to undermine global food security. Strikes on Ukraine’s Black Sea ports and grain facilities have reduced export volumes and increased transport costs on key humanitarian corridors. UN agencies have reported constrained availability of cereals for emergency operations and ration reductions in several regions. Russia has chosen to target the infrastructure that feeds the world.
Russia’s continued strikes on Ukraine’s energy system also heighten risks. Attacks on power infrastructure have disrupted electricity supplies, including to facilities linked to nuclear safety, and undermine confidence in the mechanisms designed to prevent wider escalation.
The international impact is also being felt as Russia expands military recruitment far beyond its borders. There is now growing evidence of third‑country nationals being tricked into travelling to Russia under the guise of legitimate employment or education opportunities, before being compelled to fight. Reporting from around the world, including across Africa, as well as the latest findings of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, all reinforce this picture.
This exploitation reflects a broader pattern as Russia struggles to sustain its aggression, it turns to increasingly desperate measures, with no regard for the consequences. This includes its choice of international partners for fighting its war – key among them, North Korea and Iran.
Russia has turned to Pyongyang for ammunition, artillery and combat troops. In return, Russia has provided military, economic, and diplomatic support, undermining the global sanctions regimes it is obliged to uphold. Russia’s cooperation with the DPRK in its war of aggression against Ukraine has contributed to greater instability in the Indo-Pacific region.
The same applies to Russia’s military partnership with Iran. Tehran has supplied Moscow with ballistic missiles, lethal drones and the technology needed to expand its production, enabling Russia to sustain its campaign of strikes against Ukrainian civilians and infrastructure. Iran’s involvement has provided opportunities to observe and refine the use of missile and drone systems in a high‑intensity conflict, which of course is having implications beyond Ukraine. Russia’s war has therefore not only drawn Iran deeper into its aggression but has heightened the risk of wider regional destabilisation.
And of course, colleagues, Russia’s aggression strikes at the foundations of the Helsinki Final Act. The Act’s core principles – sovereignty, territorial integrity and the non‑use of force – were designed to ensure stability across our region. Russia’s decision to violate those commitments has consequences far beyond Ukraine, because undermining these principles inevitably generates wider insecurity.
To tackle all of this, we must keep Ukraine at the centre of our focus. Russia’s aggression against Ukraine is a major driver of instability across multiple regions, and addressing that aggression is essential to restoring broader international security. Ukraine’s security is integral to our own, and the path to wider stability runs through a just and lasting peace for Ukraine.
Thank you, Mr Chair.
