Statement by Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya, Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the UN at the UN Security Council meeting on “Maintenance of peace and security of Ukraine”

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Madam President, Minister Coveney, distinguished members of the Security Council,

I also recognize the representative of putin’s regime in the permanent seat of the Soviet Union.
First of all, I would like to thank Minister Coveney, Antonio Vitorino (DG of IOM) and Kelly Klements (Deputy High Commissioner for refugees) for their statement and briefings.

Distinguished colleagues,

Yesterday morning surgeons in Lviv carried out an operation on a 3-year-old boy Myron, an IDP from Kharkiv. His family left the east of Ukraine in an attempt to save their child from the russian shelling. Unfortunately, russian rocket attacks against Ukrainians have no bounds and Myron’s family came under a russian airstrike on the other side of Ukraine while in the vicinity of a car service center hit by a russian cruise missile.

Fortunately, Myron survived. Unlike 7 other people, killed by this airstrike on Lviv. Unlike 3 people, killed by russian shells in his native Kharkiv just today. Unlike many other Ukrainians whom russian is killing now.

One may like to ask putin’s representative how the attempted murder of a three-year-old boy near a car service center in Lviv could “protect Donbas from neo-nazis”. I will not do that as it would simply be a waste of time to listen to another lie that the russian representative is feeding us to justify what can not be justified.
Let their deeds speak for themselves. And they are sinister. It was also yesterday that putin granted the 64th motorised infantry brigade of the russian army with the honorary title of guard brigade. As an argument putin referred to so-called “mass heroism and valor, tenacity and courage” of the soldiers of the above brigade.

The 64th brigade was supposed to seize Kyiv according to the initial russian plans. They failed and were deployed in the town of Bucha for almost the whole of March. A month that was turned into period of terror against civilian population of the occupied town. The soldiers of this brigade, and many of them have already been identified, are responsible for mass atrocities in Bucha.
That is the russian interpretation of heroism and courage – to kill hundreds of unarmed civilians, to rape dozens of women and girls and finally to flee from the advancing Ukrainian forces. One could only agree that the russian soldiers demonstrated tenacity. Retreating under the fire of the Ukrainian forces, they tenaciously kept all they had looted in private houses and apartments of residents of Bucha.

Russians left behind their munitions to pack their vehicles with stolen computers, TVs, mobile phones, clothes, carpets, washers and even toilets. One may find this inclination for stealing toilets too much even for russians. However, it should be remembered that about a quarter of russian households still do not have access to indoor plumbing. In rural russia, this sanitation facilities record is even worse and reaches almost two-thirds of households.

Madam President,

As we are meeting now, the battle for Ukrainian Donbas is unfolding. The russian forces are attacking the Ukrainian cities and villages in the east of the country, trying to raze them to the ground and making no differentiation between military and civilians.

It means that while the Ukrainian forces courageously protect every parcel of the Ukrainian soil, the civilians in the conflict area remain under a deadly threat from the russian forces.
The situation in Mariupol remains the most critical. Thousands of civilians are still in the city. Hundreds of them, including children, have taken shelter in the Azovstal plant. They need immediate safe evacuation and the russian forces are well aware of this. Instead, the russians deny all requests from the Ukrainian side, world leaders and the UN high officials for evacuation corridors for civilians. The russians continue to shell Azovstal and the entire city with aerial bombs, rockets and heavy artillery. The russians have also blocked humanitarian convoys with food and medicine from Ukraine or international organizations to the city.

Every time it seems that we have already got accustomed to the ignoble methods of russian warfare. And every new piece of news from Mariupol and dozens of other hotspots proves that russians are still able to hit new lows.

I call on the Security Council to urgently exercise its authority in accordance with the UN Charter to save the innocent civilians of Mariupol and other eastern cities and towns who remain hostages of the bloody war fantasies of putin.
I would also like to acknowledge the importance of today’s call by the Secretary General for a humanitarian pause to allow for the opening of a series of humanitarian corridors. We demand russia follow this call. What have we just heard from a putinite instead? ‘Calls for a ceasefire sound false and insincere…’ followed by tommyrot and drivel from a comrade in the soviet seat.

Distinguished colleagues,

We commend the UN humanitarian team’s continuous efforts to support Ukrainian citizens on the ground. We welcome in this regard the UN mission’s return to Kyiv. It will ensure better interaction with the Government.

We welcome the joint actions of the UN World Food Programme and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to provide special cash assistance to low-income IDPs and retirees. We believe that such an approach will contribute to more targeted, balanced humanitarian aid to those in need. We also encourage the UN agencies in assisting the implementation of the Governmental programs to relocate Ukrainian production facilities and to support the employment of IDPs. More than 250 state-supported production facilities have already been relocated to other areas, with hundreds of others waiting their turn. We believe that Ukraine is a good place for the active implementation of the Humanitarian-Development Nexus.
Let me once again express our special gratitude to all states who have accepted Ukrainian refugees, primarily women and children, as well as for providing children's education, health protection, psychological and social support etc.

However, given the enormous magnitude of the crisis, we ask to scale up the UN humanitarian response in and around Ukraine and increase the volume of humanitarian aid and its prompt delivery to those in need.

Madam President,

In the russia-controlled territories, including the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, the invaders build filtration camps and torture chambers. They continue to abduct representatives of local authorities and activists.

We all remember the assurances of putin’s representative in this chamber that russia did not intend to occupy the Ukrainian lands. Another lie, as everything, coming from his mouth. Now russians try to tear off the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, following the model of the so-called “DPR” and “LPR”.
The russian occupiers continue to forcibly transfer Ukrainians from the occupied territories of Donbas to russia, as nazi Germany once did. Filtration camps are an integral element of their transfer.

At least 20 thousand Ukrainians are kept in filtration camps on the Mangush-Nikolske-Yalta line, about 5-7 thousand people – in the filtration camp in the village of Bezymenna, Donetsk region.
According to available information, citizens of Ukraine are sent to the economically depressed regions of the russian federation, in particular, the northern regions and the island of Sakhalin. Ukrainians receive documents banning them from leaving russian regions for two years.

To date, more than 500 thousand Ukrainians, including 121,000 children were forcibly transferred to russia’s territory. Such actions of the russian invaders can be qualified as kidnapping and require a resolute response by the international community, primarily from the relevant UN agencies.
As of today, more than 12 million persons left their homes due to the armed aggression of the russian federation, and many of them have no place to come back to. Almost 5 million Ukrainians left Ukraine, including 2 million children, while 7 million, including 2,5 million children, are internally displaced.

We call on the UN to provide its assistance to monitor the situation and ensure the safe return of the Ukrainian displaced persons, particularly children, to secure places in Ukraine or other countries. The rights of displaced Ukrainian children must be protected.
We also expect more active involvement in establishing humanitarian corridors blocked by the russian troops, ensuring the safe evacuation of civilians, and delivering humanitarian aid to those who stay in the area of conflict.

Since 5th of March the Government of Ukraine, through the ICRC mediation, offered 348 humanitarian routes. 303 of them were agreed upon, but only 176 took place. As of 18th of April more than 290 thousand people were evacuated.
None of 38 attempts by the Ukrainian authorities to arrange humanitarian corridors for civilians from Mariupol and Volnovakha was successful due to the unwillingness of russia.

Dear colleagues,

Since January we have held more than a dozen meetings on the russian aggression against Ukraine. We all value our time, so let me ask you – how do our meetings influence those who occupy a seat that the Charter still allocates to another, already defunct, entity?

How many meetings of the Security Council will be held with the same result without changing russia’s role in the Council?!

Colleagues, it appears that these meetings do not affect either the security situation on the frontline or the humanitarian situation in Ukraine.

I do not underestimate the commitment of our partners to help Ukraine at the bilateral level. However, what is the role of the Security Council in this regard? The organ that failed to prevent the war and is still failing to stop it now.

Unfortunately, in this chamber we continue to listen to the subjects of a future war trial and make statements before them. For what reason? Are you ready to relegate the role of the Security Council in addressing the worst security crisis on the European continent since the Second World War to discussions only?
I strongly urge the Security Council to seriously address the issue of how to solve the problem of russia’s dubious presence in this chamber that impedes the Council’s effectiveness in exercising its primary responsibility to maintain international peace and security.

Why has this organ no influence on russia’s war against Ukraine? The answer is obvious because the Security Council continues to pretend that russia is a full and legitimate permanent member.
I see no meaningful change in the role for the Security Council if an answer is not found soon.
Russia must be stopped. For the sake of peace for Ukrainians and people throughout the world.

Thank you.