November 18, 2024
Thank you very much, Foreign Minister Lammy for bringing us together, and chairing this important meeting. I thank Under-Secretary-General DiCarlo for sharing the Secretary-General’s statement and sobering briefing. I welcome the participation of Ukraine’s Foreign Minister in this meeting today.
One thousand days ago, February 24, 2022, Russia launched its brutal and unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
President Putin believed it would be a quick victory, Ukrainians would succumb, wave the white flag of defeat. And yet, the Russian military failed to conquer Ukraine, end its existence as an independent country, or absorb it into Russia.
When he couldn’t break the Ukrainian military, Putin ramped up efforts to break the Ukrainian people:
Killing tens of thousands of Ukrainian men, women, and children; uprooting millions of families from their homes; Bombing out thousands of schools and hospitals, energy infrastructure and food storage; abducting – abducting thousands of Ukrainian children and relocating them into Russia.
And yet, for one thousand days, the people of Ukraine have not broken or bent.
But while today is an important marker, there is nothing special about this somber occasion.
Winter is approaching, and Russia’s relentless attacks have devastated critical infrastructure, leaving millions of homes without light, heat, and water.
Russia’s seizure and militarization of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant puts all of Europe on the edge of nuclear catastrophe.
Every day, Ukrainian families live in fear of Russian war crimes; to date, troops have committed some 147,000 of them.
And every night, Ukrainian families live in fear of Russian aerial strikes, which continue to pound the country.
It is clear that Russia has no regard for Ukrainian life. But it’s also clear that Russia has no regard for Russian life.
You saw Russia just this morning veto a resolution on Sudan that would have facilitated humanitarian assistance. You heard them declare their support for the Palestinian people. But you – as I know – know this is just hypocrisy at its best, and lies that they are concerned, at the worst.
Hundreds of thousands of Russians have died fighting this cruel and callous war. And a thousand days since it began, the carnage has only accelerated: Russia is absorbing more than 1,200 casualties per day, more than at any other time during the war.
And so, in its desperation, the Kremlin has turned to the DPRK: first, for arms, and now, for manpower.
At least ten thousand soldiers, sent first to eastern Russia, and now, to the far-western Kursk oblast bordering Ukraine, have begun engaging in combat operations with Russian forces.
It is a move without modern precedent: not in over 100 years has Russia welcomed foreign troops onto its soil.
And it’s one in blatant violation of UN Security Council Resolutions 1718, 1874, and 2270; Resolutions Russia agreed to only a few years ago.
It’s not just the DPRK Russia has looked to for help.
Putin also acquired hundreds of UAVs from Iran, flagrantly violating Security Council Resolution 2231.
All the while, Russia has disregarded its Chemical Weapons Convention obligations, and stated publicly it will supply captured weapons to non-state actors, including State Sponsors of Terrorism.
Colleagues, these are the actions of a rogue state.
And so, rather than try and justify the unjustifiable, Russia simply lies.
One thousand and one days ago, Russia’s representative told us to our face, there would be no invasion.
As the world watched live broadcasts of Russian forces and tanks crossing into Ukrainian territory, and Russian missiles raining down on Kyiv, he continued to insist in this Council, there was nothing to see here.
The lies continued. We were told that no North Koreans were deploying through Russia. Now, North Koreans are fighting on Russia’s frontlines, under the command of the Russian military.
All the while, this Chamber has been flooded with slurs and baseless accusations against Ukraine’s democratically elected leaders along with specious arguments about how Ukraine’s sovereign right to choose its own path and partners somehow threatens Russia’s so-called “legitimate interests” or “legitimate security concerns.”
Of course, the UN Charter is very clear. No country’s quote-unquote “security concerns” – legitimate or otherwise – give it the right to dictate another country’s policies, let alone invade and annex another country’s territory.
All of this comes down to the fact that Putin has simply never accepted that Ukraine, a fellow UN Member State, has the same rights to sovereignty, political independence, and territorial integrity.
Indeed, he has gone on the record multiple times, saying, “Ukraine is not even a state.”
Perhaps it’s why Putin so underestimated the resolve of the Ukrainian people. How bravely and effectively they have been able to defend their homeland, their democratically elected government, their culture and way of life, for 1000 days.
As Ukrainians continue the fight against imperialist invasion and might-makes-right ideology, the United States stands with them.
And let me be clear: when this war ends, a sovereign, independent, democratic Ukraine will be in control of its internationally recognized territory, and continue on the path to joining Euro-Atlantic institutions, like NATO.
Until then, and at the direction of the President, the United States will continue to surge security assistance to Ukraine, including artillery, air defense, armored vehicles, and other needed capabilities and munitions. And we will announce additional security assistance for Ukraine in the days to come.
Because ultimately, supporting Ukraine, in Congress, and beyond it, cannot be and should not be a partisan issue. Standing up for democracy and human rights is above
petty politics, and outlasts any one leader or term.
There is much talk about peace in Ukraine. Believe me, we would love nothing more than to see the people of Ukraine experience the safety and security they so deserve.
But a “peace” that is not just is not peace. A peace that is not sustainable is not peace. And a peace that is not Ukraine-led is not a true peace.
And so, I call on all UN Member States to support Ukraine’s formula for a just and lasting peace: one that fully respects Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and holds Russia to account for its crimes and violations of the UN Charter.
I again call on another permanent member of this Council, China, to stop stoking war on the European continent. To end enabling Russia’s war effort; to cease providing dual-use goods to Russia; and to quit parroting Russian talking points to justify this war. Because there is no justification.
Most of all, I call on Russia to end its aggression against Ukraine, and now.
End the support to countries like Iran and the DPRK, support that foments instability not only in Europe, but everywhere from the Middle East to the Indo-Pacific.
End the assault on food security around the world, and especially in the Sahel, where millions of hungry people rely on the Black Sea Grain Initiative for sustenance.
And end the needless suffering of Ukrainian and Russian people, who have endured the unimaginable for one thousand days. Let this misery, this madness, not continue. Not one day more.
Thank you, Mr. President.