June 20, 2025
Madam President,
I would like to thank Mr. Miroslav Jenča, Under-Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas, and Ms. Edem Wosornu, Director of the Operations and Advocacy Division of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, for their briefings and also for the UN’s actions to help the victims of this war.
Madam President,
In respect with its rethoric, Russia’s objective has not changed and remains the subjugation of Ukraine. Russia does not want peace. One need only observe its actions to see this.
Since the last resolution of this Council calling for immediate peace, which Russia voted for, this country has resumed with unprecedented intensity over many months its attacks and indiscriminate bombing against Ukraine and its people.
Let us begin with this: rescue workers have found 23 dead in the rubble of a building in the Solomiansky district of Kyiv, which was struck by a Russian missile on June 17. The images of the gutted building echo those of buildings in Vinnytsia, the Kramatorsk railway station, the pediatric hospital in Kyiv, the printing house in Kharkiv, a shopping center in Kostiantynivka, a playground in Kryvyi Rih, and a shopping street in Sumy. In total, the strikes on Kyiv on Monday night alone left 28 people dead. These are the deadliest since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
These deaths are not an accident. They are not collateral damage from the destruction of military targets. Civilians are being deliberately targeted. They died because Russia is pursuing a strategy of terror in an attempt to bring Ukraine to its knees. They died because Russia is targeting civilian infrastructure and the Ukrainian population, deliberately targeting densely populated urban areas. They died because Russia is blindly taking revenge for the heroic resistance of the Ukrainian people to its attempt at invasion, thereby violating international law. The Council must condemn these violations of international humanitarian law, call on Russia to end them, and remind Russia of its obligations under the Charter.
Madam President,
Russia continues to obstruct the ceasefire that Ukraine accepted more than 100 days ago and that the entire international community is demanding.
Its attitude during the two meetings in Istanbul leaves no doubt as to the real value it attaches to the opening of direct talks. On May 16, it sent a low-level delegation with no negotiating power, even though the Ukrainian president had proposed direct negotiations between heads of state. On June 2, with the same delegation, it transmitted a memorandum listing a series of leonine and maximalist conditions for a ceasefire. To stop the fighting, it demands that Ukraine either withdraw from its own region that Russia is partially and illegaly occupying or comply with certain demands that would compromise its security and its right to self-defense, or accept a regime that would take us 33 years backwards.
These conditions amount to demanding Ukraine’s capitulation. They are unacceptable. The Council must recall tirelessly that, to be real, peace must be just and respect, as required by the Charter, the sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of Ukraine
Madam President,
Today, as it did on October 7, 2023, Russia seeks to take advantage of the escalation in the Middle East to distract us from its aggression. On the one hand, it is intensifying its deadly strikes in Ukraine, while on the other, it is pretending—in vain—to play the role of mediator in the conflict between Israel and Iran. This latest attempt at diversion will fail, just like the previous ones. No global disorder will make us forget that Russia, by invading Ukraine, is violating the United Nations Charter and its fundamental principles, challenging borders, and threatening European security and global stability.
Almost a year ago to the day, more than 100 countries gathered in Bürgenstock, Switzerland, to define together the foundations of what a fair and lasting peace must be. On the eve of the conference, on June 14, 2024, the Russian president had already set Ukraine’s surrender as a condition for these talks.
As the General Assembly has repeatedly and unambiguously emphasized, I repeat that peace must be fair, that is, respectful of international law, the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, and lasting, that is, accompanied by robust security guarantees for Ukraine.
France will continue to work for this peace, alongside the Ukrainian people, who have always opted for peace, despite the aggression they are suffering.
Madam President,
To conclude, on February 24, Russia voted in favor of Resolution 2774, through which this Council demanded an end to the conflict as soon as possible. What did Russia do after that vote? It continued its attacks on Ukrainian territory with renewed intensity, some of which may might represents war crimes. It reiterated all of its objectives in Ukraine and has set maximalist conditions. It is high time for this to stop. It is high time for Russia to implement what this Council has demanded and voted on.
Thank you.