January 11, 2024
Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya, noting that Moscow persists in terrorizing his country with regular missile and drone strikes, reported that another massive attack occurred on 8 January — the third in less than two weeks. Critical civilian infrastructure and industrial facilities were damaged across various Ukrainian regions, and at least four people were killed, along with 45 wounded. He stressed that, in recounting these events, he does not mean to imply that there are calm, safe periods for Ukrainian civilians in between larger attacks — rather, attacks occur daily. He expressed concern over the fact that the Russian Federation maintains its capacity to harm Ukraine from a safe distance “due to an ongoing supply of weapons and munitions from rogue States”. The transfer of drones from Iran and ballistic missiles from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea contravene multiple Council resolutions, he underscored.
He went on to stress that all Ukrainian children forcibly transferred to Russian Federation territory under the pretext of humanitarian protection remain Ukrainian citizens. Further, he called on the International Criminal Court to take note of Russian Federation leaders’ attempts to transfer one national group to another through forcibly granting citizenship. Underscoring that this is a manifestation of genocide, he called on the international community to execute the arrest warrant issued by the Court against Russian Federation President Putin as soon as possible. Hundreds of thousands of that country’s citizens have paid with their lives for “Putin’s maniacal dreams”, he noted, adding that both present and future generations will suffer from these decisions. It is therefore in the world’s interest to end this criminal regime and bring about comprehensive, fair and lasting peace in Ukraine. However, this will only be possible if the international community works together, and such work must be based on the Charter the United Nations.