26 March 2025
Assistant Secretary General Musuya, thank you for your sobering briefing.
Your briefing confirmed once again that since we last discussed the aggression against Ukraine in the Security Council, we have seen continued airstrikes by the Russian Federation which have killed civilians and damaged civilian infrastructure.
In the last month we have seen multiple attacks on hospitals, apartment blocks, administrative buildings, supermarkets, and commercial vessels. Attacks continue unabated.
As ASG Musuya has mentioned, a particularly deadly attack was launched on 7 March against a city centre in Donetsk Oblast. The attack resulted in 11 civilian deaths and over 50 injured, including 7 children.
A “double tap” strike then deliberately targeted the rescue services attempting to free survivors trapped under the rubble. It was the same on 12 March: a hotel targeted in central Ukraine, with 16 civilian casualties, and a “double tap” against survivors and those desperately trying to help them. These are cowardly and despicable actions.
Tragically, these attacks against Ukrainian civilians continue without pause.
On 21 March, a child and both her parents were killed in Zaporizhzhia, with 14 other civilians injured.
On 23 March, a 5-year-old girl and her father were killed in Kyiv, with 10 more civilians injured.
And on 24 March, missiles struck apartment blocks and schools in Sumy, injuring at least 88 including 17 children. And just this month, over a 7-day period Russia launched 2,700 missiles, drones and glide bombs at Ukraine: needless to say, the humanitarian suffering caused by such a ceaseless aerial blitz is truly horrific.
Colleagues,
Russia’s illegal war of aggression is not just a European concern.
On 11 March, a Russian ballistic missile, armed with cluster munitions, targeted a Barbados-flagged civilian vessel in Odesa loading wheat bound for Algeria. The attack killed 4 Syrian sailors and wounded two other civilians. Another display of the complete disregard for civilian lives.
This contributes to humanitarian suffering across the globe, as the most vulnerable, especially in several African countries, face much higher food and energy prices and scarcity in supplies.
In recent days we have received the latest report by the UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine. It is a grim catalogue of “Crimes against humanity” perpetrated by Russian forces against civilians and “war crimes” against prisoners of war, including systematic torture and even executions. The report notes an apparent new policy in Russia’s armed forces to “not take prisoners but to kill them”.
Colleagues,
I want to highlight the extreme vulnerability of Ukraine’s women.
I pay tribute to the brave testimonies given here in New York two weeks ago by Ukrainian women held captive for years by Russian forces and subjected to terrible abuse and degradation.
We also remember the Ukrainian children who have been abducted to Russia and had their identity brutally erased. This underlines that if there is to be an enduring peace it must be built on accountability and justice for all.
Russia’s systemic violations of international humanitarian law in the temporarily occupied territories are well-documented, including by the UN. We have frequently heard in this Chamber how Russia has cut off around 1.5 million Ukrainians from humanitarian aid.
We call on Russia to respect its international obligations and facilitate full, safe, rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access in the territories it has temporarily occupied.
We call on international community to heed the call we heard this morning from ASG Musuya for more support.
Denmark has from the beginning of this brutal war allocated 1 billion USD in humanitarian and civilian aid.
Colleagues,
Russia could end the war today if it would only stop attacking Ukraine. Russia has raised preconditions for peace while at the same time increasing attacks on Ukrainian civilians, resulting in further humanitarian suffering.
We have noted the first steps towards a ceasefire. It remains crucial that further steps are taken towards a just and lasting peace, respecting Ukraine’s internationally-recognized borders and territorial integrity.
The majority of the UN members clearly stood with the people of Ukraine on the third anniversary of Russia’s illegal full-scale invasion. They reaffirmed their commitment to the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine. They demanded that any peace must be in line with the principles of the UN Charter. The Charter, we all signed up for.
Denmark will continue to stand with the people of Ukraine as we, hopefully, move closer towards a just, comprehensive and enduring peace.
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