Thank you, Mr Chair. Russia's War of Aggression in Ukraine
continues unabated, causing immense human suffering. What
it intended to be a three-day lightning strike quickly descended
into chaos. This was a war of choice, unprovoked and unjustified.
And now, two years and 118 days later, the human cost to both
sides has been incalculable, with the extraordinary numbers of
Russian casualties in particular a testament to President Putin's
misjudgement. Ukraine continues to bravely defend its sovereign
territory.
Despite high operational activity by Russia, their gains have
been minor in almost all sectors of operations and they continue
to sustain high casualties. The poor performance and high
attrition of the Russian armed forces has
necessitated increasingly desperate measures, including
recruitment of foreigners into their armed forces with the
promise of high wages and Russian citizenship. Unsuspecting
foreign nationals who believe they are travelling to Russia to
study and are then forced to fight on the front line.
With the previous ‘convict pool' now likely to have exhausted, it
is becoming clear how deeply unpopular further mobilisations will
be among the Russian population. The previous mobilisation
resulted in a record labour shortage and an exodus of skilled
workers such as doctors and IT professionals. It puts Russia in a
quandary of its own making.
Against this backdrop last weekend more than 90 countries met in
Switzerland at the Ukraine Peace Summit to reinforce
international consensus that the principles of the UN Charter
must underpin a just and lasting peace. This resulted in a
communique, signed by representatives from every continent, that
stated ‘the principles of respect for the territorial integrity
and sovereignty of all states can and will serve as a basis for
achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine.'
Yet Russia rejects this vision and instead continues to violate
the fundamental principles of international law. Principles that
they have freely signed up to – as a member of the United Nations
and as a signatory to the Helsinki Final Act – to ‘respect each
other's sovereign equality and individuality as well as all the
rights inherent in and encompassed by its sovereignty'.
That same Act states that participating States ‘have the right to
belong or not belong to international organizations' and, most
fundamentally, that participating States ‘will refrain…from the
threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or
political independence of any State'. Russia continues to seek to
deny Ukraine these fundamental rights: to choose its own security
arrangements; to determine its own sovereign course and to live
in peace and security within its internationally recognised
borders.
Meanwhile, President Putin's so-called peace proposal calls for
Ukraine to cede parts of its internationally recognised
territory. This is not consistent with the Helsinki Final Act or
the UN Charter. It shows his disdain for the rules based
international system that keeps us all safe and the contempt he
has for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. That is
why we will support Ukraine for as long as it takes to secure a
just and sustainable peace - because the principles and values
that we all share to co-exist peacefully depend on it. Thank you.
