Statement by 

Chargée d’Affaires of Ukraine to the UN Ms. Khrystyna Hayovyshyn 

at the UN Security Council Open debate on the PoC in armed conflicts

(22 May 2025)

 

Mr. President,

Ukraine thanks Greece for convening this debate and expresses gratitude to the briefers for their insightful contributions.

This discussion could not be more relevant for Ukraine, where civilians, humanitarian and UN personnel, and journalists continue to be deliberately and systematically targeted by the Russian Federation. Accountability for these violations must remain a top priority.

We welcome the Secretary-General’s report, which highlights the deteriorating global protection landscape, including in Ukraine. Civilians are among the first victims in any armed conflict.

Since the onset of Russia’s full-scale invasion, they have been made direct targets of aggression.

According to the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, April 2025 was the deadliest month for civilians since September 2024, with 209 civilians killed and 1,146 injured—largely due to intensified ballistic missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities.

According to the Office of the Prosecutor General, since February 2022, at least 14,656 civilians, including 625 children, have been killed and more than 31,000 injured, with actual figures likely much higher.

4,391 cases of crimes against children and 351 cases of sexual violence have been registered.

Strikes along the entire frontline continue to escalate, making civilian life increasingly unbearable.

Overall, Russia has either destroyed or damaged 222,490 civilian infrastructure facilities in Ukraine. In 2024 alone, it dropped over 40,000 guided aerial bombs (GABs) on Ukraine; more than 15,000 have already been used since the start of this year.

Russia continues to use so-called “double-tap” strikes—repeated attacks on the same location to target medics, rescuers, and police—killing at least 100 emergency workers and injuring 430 in over 60 such incidents.

The war has also taken a heavy toll on humanitarian and UN personnel. In 2024 alone, at least 11 humanitarian workers were killed, often in deliberate or indiscriminate attacks. On 12 September 2024, three Ukrainian Red Cross workers were killed and two injured by Russian shelling while delivering aid in Donetsk.

Journalists and media professionals have also been targeted. At least 122 have been killed since the start of the full-scale invasion. Russia continues to unlawfully detain at least 30 Ukrainian civilian journalists, including four women.

These are not isolated incidents but systematic violations of international humanitarian law, openly encouraged by Russian state propaganda.

Mr. President,

We thank the international partners who assisted in our efforts to return forcibly deported Ukrainian children from Russia. 1,307 of them are now back in Ukraine and we will not rest until each Ukrainian child stolen by Russia is returned. Russia’s continued obstruction of these efforts requires urgent, decisive action by the international community. Under the pretense of so-called 'recreation' and 'summer camps,' Russia persists in unlawfully deporting and forcibly displacing Ukrainian children from occupied territories.

At the same time, it continues to hinder the search for thousands of missing Ukrainians by systematically refusing to confirm detentions and by upholding the practice of incommunicado detention of both civilians and military personnel.

The protection of civilians—whether under occupation, in detention, or unlawfully deported—remains a core and unwavering priority for Ukraine.

We urge the international community to stand with Ukraine against Russia’s blatant disregard for international humanitarian law and the UN Charter: to demand accountability, secure access to all detainees, and ensure the safe return and reintegration of all those unlawfully held.

Thank you.