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STATEMENT

by the Deputy Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations

Mr. Volodymyr Pavlichenko at the Security Council meeting under agenda item

“Maintenance of international peace and security”

(27 July 2026)

Mr. President,

I thank the Presidency of the Democratic Republic of the Congo for convening this meeting and express my deep gratitude to the delegations of Denmark, France, Greece, Latvia, and the United Kingdom for supporting Ukraine’s request for this emergency meeting.

I also express my appreciation to the distinguished briefers, Acting Assistant Secretary-General Mr. Indrika Ratwatte and Director for Europe and Central Asia in the Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations Ms. Kayoko Gotoh, for presenting evidence of new war crimes committed by Russia against Ukrainian civilians.

I would like to start my statement by quoting the famous words of Robert Jackson, Chief Prosecutor for the United States at the Nuremberg Trials: "The wrongs which we seek to condemn and punish have been so calculated, so malignant and so devastating, that civilization cannot tolerate their being ignored because it cannot survive their being repeated."

Yet it seems that the international community still tolerates the repetition of heinous war crimes committed by the Russian Federation, which cynically fabricates pretexts to justify its illegal war of aggression against Ukraine. We have just heard the Russian representative manufacture artificial threats to mask Russia's deliberate violations of international law. It seems that there are no limitations for Moscow and no red lines for the rest of the international community.

During the night of July 18–19, Russia launched the largest ballistic missile attack since the start of the full-scale military aggression against Ukraine using 41 missiles and 125 UAVs against Kyiv and the Kyiv region. Russian deadly strikes were also recorded in the Kharkiv, Sumy, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.

On July 23, a Russian bomb targeted the city of Pavlohrad the Dnipropetrovsk region, killing 3 and injuring 28 people. On July 24, 3 Russian missiles killed 11 people and injured close to 100 in Kyiv region. The same day Russian strike destroyed the building of the Honorary Consulate of Latvia in Sloviansk, Donetsk region as was mentioned by briefers and our partners here.

Last Friday, a Russian drone struck a supermarket in Chernihiv, killing 2 people, including a 10-year-old girl, 25 people were injured as a result of the attack. This was not an accident or collateral damage—it was yet another cynical and barbaric act of terror against civilians. Russia continues to deliberately target places where ordinary people live, work, and shop, demonstrating utter contempt for human life.

Mr. President,

Russia continues to escalate its war of aggression against Ukraine, and this is an undeniable fact, as was also condemned by the briefers. Recently, Russia has intensified a deliberate campaign against Ukrainian grain exports and is actively attempting to block maritime trade routes in the Black Sea. By doing so, Russia wants to disrupt Ukraine's ability to export agricultural products and intimidate commercial shipping and put pressure on global food markets.

Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale military invasion, at least 1,054 port infrastructure facilities have been damaged or partially destroyed, 232 civilian vessels have been damaged, and 307 civilians have been killed or injured as a result of Russia’s deliberate campaign of terror which targets Ukraine`s port infrastructure and civilian shipping.

In June and July alone, Russia attacked almost 50 cargo ships. These attacks killed more than 30 people.

The most recent and one of the gravest incidents occurred on 19 July, when three Russian cruise missiles struck the Guinea-Bissau-flagged bulk carrier Golden Leo, owned by a Turkish company. The vessel was attacked while carrying Ukrainian grain through the maritime corridor. Ten people were killed, including a Ukrainian maritime pilot, while eight crew members were rescued. The vessel posed no military threat. Yesterday, the Golden Leo sank off the coast of Odesa.

On the same days, Russia attacked another foreign commercial vessel sailing under the flag of Antigua and Barbuda near Odesa, killing one crew member and injuring three others. Another civilian vessel under the flag of the Republic of the Marshall Islands was struck in the port of Odesa, leaving four crew members injured. Within less than forty-eight hours, Russia attacked three separate foreign merchant vessels operating near Ukrainian ports.

Ukraine expresses its deepest condolences to the families of all seafarers and port personnel killed in these attacks.

Russian attacks caused injuries among civilian seafarers from Ukraine, Egypt, the Syrian Arab Republic, and India. Thus, such attacks have an impact on interests of many members of this Organization. These facts are difficult to explain as coincidence or accident; these are deliberate actions.

Since 22 July 2026, maritime exports through Ukraine's ports have been suspended as a result of Russia's attacks on civilian commercial vessels and port infrastructure. The implications of that fact are obvious.

And the timing of these attacks is particularly revealing. They are taking place at the height of the harvest season, when millions of tonnes of Ukrainian agricultural products are expected to reach global markets. According to Ukrainian authorities, since the beginning of July alone, thirty-one merchant vessels have come under attack. Russia understands perfectly well what consequences such actions may have. More than ninety percent of Ukraine's agricultural exports pass through Black Sea ports. Such attacks put pressure on global food markets and increase uncertainty for countries that depend on Ukrainian agricultural exports.

The consequences are felt far beyond Ukraine and Europe. Millions of families in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East ultimately pay the price when grain shipments are disrupted, transport costs increase, and commercial shipping becomes more dangerous.

Mr. President,

In 2022 with the help of Secretary-General António Guterres and our Turkish partners we established the Black Sea Grain Initiative. It made an important contribution to global food security.

Russia later withdrew from the Initiative unilaterally. Having taken that decision, it subsequently attempted to place responsibility on the United Nations and the Secretary-General. We have categorically rejected such allegations. Its Russia that withdrew from the Initiative by its own choice, disrupted a mechanism that benefited countries across multiple continents, and now questions the role of the institution that helped make that mechanism possible. Delegations can assess these facts for themselves.

Ukraine expresses its full support for the Secretary-General and his consistent position in defense of the Charter of the United Nations, international peace, and international security. We have launched the maritime corridor in the Black Sea in order to support these efforts – while Russia continues to target them with missiles and drones.

One important fact should not be overlooked: nobody is attacking Russian grain routes, striking Russian merchant vessels, or destroying its grain terminals. Ukraine implements its right to self-defense, guaranteed by the UN Charter, with caution and respect for  international law. Our forces attack only Russia`s military potential and facilities which support Russia's war machine.

We never wanted this war to happen. When Ukraine strikes military airfields, military bases, ammunition depots, and fuel facilities that support Russia's war effort, the war simply returns to where it originated. On the contrary, Russia attacks Ukrainian ports, grain terminals, and commercial vessels – and expects the international community to accept such terror.

Russian terror against civilians and its threats to global food insecurity must end. The United Nations must make full use of all appropriate tools at its disposal, including those provided by international law, to put an end to attacks against civilians, restore freedom of navigation in the Black Sea, and ensure the safety and security of seafarers who continue to suffer from the Russian attacks.

Defending freedom of navigation has long been a priority for the Security Council, as reflected in its resolutions addressing the actions of destructive actors threatening maritime security on important international routes. The deteriorating situation in the Black Sea also requires urgent attention and action without further delay.

We would also welcome those “good offices” that would help ensure Russia’s full compliance with its obligations under international law, including the law of the sea.

Mr. President,

Yet Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine extends far beyond missile strikes, attacks against ports, or attempts to disrupt global food supplies. While the world sees burning ships in the Black Sea and destroyed apartment buildings in Ukrainian cities, tens of thousands of Ukrainians remain trapped behind prison walls in the temporarily occupied territory and inside the Russian Federation itself. Their only "crime" was defending their country, refusing occupation, speaking Ukrainian, or remaining loyal to their homeland.

Ninety-six percent of released Ukrainian prisoners of war interviewed by OHCHR reported torture or other forms of ill-treatment. Nearly ninety percent reported conflict-related sexual violence. At least 109 Ukrainian prisoners of war have been executed after capture, while dozens more have died in custody. Civilian detainees have been subjected to the same machinery of abuse. Torture remains widespread and systematic. At least 182 civilians have been executed in areas under Russian control, including in places of detention. Many others never returned alive from captivity.

The return of all our citizens is of paramount importance and the United Nations and the international community should play an active role in this process. Every day spent in Russian captivity is another day of suffering that international law was created to prevent. The return of every prisoner of war and every illegally detained civilian, as well as unlawfully deported Ukrainian children, must remain an international priority until the last Ukrainian comes home.

Mr. President,

The picture that emerges from everything we have discussed today is remarkably consistent. Whether we speak about missile strikes against residential neighborhoods, attacks against grain terminals and merchant vessels, or torture chambers hidden behind prison walls, we are dealing with different manifestations of the same policy.

As Voltaire once famously said: "Those who can make people believe absurdities, can make people commit atrocities." This is what Russian society is going through, and those responsible bear full responsibility for these war crimes.

Moscow does not cherish the lives of its own citizens, as imperial ambitions remain at the top of its agenda.

All efforts by Ukraine and our allies to restore peace have been met with escalation by Russia. Everything indicates today that Russia is preparing for a new wave of mobilization, destruction, and death. President Zelenskyy recently indicated that Russia wants 30,000 more troops from the DPRK.

Yet another demonstration of the Kremlin regime's malicious intentions was the deranged "history lesson" delivered by Russia's ruler yesterday evening. His distorted understanding of history and the world, coupled with yet another attempt to shift blame for the regime's own crimes onto others, is far more than an effort to justify Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. It is a diagnosis of an entire system that can survive only by feeding on bloodshed, suffering, and fear. Such rhetoric once again exposes the true nature of the Kremlin regime – one built on lies, violence, and imperial ambition.

Thus, we call on our partners to put all efforts into real steps, which will restore a comprehensive, just and lasting peace. This requires increasing support for Ukraine, strengthening pressure on Russia, and further weakening its war capabilities.

And we echo the same request made by our partners in this chamber: it is time for actions, not deliberations.

Thank you.