Mr. President,

Distinguished members of the Security Council,

I thank the UK Presidency for convening this meeting and for its strong leadership. As we mark 1000 days of Russia’s full-scale invasion, let’s not forget that Russian aggression against Ukraine has already lasted over ten years.

I departed for this meeting during one of the largest air attacks in months. Russia launched over two hundred drones and missiles at peaceful Ukrainian cities. I spent a sleepless night with my family, with my kids, just like thousands of Ukrainian families.

Russia struck critical civilian infrastructure once again. Ordinary residential buildings. Energy system. Transmission substations of our nuclear power plants. This is a direct threat to nuclear safety and security.

Some cities like Odesa and Sumy experienced power outages. 10 people were killed in Odesa and 12 people, including two children, in Sumy. Many more were injured.

These strikes are Russia’s response to everyone who recently called and visited Putin, asking him for peace. Putin wants war, not peace. We must increase the price of the war for him.

One thousand days is a very big number. On one hand, it proves Ukrainian bravery in the face of brutal Russian aggression. As well as the support of our partners, for which we are grateful. On the other hand, this number proves the failure of the international community, including this esteemed Council, to stop wars of aggression and atrocities.

We must be honest. International mechanisms have failed. They are not working. We need to create new tools. We need to be principled and united to restore respect for the UN Charter.

Mr. President,

One thousand days of resistance to a total war is an enormous price to pay for a nation that simply wants to be free and live a normal life.

Today, I will speak about the price of the war. The price we, Ukrainians, are paying. The price people around the world are paying. And the price the aggressor must pay.

But most importantly, I will speak about the price of appeasement. In other words, what the world will have to pay… if it chooses appeasement instead of just peace. The price the world will have to pay if world leaders choose weakness instead of strength.

The goal of achieving a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace is urgent. Whatever the price of achieving it now, the price of further failures will be much, much higher.

By launching its invasion, Russia harmed many more countries and people than only Ukraine. This invasion has worsened many global crises. Russia weaponizes food, energy, and other resources — affecting millions of people.

Russia’s naval blockade of Ukrainian ports led to food shortages and record-high food prices. About four hundred million people around the world rely on Ukrainian grain. Many of them were put at the risk of hunger.

Russia is also weaponizing energy and endangers people not only in Ukraine but also in other countries. This war was one of the primary factors that slowed global economic growth and increased inflation.

Furthermore, such a blatant violation of international law caused a global security crisis. If Russian aggression succeeds, other aggressors will be tempted to attack their neighbors and commit atrocities.

Since the beginning of its aggression in 2014, Russia has violated about four hundred international treaties. Defense spending around the world is rising and taking resources away from education, healthcare, tackling climate change, and other important global issues.

Mr. President,

No one in the world pays a higher price for Russian aggression than the people of Ukraine. This is why they, and only they, must be the ones to define the terms of peace.

Imagine what it’s like to lose in one second your beautiful young wife and three children aged ten and two years, and just two months. Because your home was struck by a Russian drone. This is what happened a few days ago to thirty-four year-old Maksym Kulyk from Kryvyi Rih. This is the price of the war.

This year, Russia intensified executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war. We are currently investigating 49 criminal cases involving the killing of 124 of them. According to the UN, 95% of our prisoners of war faced torture in Russian captivity.

Some of the most horrible crimes of this war are crimes against Ukrainian children. Russia stole every Ukrainian child’s normal childhood. At least 659 children were killed by Russia since 2022 – numbers that continue to rise. This is the price of the war.

And let me be clear. For us in Ukraine there is no difference where a child suffers. In Ukraine, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Latin America, or other regions. No child in the world deserves to suffer from the war.

Widespread crimes and human rights violations are being committed right now against millions of Ukrainians who remain in the occupied territories.

The forcible deportation of at least 20 thousand Ukrainian children might be the largest state-run children kidnapping operation in history. Thousands of them remain in Russia. They are subjected to indoctrination, forced Russian citizenship, adoption or foster placement with Russian families, and even name changes.

These actions by Russia violate the Genocide Convention, UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the Fourth Geneva Convention.

In this regard, I refer to the Montreal Pledge, made by participants in the recent Ministerial Conference on the Human Dimension of the Peace Formula. They pledged assistance for the return of children. I urge everyone to join these noble efforts.

Thousands of Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilian hostages are still held in Russian captivity without proper access of international monitors and medics. We remember all of our people. We will not rest until we free all of them and return them home.

The list of Russian atrocities committed in Ukraine proves that the current international tools are not working. We need new mechanisms to ensure accountability for the crime of aggression and all subsequent crimes. If this requires setting a precedent, let’s set a precedent. If this requires amending the Rome Statute, let’s amend it. We must act to restore international peace and security.

Colleagues,

The price of inaction or appeasement far exceeds the price of strong steps. If we allow Russia to continue aggression and go unpunished, this will create unacceptable risks for global security, nuclear safety, environment, migration, and other areas.

Russia is now aligning itself with such rogue states as Iran and the DPRK. This emerging axis is in an active phase of undermining the global order. The involvement of the regular DPRK troops marks a new level of escalation and global proliferation of war.

This is a real part of a North Korean ballistic missile KN-23 that struck Ukraine. Such deadly missiles fall on our people constantly. They can carry around 500 kilograms of explosives. The most recent hit was Brovary near Kyiv on November 13th.

We know precisely what North Korea wants to get from Russia in response. Technology for missile, nuclear, and other military programs. This will have an impact far beyond the borders of two states, including in the Indo-Pacific.

The same applies to the deepening of Russia’s defense cooperation with Iran. By the way, we have proof that Russia started using thermobaric warheads on Iranian “Shahed” drones to cause maximum destruction.

And the question is: what does Teheran want from Moscow in return? Again, very specific things that can further worsen the security situation in the Middle East.

This war is much larger than Ukraine. And its price for the world can get much higher if we don’t stop Russia now.

In total, between February 2023 and October 2024, the Ukrainian Defense Forces recorded more than four thousand six hundred (4600) cases of use by Russia of ammunition containing hazardous chemicals.

Today’s report of OPCW is a timely reminder of all the red lines crossed by Moscow. It confirms the evidence provided by Ukraine, in particular a grenade marked RG-Vo and the corresponding soil samples. We have proven that Russia uses prohibited chemical substances on the battlefield.

For Russia, this is also a war for natural resources. A very colonial approach. They try to capture Ukraine’s rich deposits of manganese ore, uranium, titanium, and other resources. We must stop the aggressor from proceeding further if we want to avoid these critical resources falling into the hands of Russia, North Korea, and Iran.

Mr. President,

The world cannot afford peace at any cost in Ukraine. Because in the end, the price will be too high. It might lead to an even larger, possibly global war.

We witnessed this in 2014. Then the prevailing argument among appeasers was, "Russia only wants Crimea; it will not go further." But it did. And the weak response did not deter Russia; it merely encouraged further violations.

Russia started the war in the Donbas. Ukraine signed the Minsk Agreements and held almost 200 rounds of negotiations with Russia. There were 20 ceasefire agreements. Eight years of peace process ended when Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. So why should anyone believe that Putin will act differently now, or honor new agreements? Not before we raise the price for his aggression.

As a core principle of our approach, we must recognize that there can be no compromises on territorial integrity and sovereignty, whether in Ukraine or anywhere else.

The fastest way to end this war is to increase the support Ukraine needs to defend itself and to compel Russia’s withdrawal. Equipping Ukraine with the necessary means and removing artificial limitations on weapon use will speed up just and lasting peace.

Tightening sanctions will deprive Russia of funds for the war. Next year, Moscow plans to feed 146 billion dollars into its war machine. At the same time, Russia’s shadow fleet can bring at least 120 billion dollars in oil revenues. We must cut these bloody revenues.

Supporting Ukraine, President Zelenskyy’s Victory Plan and the Peace Formula, is the only realistic path to a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace for Ukraine and the world.

And one more important point. There is no justification for putting Ukraine and Russia on the same footing as “two sides of the war”. This is not a conflict between two parties. This is a war of aggression. Russia is the aggressor. Ukraine defends itself. False moral equivalence must stop.

Mr. President,

Let’s realize the price we have already paid for this war. A war that no one wanted except Russia. Let’s realize the price we will have to pay for appeasement. Let’s take real action for real peace. Peace through strength. I thank you for your attention.