As delivered

 

Statement by Mr. Sergii SHUTENKO, Director of the Department General for International Security and Military-Technical Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, at the General Debate of the Third session of the Preparatory Committee for the 2026 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons

(29 April 2025, New York)

 

Mr. Chair,

The delegation of Ukraine aligns itself with the statement delivered by the European Union. We would like to make additional remarks in our national capacity.

Ukraine believes that the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) remains the cornerstone of the global non-proliferation regime and the essential foundation for the pursuit of nuclear disarmament, serving as a key multilateral instrument for international peace, security, and stability.

We underscore the need for concrete progress towards the full implementation of Article VI of the NPT through the overall reduction in the global stockpile of nuclear weapons, taking into account the special responsibility of the States that possess the largest nuclear arsenals.

Ukraine strongly supports the universalization and entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). We call on all States that have not yet done so, in particular those listed in Annex 2, to sign and ratify the CTBT without preconditions or further delay.

We also call for the immediate commencement and early conclusion of negotiations in the Conference on Disarmament on the Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty.

Mr. Chair,

More than 30 years ago, Ukraine voluntarily abandoned its world’s third-largest nuclear arsenal trusting the solemn guarantees enshrined in the Budapest Memorandum and acceding to the NPT as a non-nuclear weapon State.

Ukraine demonstrated a proactive and responsible approach.
This decision was intended to bolster the international non-proliferation regime and contribute to global security.

But what did we get in return?

In 2014, the Russian Federation, a nuclear-weapon state, started its armed aggression against Ukraine and occupied parts of our territory. In 2022, Moscow launched an unprovoked and unjustified full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The violation by Russia of the Budapest Memorandum revealed the weakness of this document, as it failed to prevent the aggression of the Russian Federation, as a nuclear-weapon state, against Ukraine, as a state that has renounced its nuclear arsenal.

Since the start of the war against Ukraine, the Russian Federation has been repeatedly using dangerous rhetoric regarding the possible use of nuclear weapons against Ukraine and other countries.

Russia has been benefiting from military cooperation with Iran and the DPRK, by using Iranian UAVs and ammunition and weapons from Pyongyang. Moscow also made another escalatory move by directly involving DPRK troops to fight on its side in the Kursk region.

Regrettably, the future of non-proliferation regime and the NPT itself continues to be challenged also by the unresolved issue of the DPRK`s nuclear and missile program. We urge the DPRK to abandon its nuclear and ballistic missile programs in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner, in accordance with all relevant UNSC resolutions.

We are particularly alarmed by Iran’s continued advancements in uranium enrichment. Ukraine calls on Tehran to immediately resume fulfilment of its nuclear-related commitments under the JCPOA. We reiterate our support for a diplomatic solution to address this issue.

Mr. Chair,

On April 26, 2025, we marked the 39th anniversary of one of the most large-scale man-made disasters in human history—the accident at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant (Chornobyl NPP).

On 24 February 2022, the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone became one of the first targets of the Russian invasion. During the 36 days of occupation, Russian forces violated radiation safety protocols, used the area as a military base.

In February 2025, the Russian Federation once again pushed the world to the brink of a new catastrophe by launching a drone strike on the protective infrastructure above the destroyed Unit 4 of the Chornobyl NPP. The attack damaged elements of both the external and internal shells of the New Safe Confinement.

The situation in the temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) remains critically difficult as confirmed by the IAEA.

We call on the international community to increase pressure on Russia to withdraw all its military and other unauthorized personnel from ZNPP and return the plant under the regulatory control of the competent authorities of Ukraine.

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and its illegal occupation and militarization of our nuclear facilities have shaken the very foundations of the non-proliferation regime. For the first time in history, a nuclear-weapon State is using the nuclear infrastructure of a non-nuclear-weapon State, under IAEA safeguards, as a tool of coercion and conflict.

This is not merely a violation of the NPT’s provisions—it strikes at the heart of its foundational principle: that nuclear materials, technology, and facilities must never be exploited for military purposes.

If the international community allows a nuclear-weapon State to seize and weaponize another nation’s peaceful nuclear program without consequence, the credibility of the Treaty will be irreparably damaged. It will send a dangerous message: that nuclear restraint is optional, and that it might, not principle, define nuclear conduct.

Ukraine calls on all States Parties to reaffirm their commitment not only to non-proliferation and disarmament but also to the integrity of peaceful nuclear cooperation. The NPT was crafted to ensure that nuclear technology benefits humanity—not be turned into a weapon of war.

While the Treaty may not have been designed for times of armed conflict, it must be most vigorously defended in such moments of crisis.

Thank you.