Statement by the Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the UN, H.E. Ambassador Dr. Andrii Melnyk, LL.M., at the First Regular Session 2026 of the Executive Board of the UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS  

UNDP Segment – Interactive Dialogue with the Administrator

3 February 2026, New York

The Ukrainian delegation wishes to congratulate your Excellency Mr. de Croo on your appointment as Administrator of the UNDP.

I thank you for your forward-looking statement delivered today in your new capacity.

Let me wish you every success in leading UNDP at a time of profound global challenges for the UN development system.

From your presentation we clearly see that the UNDP has a strong ambition to retain its role as the UN’s leading development agency, with a broad thematic mandate and sufficient geographical presence.

Lamentably, it is Ukraine that has become a true litmus test whether the UNDP will cope with these tectonic shifts.

This February marks four years since the Russian Federation launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The unprovoked war of annihilation unleashed by Russia against the Ukrainian people has inflicted immeasurable human suffering and devastation, leaving deep scars not only on Ukraine but also on the very foundations of international peace, also endangering the development goals.

Now, during this coldest winter in recent history, Russia has descended to an appalling new depth of brutality.

Through its relentless campaign of missile and drone terror against civilians and energy infrastructure across Ukraine, it is intentionally extinguishing light, warmth, and life itself.

These recent attacks, carried out with increasing intensity and impunity, have caused an unprecedented level of destruction.

They constitute crimes against humanity and clearly bear a genocidal character.

As we speak here, millions of Ukrainians – including my family in Kyiv - endure unimaginable suffering, living for weeks without electricity, heat, or water supply amid temperatures plunging to minus 25 degrees Celsius due to the targeted bombardment of our energy grid.

In this sense I would like to appeal personally to your excellency, dear Mr. de Croo, as a new captain of the UNDP ship, to take urgent action and facilitate international support in restoring Ukraine’s critical infrastructure.

What the civilian population needs most now is core equipment for the electricity transmission system required to restore damaged facilities.

This includes power transformers of high voltage classes switching equipment, switchgear, as well as auxiliary components of primary and secondary equipment and cable products.

What is unfolding in Ukraine now has already become the worst humanitarian catastrophe on the European continent since the Second World War. I say it without any exaggeration.

Dear Mr. de Croo,

I am confident that you will demonstrate this leadership showing to the global community and the whole UN family that UNDP shall play a decisive role in addressing this unprecedented challenge.

In conclusion, I would like to thank Ukraine’s partners, like Denmark, EU, Japan, Norway and Sweden, all the donor countries whose generous contributions make UNDP work in Ukraine indispensable, and I wish to call upon other member states to make their contributions.

Thank you.