Statement by the Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the UN H.E. Ambassador Dr. Andriy Melnyk, LL.M.

at the Open Debate of the UN Security Council 

on “Leadership for Peace”

(15 December 2025)

Mr. President,

Ukraine commends the initiative of the Presidency of Slovenia to hold this timely debate.

Today’s discussion on “Leadership for Peace” takes place at a crucial moment when we, the United Nations, face one of the gravest challenges.

Russia’s ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine is not only an unbearable tragedy for millions of Ukrainians.

It is a direct assault on mankind as a whole.

So, it is actually in Ukraine where leadership for peace is being tested. Every single day.

Almost four years into this brutal war, Russia continues to indiscriminately target civilians and critical infrastructure, commit horrendous atrocities, weaponize food and energy, issue nuclear threats, and dismantle the international legal order that underpins global stability.

Moreover, Russia continues to abuse its veto power not only to block this Council from fulfilling its core mandate, but also to shield itself from accountability.

How can we overcome this deadly gridlock?

Breaking this vicious circle inevitably brings the role of the Secretary-General to the forefront when the Security Council is paralyzed.

Mr. President,

If you were to ask me which human quality should matter most for the Secretary-General, whom we will elect next year, I would name just one: courage.

Not only the courage to call things by their proper names, not only to condemn aggression and fearlessly defend the principles of the UN Charter, but above all the courage to act:

to show initiative, to move beyond the comfort of mandates, and to step forward when leadership is truly needed.

From the very beginning, the job of the Secretary-General was defined not merely by procedures, but by personal bravery.

Dag Hammarskjöld understood this truth when he went to the Congo in 1961, being convinced that true leadership requires physical presence in the middle of a conflict for successful mediation.

For his courageous stance, he had to pay the highest price.

More than sixty years later, at the start of Russia’s full-scale aggression against Ukraine, António Guterres faced a different but no less difficult test, leading the Organization in a moment when the Security Council was cynically blocked by the Russian Federation.

His personal engagement for the Black Sea Initiative on the Safe Transportation of Grain and Foodstuffs from Ukrainian ports deserved respect.

As we look ahead to the selection of the next Secretary-General, Ukraine believes that his or her role must go far beyond the guardianship of the Charter and its principles.

We expect a Secretary-General who will not limit himself to condemning aggression in words alone, but who will be prepared to act, even when such engagement is unwelcome to one of the parties.

Yes, words of condemnation do matter, but they are not sufficient.

What is required is fearlessness to act — both decisively and creatively.

What we often observe is that peaceful initiatives take place far from this Organization, while the UN is reduced to the role of a bystander or observer.

Mediation, peace efforts, and the search for an end to wars must originate here, within these UN walls, mainly through the initiative and courage of the Secretary-General himself.

At the same time, we expect the Secretary-General to clearly address all those Member States that choose to abstain, hiding behind claims of illusory neutrality.

In situations of blatant aggression, abstentions weaken international law and, in practice, only benefit the perpetrator.

As Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor, once said, “Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim.”

Mr. President,

To conclude, I wish to refer to the philosopher Aristotle.

He wrote, and I quote: “Courage is the first of human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees all others.”

Let us be guided by this ancient wisdom.

I thank you.