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Statement by Ambassador Sergíy Kyslytsya, Permanent Representative of Ukraine at the UN Security Council meeting on “Threats to international peace and security” (20 May 2024)

Mr. President, 

distinguished members of the Security Council, 

I express my appreciation of the briefing by High Representative Nakamitsu.

I also recognize putin’s envoy in the permanent seat of the Soviet Union.

We have already highlighted the detrimental impact of such Russian propaganda shows on the credibility and integrity of the Security Council. 

It is a mockery of the Council’s mandate when the aggressor demands that the Council address complaints about the victim of aggression still having weapons to defend itself.

It is a mockery of common sense when the aggressor makes such demands after opening a new front and thus significantly expanding the area of hostilities, human suffering and destruction.

The north of Kharkiv region, particularly the town of Vovchansk, is now suffering the same fate as other hotspots of the Russian war against my country. Settlements are being razed to the ground. People are fleeing their homes. Those who cannot evacuate are subjected to inhumane treatment by Russian soldiers.

Unfortunately, there have already been reports of executions of local residents by Russian soldiers in the northern part of the town of Vovchansk. In particular, the Kharkiv Prosecutor’s Office is investigating the murder of a disabled person in a wheelchair near the local hospital committed by Russian forces. This was discovered through footage filmed by a Ukrainian reconnaissance drone on May 17th.

Yesterday, Russian airstrikes killed 12 civilians, including a pregnant woman, in the villages of Cherkaska Lozova, Novoosynove and Kovsharivka in the Kharkiv region. As Russian terrorists once again resorted to the tactics of double strike, two paramedics were among the victims.  

Russian guided aerial bombs, ballistic and cruise missiles, shells and mines continue to destroy Ukrainian infrastructure, kill Ukrainian people, and poison the natural environment of Ukraine.

We are alarmed that Russian troops flagrantly violate the Chemical Weapons Convention by resorting to artillery shelling with chemically hazardous substances. In April alone 444 cases of use by Russia of ammunition containing hazardous chemicals were recorded. That is 71 cases more than in March. 

We remain concerned about Russia’s ongoing attempts to exploit the occupation of the Zaporizhzhia NPP as a part of its military strategy. Russia continues to use its territory to launch drones and train drone pilots, taking advantage of the fact that the Defense Forces of Ukraine cannot return fire in the 1.5 km zone around the plant.

Russia’s obsessive inclination to request Council meetings on weapon supplies is in fact a manifestation of their desire to expand such a no-return fire zone to the entire Ukraine.

For Ukraine, however, this is a matter of survival. We are, therefore, grateful to our allies, who continue to support our fight. 

Air defence systems will help protect Ukrainian infrastructure. Fighter jets will help push back the Russian aircraft that currently launch guided aerial bombs from deep within their territory. Armor and artillery will help move the frontline away and restore normal life in the territories occupied by Russia.

Ukraine will continue to exercise its inherent right to self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter until threats to its people and its sovereignty are removed and the Russian aggression is stopped.  

Mr. President,

Since the beginning of the Russian aggression illegitimacy narratives have been the backbone of Russian propaganda. To justify its aggression in 2014 Russia made claims about a so-called coup d'état in Ukraine. 

To justify Russia’s invasion in February 2022 Putin openly called for the Ukrainian army to topple the Ukrainian government, labelling it  “illegitimate”.

To justify its unwillingness to end the war Russia keeps repeating its illegitimacy narrative like a broken record. This time – by misinterpreting or completely ignoring the provisions of the Ukrainian Constitution and Ukrainian laws regarding the term of authority of the President of Ukraine.

Let me clear the Russian mess and set the record straight so that there is at least some use of this massive misuse of the Council by the Russian delegation.

In accordance with the article 103 of the Constitution of Ukraine the President of Ukraine is elected by the citizens of Ukraine for a five-year term, on the basis of universal, equal and direct suffrage, by secret ballot.

Paragraph one of Article 108 stipulates that the President of Ukraine exercises his or her powers until the assumption of office by the newly-elected President of Ukraine. This constitutional provision enshrines the fundamental principle of institutional continuity of presidential power.

Paragraph 6 of Article 103 stipulates that the procedure for conducting elections of the President of Ukraine is established by law.

The law, in its turn, is very clear. 

In accordance with Article 19 of the Law of Ukraine "On the Legal Regime of Martial Law" during martial law, it is prohibited to hold elections of the President of Ukraine, as well as parliamentary and local elections.

In accordance with Article 20 of the Election Code of Ukraine “in the event of martial law or state of emergency being imposed in Ukraine or in its separate territories, the election process of national elections and/or local elections held in these territories or their parts shall be terminated from the date of entry into force of the respective decree of the President of Ukraine.”

Article 11 of the Law of Ukraine "On the Legal Regime of Martial Law" stipulates that “in the event of the term of power of the President of Ukraine expiring during a state of martial law, the President's powers are extended until the new President of Ukraine, elected after the abolition of martial law, assumes office.

Martial law in Ukraine was announced by the Decree of the President of Ukraine No. 64/2022 «On imposition of martial law in Ukraine» of 24 February 2022 – the day that Russia started its invasion. According to the Constitution of Ukraine, this Decree has been endorsed by the Ukrainian Parliament. It remains effective today because Russia continues its war of attrition.

The broad area of active combat as well as Russia’s regular missile and drone strikes across the entire territory of Ukraine make it impossible to ensure adherence to international standards and commitments on the right to democratic elections, including proper election administration, a safe environment for campaigning, international monitoring and voting.  

After the termination or abolition of martial law or a state of emergency, the electoral process, which has been suspended in this connection, shall begin again.

The Election Code of Ukraine envisages that the decision on calling elections, the electoral process of which was suspended or did not begin due to the imposition of martial law or state of emergency, shall be adopted by the subject of their appointment not later than one month from the date of termination or abolition of martial law or state of emergency, and if the law does not require a separate decision on the appointment for holding the elections, the Central Election Commission shall announce the start of the election process no later than one month from the date of termination or abolition of martial law or state of emergency.

In November 2023, representatives of groups and factions of the Ukrainian Parliament, both ruling coalition and opposition, met within the framework of "Jean Monnet Dialogues" for peace and democracy and signed Conclusions on reaching an agreement that elections will be held after the end of the war and abolition of martial law. They also agreed to elaborate a special law regulating the specifics of the first post-war elections.

This is plain and simple. If putin’s envoy is genuinely concerned about Ukrainian elections, he should, instead of requesting Security Council meetings, recommend his master in the Kremlin stop the aggression and withdraw the troops from the territory of Ukraine.

As you know on May 7, Russia held a ceremony to install Vladimir Putin in office. In this way, the Russian authorities are attempting to give the entire world and its own citizens the illusion of legality for the nearly lifelong stay in power of the person who has turned the Russian Federation into an aggressor state and the ruling regime into a dictatorship.

During the so-called March "elections," the Russian Federation violated numerous international documents that serve as the foundation for the modern system of international relations. In particular, the UN Charter, the Declaration on the Principles of International Law, the Geneva Convention on the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, and dozens of UN General Assembly resolutions.

The illegal organization of another so-called electoral process in the sovereign territories of Ukraine temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation—parts of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson regions, the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, and the city of Sevastopol—accompanied by threats, blackmail, and coercion of millions of Ukrainian citizens who live in temporarily occupied territories or were forcibly relocated to the territory of the Russian Federation constituted a brutal violation of the generally recognized norms and principles of international law. 

Despite warnings from authoritative international institutions, the Russian Federation's actions once again demonstrate that its leadership does not recognize its responsibility and is unwilling to end the illegal, unprovoked, and unjustified full-scale armed aggression against Ukraine, which has lasted more than two years and resulted in numerous human casualties and destruction. The Kremlin regime, through propaganda and manipulation, uses voter participation and voting results to justify its military invasion of Ukraine and aggressive policies toward other countries.

Based on the foregoing and the International Criminal Court's active arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin, it is a fact that there is no legal basis for recognizing him as the democratically elected and legitimate president of the Russian Federation.

Recent resolutions of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe dated April 17 No. 2540 (2024) and the European Parliament dated April 25 No. 2024/2665(RSP) confirm the ineligibility of holding so-called "elections" in Ukraine's temporarily occupied territories, their undemocratic nature in Russia itself, and, in fact, refute the legitimacy of their results.

We call on foreign countries, international organizations, and the public to follow suit by not recognizing the results of these pseudo-elections or Russian dictator Vladimir Putin as a legitimate president, to resist the demolition of the system of the rule of law and universally recognized democratic values, as well as to continue effectively supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression, which poses a threat to European and world security, peace, and stability.

Until such steps are taken, strong international solidarity remains the most effective response to both Russian aggression and propaganda. 

Solidarity with Ukraine saves the lives of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians. It also undermines the aggressor’s potential to spread violence to other countries.

Finally, solidarity with Ukraine will bolster out our efforts to achieve a comprehensive, just and lasting peace on the basis of the UN Charter.

I thank you.