Check against delivery

 

 

Statement 

by the Delegation of Ukraine at the High-Level Plenary Meeting 

of the UN General Assembly to commemorate and promote the International Day Against Nuclear Tests 

(31 August 2026, New York)

 

 

 

Madam President,

The delegation of Ukraine aligns itself with the EU statement. We would like to add some additional remarks in our national capacity.

On the occasion of the International Day against Nuclear Tests, Ukraine joins the international community in commemorating the victims of nuclear testing and recalls its devastating humanitarian and environmental consequences.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the opening for signature of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). Over the past three decades, the Treaty has become one of the key pillars of the international nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament architecture and has contributed to establishing a strong global norm against nuclear weapon test explosions.

Ukraine calls upon all States that have not yet done so, particularly the remaining Annex 2 States, to sign and ratify the CTBT without further delay. Pending its entry into force, all States must uphold moratoriums on nuclear test explosions.

We also strongly condemn the DPRK’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes and call on Pyongyang to fully comply with relevant Security Council resolutions as well as take concrete steps towards the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Madam President,

Russia’s withdrawal of its CTBT ratification and its irresponsible nuclear rhetoric have jeopardized the nuclear non-proliferation regime and undermined international peace and security

Moscow continues to seize and militarize the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), creating unprecedented risks to nuclear safety and security. We call on the international community to put pressure on Russia to withdraw from the site and return ZNPP to Ukraine’s full sovereign control.

Russia’s policy of nuclear blackmail cannot be tolerated. We call for resolute condemnation and firm action by the international community. Nuclear blackmail must never be allowed to serve as a means of achieving political objectives.

Madam President,

More than three decades ago, Ukraine voluntarily relinquished the world’s third-largest nuclear arsenal, eliminated all nuclear weapons from its territory and joined the NPT as a non-nuclear-weapon State. In return, Ukraine has received security assurances. Yet Russia, one of the States that provided those assurances, betrayed its commitments by launching its aggression against Ukraine.

Ukraine’s sobering experience demonstrates a fundamental lesson: security assurances without credible enforcement mechanisms failed their ultimate test — they failed to deter the aggression. Therefore, Ukraine needs clear, credible and legally binding security guarantees to prevent any recurrence of aggression.

We call on the international community to act decisively to compel Russia to end its war of aggression by maintaining sustained pressure and providing support for Ukraine. Every step that strengthens Ukraine brings us closer to a comprehensive, just and lasting peace.

Thank you.