Check against delivery

 

Statement

by the Delegation of Ukraine

at the Security Council meeting under agenda item

“Maintenance of international peace and security”

(9 July 2026)

Mr. President,

I thank the Presidency of the Democratic Republic of the Congo for convening this meeting and express my deep gratitude to the delegations of Denmark, France, Greece, Latvia, and the United Kingdom for supporting Ukraine’s request for this emergency meeting.

I also express my appreciation to the distinguished briefers Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo and Acting Assistant Secretary-General Indrika Ratwatte for presenting evidence of new war crimes committed by Russia against Ukrainian civilians.

Mr. President,

Before I turn to my main remarks, I would like to refute yet another torrent of absurd claims and fabrications that we have just heard.

As George Orwell famously captured in his dystopian novel “1984”, three slogans of the totalitarian state that distorted the reality and allowed to control its society and justify all foreign conflicts. I quote: 'War is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength' end of the quote.

And today, the representative of the Russian Federation, has demonstrated us this exact Orwellian inversion of reality in action. Thus, sitting here at this chamber, Russia proposes us to believe that deliberate missile and drone strikes of residential buildings is a legitimate way of warfare. Russia wants us to believe that occupation of Ukrainian cities, totally destroyed by Russian forces, means “liberation”, Russians continue attempts to persuade the world that their full-scale military invasion of Ukraine is for the “peace and security”.  

Nobody would ever fall for aggressor`s lies. The reality is well known – and it is totally different from Russian propaganda. Russia launched this unprovoked war of aggression against peaceful nation more than twelve years ago and now continues to abuse its seat in this Council. And we don’t have to forget that its presence here is illegal and it should be removed from this Council entirely.

Mr. President,

We requested this emergency meeting because we are witnessing yet another intensification of Russian terror against Ukrainian civilians, as it was also mentioned by other Security Council members. Russia has increased its missile and drone strikes against our cities. This leads not to peace but to more destruction and deaths.

May and June were among the deadliest months for Ukrainians for the last four years – this is a fact supported by the UN reports. Unfortunately, July is continuing this tragic and barbaric trend. Every day Russian missiles, bombs and drones target residential buildings and civilian infrastructure across Ukraine.

Kyiv remains the primary target of all these attacks and suffers from devastating consequences.

On the night of 2 July, Russia launched 74 missiles and 496 attack drones against Ukraine, killing 31 people and injuring more than 100 others, including 4 children.

Following the same strategy, on the night of 6 July, another Russian massive attack of 68 missiles and 351 attack drones against Kyiv and the Kyiv region was carried out. That night Russia killed 28 people. Among the victims, as it was mentioned by Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo, was a 12-year-old boy whose body, along with that of his mother, was recovered from the rubble of a residential apartment building in Kyiv. More than 130 people were injured, including 9 children.

These are casualties in Kyiv and its neighborhood – but Russian attacks target other Ukrainian cities as well. Kharkiv and Odesa, Zaporizhzhia and Dnipro, Sumy and Kramatorsk remain under consistent threat of missiles, drones and bombs. The death toll of Ukrainian civilians since the beginning of July continue to rise. For example, on 1 July at least 6 people were killed and 72 were injured; on 3 July – at least 16 people were killed and 62 were injured; on 4 July – at least 4 people were killed and 56 were injured.

This is not just mere statistics, but a tragedy for all my compatriots.

Mr. President,

The Kremlin resorts to this strategy of massive terror to intimidate and force Ukrainians to surrender.

Russia deliberately targets residential buildings and civilian infrastructure.

Russia is also deliberately creating unbearable living conditions in the temporarily occupied territories. Despite repeated calls by OCHA and the Red Cross, Russia continues to push thousands of innocent Ukrainians whose homes remain under the temporary occupation in Ukraine's Kherson region to the brink of survival, severely restricting their access to food, water, and other basic necessities.

Today, the name of the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky has become one of the symbols of the humanitarian crisis caused by the Russian occupation throughout this war.

Russia is unable to ensure even the most basic standards of safety and well-being for Ukrainians living under its occupation, nor is it willing to allow civilians to leave the temporarily occupied territories.

Instead, Russia once again resorts to its usual tactic of shifting responsibility and blaming the victim, while falsifying the facts, spreading propaganda, and manipulating the narrative in an attempt to justify its crimes.

All these actions amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.

But let us be clear here. This strategy of terror is a complete failure, as its plan to invade Kyiv in three days. Ukraine won’t be coerced into accepting a sham peace.

Since the start of its full-scale military invasion, the Russian military has been given no fewer than fifteen deadlines to occupy the entirety of Ukraine's Donetsk region. Every single one of those deadlines passed without success. Nor will these objectives be achieved this year or next year.

Russia's false claims regarding the capture of Kostiantynivka are yet another example of its systematic disinformation campaign aimed at creating the illusion of military success and undermining confidence in Ukraine's resilience.

But the reality on the ground tells a very different story. Russia is not winning and its monthly battlefield losses have reached levels that are increasingly difficult to sustain.

Their losses are rising every day. Once a soldier is signed up to fight, he can expect to live for just 10 days to three weeks from the arrival at the training ground to death at the battlefield.

In May alone, Russia lost more than 30,000 soldiers, while in June its losses amounted to approximately 28,000 personnel. Despite suffering these losses, Russia has achieved only limited and incremental advances along the front line.

Our strike capabilities have evolved. We effectively implement our middle and deep strike sanctions against Russian war machine and continue to significantly constrain Russia's ability to sustain and expand its aggression. We are targeting Russian military bases and war-supporting industry, oil refinery plants, its logistics hubs and other military targets – both in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine and in Russia. We are implementing our inherent right to self-defense and attack military potential of the aggressor – in full compliance with the norms of international law. Our aim is to deprive Russia of the weapon and resources which fuel its war of aggression against Ukraine.

Mr. President,

Russia started this war in 2014 – so, the Kremlin bears full responsibility for all consequences of such decision.

Unlike Putin, we are not fighting this war because of unrealized imperial ambitions or geopolitical fantasies. Together with our allies and partners we are defending our land, people, and future. And we are very grateful for the partners’ support in line with Article 51 of the United Nations Charter. And we are grateful to NATO members for their support and assistance announced in Ankara.

For the numerous times Ukraine confirmed its readiness for the immediate ceasefire and peace talks. On June 4^th, the President of Ukraine sent an open letter to Putin, once again offering to end the war. And we continue our talks with the United States and other allies on finding the most effective way to stop it. But Russia has no desire to do it. Moscow continues to reject every genuine peace initiative. Even today, in this chamber, instead of finding a way to stop its aggression, Moscow justifies the killings and spreads propaganda. But you can’t escape from the responsibility for all those crimes.

Russia's aggression can only be stopped through strength and through practical actions.

Support of Ukraine`s defense capability against the aggressor. It is not escalation but the only strategy to restore peace and to save lives that works. Today Ukraine is the only country in the world that faces massive ballistic attacks almost every day – and we need support to resist this threat. Every delay in delivering interceptors like the PAC-3 will cause more casualties among Ukrainian civilians.

Pressure against Russian military potential. We need to choke the sources of Russian military capabilities and increase sanctions. We must stop the Russian military-industrial complex. Russia's access to critical technologies and components used in its weapons and equipment must be blocked. The Russian economy is showing clear signs of structural exhaustion, and this is the right moment for tightening all the constraints against Moscow in financial, banking, trade, energy spheres, and in particular against its shadow fleet.

Accountability as a moral obligation and deterrent against future aggression. We call for the continuation of work aimed to restore justice for the victims of Russia. We welcome the recent decision of the Government of the Netherlands to host the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression Against Ukraine in The Hague.

We also demand the immediate return of unlawfully deported Ukrainian children, illegally detained civilians, and prisoners of war without delay. We need to bring all responsible for the war of aggression and war crimes to justice.

Strengthening of the UN effectiveness in implementing its functions. The paralysis of the UN Security Council regarding Russia`s crimes must be stopped by the international community who still respect rules-based international order. Thus, we once again appeal to the members of the Security Council to place on the table, without further delay, a draft resolution calling for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire. Such a step would be a clear signal in support for the restoration of the comprehensive, just and lasting peace for Ukraine.

Mr. President,

There is only one path forward for Russia: to end its war of aggression against Ukraine now.

It requires Moscow to recognize that its war is a historic catastrophe. If they refuse to stop it, the costs and consequences for Russia will continue to rise.

The choice is Moscow’s. But the responsibility for stopping them is ours.

Thank you.