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Statement by the Delegation of Ukraine under cluster 2 “Other Weapons of Mass Destruction” of the First Committee of the UN General Assembly (22 October 2024, New York)

Madame Chair,

Ukraine advocates strict adherence to the provisions of the key international instruments in the field of non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, including the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC), the 1925 Geneva Protocol, as well as Security Council resolution 1540 (2004).

We fully support the UN Secretary-General’s Mechanism for investigation of possible use of chemical and biological weapons and categorically stand against any attempts to “review” this mechanism with the aim to decreasing its efficacy, as well as undermine its independence and impartiality.

Since 1975, Ukraine has been a Party to the BTWC. Its ratification preceded by the confirmation by all other Parties and depositories of the Convention, of the absence of biological weapons in the territory of Ukraine as well as facilities for their production. Our state has been fully complying with its obligations under the BTWC, including by annually submitting its reports to the Implementation Support Unit.

 

Ukraine has never intended to produce, nor does it produce, biological weapons—whether independently or in partnership with any other State Party. All Ukrainian institutions and facilities involved in medical and biological research are exclusively dedicated to public health and veterinary protection.

 

Our cooperation with other countries is purely peaceful, aimed at strengthening the capabilities of our medical and biological facilities to prevent and counteract the outbreaks of infectious diseases, as well as to provide necessary aid to our citizens.
Against this backdrop, Russia’s allegations regarding the conduction the so-called “medical biological activities” of the United States as well as the development of the biological weapons on the territory of Ukraine, including the latest portion of such allegations, contained in the statement of Russia under cluster 2 of the First Committee,  which has just been posted on the web-sited of the Permanent Mission of the Russin Federation to the United Nations, are provocative, false and do not have anything common with reality.

We would like to reiterate that these allegations were convincingly debunked by Ukraine, United States and the overwhelming majority of other the BTWC States-Parties leaving Russia and its few satellites countries with nothing.

Bearing in mind the aforesaid, we would once again like to recall that the above-mentioned procedure of the BTWC Official Consultative Meeting has been completed and could not be reopened or reconsidered under the provisions of the Article V of the BTWC no matter how much Russia and its accomplices would desire it.

Ukraine stresses that the manipulative nature of Russian disinformation against our country and the United States are aimed at diverting attention of the BTWC States-Parties from Russia’s war of aggression against our country.

Unfortunately, the ongoing armed aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine has also created severe challenges to our national infrastructure, including the medical and biological sectors. The destruction of various facilities, including those critical to healthcare, combined with’ worsening sanitary conditions and intensified population displacement, has increased the risks to public health.

In addition, by seizing Ukrainian research and sanitary-epidemiological institutions in the temporarily occupied territories, including Crimea, Russia deliberately ignores the demands for providing information on the status and location of pathogens that were stored in these facilities.

Ukraine calls upon the international community to increase pressure on Russia to comply with its international obligations under the BTWC and not to pose security risks related to the biological agents.

Madame Chair,

Ukraine is committed to contribute effectively to the strengthening of the CWC and achieving our common goal of a world safe from the threat of chemical weapons.

The Russian Federation, on the other hand, has a track record of using chemical weapons. Moscow has used chemical weapons against Alexei Navalny, Julia and Sergei Skripal, as well as provided military assistance to the Syrian Arab Republic.

Since Russia's large-scale military invasion of Ukraine, their forces have been increasingly using chemical weapons and riot control agents in violation of the CWC. Evidence indicates that Russia has extensively relied on these chemical agents during combat hostilities, using them alongside with other weapons to hinder from offensive operations of the Ukrainian forces.

 

According to the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, there have been recorded and documented 4,228 cases of the enemy's use of munitions containing hazardous chemicals, including chloropicrin, in violation of the CWC. Facts of violation of the laws and customs of warfare by the Russian Federation by using these munitions and chemical agents against the Security and Defense Forces of Ukraine as a method of warfare are mostly recorded in the Kupiansk, Bakhmut, Pokrovsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson directions.
As a result, a total of 2,058 cases of servicemen seeking medical care with symptoms of chemical exposure of varying severity were recorded, as well as 3 fatalities from acute poisoning by an unknown chemical substance.

In this regard, it is particularly cynical that the Russian Federation has submitted its application for membership of the OPCW Executive Council for the period 2025-2027 from the Eastern European Group. Not having been elected in 2023, Russia is trying to get revenge in November 2024.

While Russia is waging an aggressive war against Ukraine, using chemicals as a weapon, Russian diplomats have no moral right to hold any positions in the OPCW and its Executive Council.
We must jointly take all necessary measures to hold Russia accountable for the use of chemical weapons and unable the election of the Russian Federation to the OPCW Executive Council for the period 2025-2027.

Today, more than ever, we must demonstrate unity of purpose and actions in defending our common values and the interests of the OPCW. Otherwise, Russia will abuse this reputable organization to spread its deceitful and cynical narratives.

 

To conclude, Madame Chair, Ukraine hopes that the member states take a strong stance against those who violate the CWC and international law.

Thank you, Madame Chair.