STATEMENT

by H.E. Ms. Mariana Betsa, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, 

at the UNGA debate on agenda item 62

“The situation in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine”

(4 September 2025)

Mr. President,

Dear ladies and gentlemen,

Distinguished colleagues,

It’s a great honor for me to speak here today in this Hall.

On the one hand, I feel gratitude to the General Assembly for supporting Ukraine throughout these 12 years of unprovoked, unjust and barbaric Russian aggression against Ukraine.

On the other hand, I cannot ignore the tragic pain and the tragic price Ukrainians do pay every single day for our freedom, for our independence, for our sovereignty and territorial integrity, and also for the freedom of the entire democratic world.

Just as I was coming to New York, a little girl, Angelina, was laid to rest in Kyiv. She was only two years old. She was born during the Russian aggression, and she was brutally murdered by Russia on 28 August, together with other 24 civilians, sleeping in their homes.

Yesterday, nine people were killed in Kostiantynivka, a city in the Donetsk region, again following heavy artillery shelling by Russia.

As we speak, Russia launched a missile attack on Chernihiv – every single day, every single moment.

Russian goals for these 12 years haven't changed. Russian strategy hasn't changed – to destroy Ukraine as a country, to destroy Ukraine as a nation. And there should be no illusions about this, and no wishful thinking.

Mr. President,

Since I last stood in this Hall when we adopted the UNGA resolution on “Advancing comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine” on 24 February this year, the security situation has sharply deteriorated.

Just on 2-3 September this year, Russia launched nearly 500 drones and more than 20 missiles at Ukrainian cities — again, yet another proof that Russia doesn’t seek peace, it wants to continue the war.

We deeply value the diplomatic efforts by the United States, Europe, by other nations, friends, allies and partners who support Ukraine. Ukraine remains committed to peace and diplomacy. Yet Russia’s brazenness — striking our cities in broad daylight while the leader of Russia spreads propaganda at the SCO summit in China — cannot be ignored.

This war has nothing to do with a so-called “denazification,” with NATO or any false security concerns. This war has to do with Russia’s authoritarian regime, pursuing imperial ambitions and trying to erase the Ukrainian identity and Ukrainian nation.

Russia cannot wage this war alone. Its aggression is sustained by drones from Iran, arms and personnel from the DPRK — all in violation of Security Council resolutions, as well as the support of the Chinese companies. Only decisive global pressure, especially on Russia’s war economy, can cut off these lifelines and end Moscow’s campaign of terror.

Distinguished members,

Occupation does not end the war — it conceals suffering and prepares the ground for further assault and aggression.

Russia makes no secret of its ambitions. At a recent Defence Ministry meeting, a map behind General Gerasimov erased not only occupied areas, but also Kharkiv, Odesa, Mykolaiv and Kherson — a clear sign of Moscow’s plans. Occupation is never the end – it is always a staging ground for another assault.

And wherever Russia occupies, we witness grave human rights violations – in the temporarily occupied Crimea, in some parts of the Donbas – tortures, forced disappearances, grave violations of the rights of children. They are all documented — by the UN and others — for the past 12 years.

Thousands of Ukrainians remain in Russian captivity, tortured and starved, denied contact with families. Russia blocks the UN and ICRC access to conceal its crimes, because Russia does not want the world to know the truth about its heinous crimes – crime of aggression, genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, which Russia keeps on committing on an industrial scale.

The UN Secretary-General’s latest report confirms Russia’s systematic use of sexual violence as a weapon of war. Ukrainian prosecutors have already recorded 372 cases — involving 136 men, 236 women and 20 children.

We demand the immediate release of all Ukrainian civilians held in Russia’s torture chambers and call for sustained international pressure to ensure Russia complies with humanitarian law.

Mr. President,

Perhaps the most heartbreaking impact of this war is on our children. Since the full-scale invasion, at least 648 have been killed and over 2,100 wounded. Millions more endure violence, displacement, disrupted education and mental trauma.

Russia has deported at least 20,000 Ukrainian children from temporarily occupied territories in grave breach of international law. Russia erases their identity, changes their personal data. This is the largest state abduction operation in world history. A state that abducts and kills our children cannot pretend to wave the UN flag of peace. Ukraine, therefore, calls on the UN to suspend Russia from UN peacekeeping operations.

Let me give a few examples. The case of 16-year-old Viktor Azarovskyi, seized in occupied Melitopol, tortured and sent to a notorious detention center. Other children, such as Oleh Shokola and Denys Vasylyka, were arrested as minors and remain in custody. Testimonies confirm that boys like Pavlo Hrymaka and Danylo Dakhov were killed in custody. They were just children.

This is about humanity – not a single child should be separated from the parents and not a single child should endure such pain. This is genocide and, therefore, the International Criminal Court has issued two arrest warrants for the Russian leader and for Maria Lvova-Belova for crimes against Ukrainian children. Accountability should follow.

Ukraine is grateful to all the countries and organizations who joined the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children, co-chaired by Ukraine and Canada, but we need to do more.

We need to return each and every child back home. Our red lines are very clear: children are the most vulnerable group. They are not negotiable. The Ukrainian children are non-negotiable – they should be returned prior to any peace talks, unconditionally. Not a single child should endure such trauma as Ukrainian children do.

Distinguished members,

Russia is pursuing a deliberate policy of forced demographic change in the occupied territories: deporting Ukrainians to remote Russian areas while resettling Russian citizens in their homes.

In Crimea, occupied temporarily since 2014, this policy has been especially severe. The peninsula, once a vibrant hub of culture and diversity, has been turned into an open-air prison – political persecution is a daily reality. Today, 284 Ukrainian citizens — including 163 Crimean Tatars, the indigenous people of Crimea — languish in prisons and detention centers.

Since the full-scale invasion, Russia has multiplied its political prisoners, abducting human rights activists, volunteers, journalists, local officials and former servicemen. Many have been transferred to Crimea or Russia, the fate of many is unknown.

Consider one case: Appaz Kurtamer, the youngest Crimean Tatar political prisoner, he just turned 21 in a maximum-security colony. His only “crime” was lending a friend 500 hryvnias — almost 12 dollars. Russia called it “terrorism financing” and sentenced him to seven years in prison. This is the daily reality of the occupation.

Religious minorities — Orthodox, Greek Catholics, Protestants, Muslims, Catholics — face harassment, confiscation of property and destruction of places of worship. Russia even illegally conscripts Ukrainians from occupied territories, forcing them to fight against Ukraine.

Dear colleagues,

Ukraine has remained very transparent throughout the war. We invited the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission and cooperate fully with the UN, ICC and different NGOs.

Russia, on the contrary, conceals its crimes, bans monitors, silences independent voices. Yet the evidence for these 12 years is overwhelming, and accountability for war crimes and crimes against humanity by Russia is inevitable.

Together with our partners, Ukraine will pursue justice for every crime. We are grateful to each and every delegation who supported the establishment of the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression. It is extremely important and a landmark event – we need to bring all Russian war criminals to responsibility.

Dear colleagues,

For over three years, Russia has illegally occupied the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant — Europe’s largest. It has turned the site into a military base and a “nuclear shield” for shelling, while persecuting Ukrainian staff who refuse to collaborate.

The risk of catastrophe is real. Any restart of the plant’s reactors is possible only under the authority of Ukraine’s legitimate regulator, not under Russian occupation.

The IAEA must have full, unhindered access to all areas of the Plant, with monitoring rotations conducted exclusively through Ukrainian-controlled territory.

Mr. President,

It is impossible to advance peace if one party refuses to engage honestly. Talks with Russia will only succeed if backed by serious pressure. Otherwise, Moscow will only continue its aggression.

We must abandon illusions: there must be no wishful thinking. Russia will not stop by itself. It will stop only when we, as the international community, do stop Russia by common pressure, including sanction pressure on Russia – political, economic, financial. It's not to block the dialogue. It's to compel Russia, to force Russia to peace. But before that, there should be a first step – truce or ceasefire in place, unconditional in the sky, on the land, at the sea. This is the first step that will open the door to diplomacy.

Second, Ukraine needs clear security guarantees. As we speak, the Coalition of the Willing is taking place in Paris, and I'm grateful to the French and UK leadership in this and all the countries participating. We need legally binding robust, solid security guarantees, equivalent to Article 5 of NATO. We need a military mission, a military contingent of allied forces on the ground. Otherwise, the war will continue.

Ukraine will never recognize the temporarily occupied territories as Russian. Crimea, like all other temporarily occupied areas, was, is and will always be Ukraine.

No matter how long it takes, Ukraine will fight for its territorial integrity and the full restoration of our country.

Our vision is very clear. Ukraine is not an obstacle to peace. We are ready to meet in any formats. We are ready to start talking about the peace settlement. But there should be truce, there should be legally binding security guarantees, there should be Russian responsibility. Russia should withdraw its forces from the territory of Ukraine. That's clear. No matter what, the Ukrainian nation is extremely resilient, and we will fight for our freedom because this is the only country we have. This is our home. This is our family.

And let me reassure you: Russia is not winning. It doesn't have any strategic advances anywhere. This is propaganda and disinformation that Russia spreads among different countries and partners. Russia is not winning.

Ukraine is capable of winning this war if we have necessary military aid, air defence, security guarantees.

Mr. President,

If Russia goes unpunished, it will seek to expand the war to the West and to other countries.

We need to raise the cost of aggression for Russia, otherwise Russia will not stop. And as we approach the 80th anniversary of the UN Charter, we should ask ourselves: are we doing enough to stop Russia? Is 12 years enough to stop Russia? Are we doing enough to bring Russia to responsibility? Every single day, our children, innocent civilians are being killed in the middle of Europe.

Dear colleagues, 

We urge you to mobilize more efforts to support Ukraine militarily, politically, financially and in terms of security guarantees.

Ukraine shall prevail. Democracy shall prevail.

Thank you.

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Credit: UN Photo/Evan Schneider