Statement

by H.E. Permanent Representative of Ukraine

Ambassador Dr. Andrii Melnyk, LL.M. 

at the UN General Assembly 

Sixth Committee

under agenda item 112 

“Measures to eliminate international terrorism”

6 October 2026, New York

Madam Chair,

Let me begin by congratulating you on your election and wishing you every success in carrying out this demanding responsibility.

Please rest assured of Ukraine’s and my personal full support being a member of the Bureau.

Madam Chair,

Ukraine remains firmly committed to the principles of the UN Charter, the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, and the international legal framework aimed at preventing and combating terrorism.

Now, for more than a decade, Ukraine has faced Russia’s aggression and its systematic use of violence and terror against our civilian population.

Russia has deliberately targeted residential areas, hospitals, schools, energy infrastructure and other civilian objects through missile strikes, drone attacks, guided bombs and artillery shelling.

These attacks constitute not just grave violations of international humanitarian law and war crimes. Moreover, due to their widespread and systematic nature, they may also be characterized as crimes against humanity.

We all perfectly know that IHL prohibits the deliberate targeting of civilians and civilian objects, as well as indiscriminate attacks.

Moreover, Article 51(2) of Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions also prohibits – and I quote – “acts or threats of violence the primary purpose of which is to spread terror among the civilian population”.

At the same time, the existence of an armed conflict does not, in itself, deprive an illegal conduct of its possible qualification as terrorism.

The fact that such a violation is committed during an armed conflict does not provide a licence to deliberately terrorize civilians.

The same conduct may, where the relevant legal elements are satisfied, constitute a violation of international humanitarian law, a war crime and an act of terrorism.

These legal characterizations are not mutually exclusive. This is not merely a matter of terminology. It is a matter of law.

Madam Chair,

Russia may argue that the term “terrorism” cannot be applied to conduct by the armed forces of a State during an armed conflict, referring to the limitations contained in particular counter-terrorism conventions.

Such an argument would be legally incomplete.

Indeed, certain instruments like International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism contain specific provisions concerning the activities of armed forces.

But such provisions do not create a general legal immunity for States or their armed forces to commit acts whose sole purpose is to spread terror among civilians.

Nor do they displace the rules of international humanitarian law.

A missile deliberately directed against a residential building may constitute a war crime because it violates the rules governing the conduct of hostilities.

If the same act is committed with the primary purpose of spreading terror among the civilian population, it may also fall within the prohibition contained in Article 51(2) of Additional Protocol I.

The two legal characterizations are not mutually exclusive.

Nor does the fact that the perpetrator is a State official or a member of its armed forces transform an otherwise prohibited act into a lawful one.

The issue is not whether every Russian war crime should automatically be called terrorism.

The issue is whether international law permits us to disregard the deliberate use of violence to terrorize civilians merely because that violence occurs in the context of an international armed conflict.

The answer is clearly no.

Madam Chair,

Russia’s deliberate attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure are designed not only to cause physical destruction, but also to spread terror and fear among the civilian population in Ukraine.

The downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in 2014, which killed 298 innocent people, remains one of the most tragic examples of the devastating consequences of such violence against civilians.

Particularly alarming are Russia’s reckless actions with regard to Ukraine’s nuclear facilities.

The occupation of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, military activity in its vicinity and conduct creating grave risks to nuclear safety represent an extremely serious form of nuclear intimidation and terror.

Ukraine therefore strongly condemns Russia’s deliberate attacks against civilians and civilian objects, including acts whose main purpose is to spread terror among the civilian population.

Where the applicable legal elements are satisfied, such conduct must be addressed as terrorism alongside the applicable consequences under international humanitarian and international criminal law.

We therefore call on the international community to recognize the Russian Federation as a State sponsor of terrorism and to take appropriate measures in response to its illegal actions.

Madam Chair,

We emphasize the importance of protecting critical infrastructure against terrorist attacks. For Ukraine, this is not an abstract concern. Our energy infrastructure is subjected to systematic attacks by Russia.

In this regard, we underscore the continued relevance of Security Council resolution 2341 (2017) on the protection of critical infrastructure against terrorist attacks, initiated by Ukraine during its tenure as a non-permanent member of the Security Council and adopted unanimously on 13 February 2017.

We also stress the importance of effectively countering terrorist propaganda and incitement to violence, including through the Internet and mass media.

Preventing radicalization and addressing racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia and other forms of intolerance remain essential elements of comprehensive counter-terrorism policies.

Madam Chair,

Counter-terrorism legislation must never be misused for political purposes.

Ukraine strongly condemns the Russian Federation’s use of so-called counter-terrorism and anti-extremism legislation in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine as instruments of political repression, intimidation and persecution of civilians who oppose the illegal occupation.

Ukraine will continue to work with Member States to strengthen international cooperation in preventing and combating terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.

We must ensure that terrorism cannot be normalized as an instrument of State policy.

I thank you.