Mr. President,

Distinguished delegates,

I am grateful to all UN member states who have consistently supported important General Assembly calls condemning Russian aggression against Ukraine and urging Moscow to cease hostilities.

This Assembly has demonstrated on numerous occasions that the global majority stands on the side of Ukraine, which is effectively the side of the UN Charter, international law, and peace. 

Over 140 member states have chosen exactly such a fair stance. This represents roughly three quarters of the United Nations. If this Assembly could end the war and restore Ukraine’s territorial integrity through passing a bill, Ukraine would already be at peace. 

If Russia had implemented the Order of the International Court of Justice of March 16, 2022, we would also already be living in peace. Let me remind you that the court indicated among its provisional measures that “the Russian Federation shall immediately suspend the military operations it began on February 24, 2022 in the territory of Ukraine”. This legally binding decision remains in force today. 

We can also see that in these two years global security has only deteriorated. More and more wars and conflicts are flaring up across the globe. One of the reasons for this is the bleeding wound in the heart of Europe. 

Unfortunately, Russia ignores the will of the global majority. It continues its aggression and throws more and more men into the flames of war. It persists in killing and maiming Ukrainian soldiers and civilians, as well as brutally violating basic human rights in the occupied territories.

Distinguished delegates,

Russia cannot ignore the voice of the world majority if we all take a principled stance and act together. The Peace Formula proposed by President Zelenskyy represents exactly such an opportunity.

You are all aware of the Formula’s ten points. They envisage not only the end of hostilities but also proposals to strengthen food security, nuclear safety, environmental protection, energy security, international justice, human rights, and respect for the UN Charter.

Ukraine has been working tirelessly to mobilize international support for our peace plan. In less than a year, the number of countries and international organizations taking part in Peace Formula meetings went up from 15 to 82. I thank every nation and every institution including the United Nations for joining.

This demonstrates a growing global understanding that the Peace Formula is the only way forward to a just and lasting peace. Most importantly, countries involved in the process represent all continents and regions of the world. This is not a Western undertaking. This is truly a global initiative based on the UN Charter and relevant General Assembly resolutions. 

Ukraine is now actively working with partners to prepare the first Global Peace Summit that is set to take place in Switzerland. 

I strongly encourage every UN member state present in this chamber to take active part in the process and attend the future Global Peace Summit. This will be a real opportunity to agree on a fair and comprehensive vision of peace. Once we have this global and common position, Russia will have no other choice than to engage in the process in good faith.

Mr. President,

The scale of this war and its global implications are enormous, as well as the suffering of Ukrainians.

I particularly drive your attention to the fate of thousands of prisoners of war who are still in Russian captivity. They are often mistreated and Russia obstructs access of international monitors to them. They must be released and exchanged. 

Human rights violations in the occupied territories include political persecution, arbitrary detentions, torture and sexual abuse, as well as forced conscription and intentional altering of demographics. 

Stealing Ukrainian children and taking civilian hostages are some of the most horrible Russian crimes. In our view, UN can and should be more active and swift in deploying existing instruments and developing the new ones, where necessary, to help bring back Ukrainian children, deported to Russia, return civilian captives, the most internationally overlooked vulnerable group, prosecute systemic cases of sexual violence committed by Russian soldiers against Ukrainian civilians and servicemen, and crimes against environment.

There is literally not a single atrocity listed in the Rome statute that Russia has not committed in the course of this war. It is not surprising that the Russian President himself is on the ICC wanted list for stealing Ukrainian kids. 

And with all of this in the background, Russia has enough insolence to try to shift the blame or evade responsibility. It spreads numerous lies in order to manipulate public opinion abroad and blame others for the war that Moscow started and refuses to end. 

I call on everyone present in this chamber and outside of it to dismiss Russian lies. They are nothing more than attempts to shift the blame and avoid responsibility. The only reason for this war has been and remains Russia’s denial of Ukraine’s right to exist and its continued colonial conquest. Moscow’s aim is to destroy Ukraine and they are quite outspoken about it. 

Fellow diplomats,

No nation in the world wants peace more than Ukraine. Our country suffers the most. But we also know that peace must be just and durable. Simply putting the war on hold and hoping that the aggressor will be merciful enough to eventually choose peace is not a realistic plan.

Those who say that Ukraine just needs to negotiate with Russia and end the war are either ill-informed or never followed what happened between 2014 and 2022. During that eight years, Ukraine and Russia held approximately 200 rounds of peace negotiations in various formats and made 20 ceasefire agreements.

All of these peace efforts ended on February 24th, 2022, when Russia tore apart the Minsk process and launched its full-scale invasion of my country. Why would anyone suggest that following the same logic will bring us to a different result?

Ukraine’s Peace Formula remains the only serious peace proposal on the table. Every peace-loving nation in this assembly, and I am certain that the absolute majority of you represent peace-loving nations, can add its diplomatic weight to putting the Peace Formula in action. 

If we are serious about restoring peace not only in Ukraine, but also globally, it is time to abandon wishful thinking and engage in realistic and hard work. The Global Peace Summit offers exactly such a concrete and realistic path to peace. I urge all of you to assist us in this undertaking.

And I will also want to conclude by saying “Thank you!” to every nation that has stood by the people of Ukraine throughout these terrible years. We shall jointly prevail!

Thank you.