Thank you, Madam Chair. Last week the Russian Federation called one of its more hypocritical UN Security Council meetings, this time on 'western weapons transfers to Ukraine'. This was the cynical use of the Council to criticise support for a sovereign state to exercise its legitimate and legal right to defend itself against Russia's illegal war of aggression.
But in making these accusations, Russia succeeded only in highlighting its own double standards and disinformation - the hallmarks of its malign actions on our continent and beyond. Because just days before the meeting, we learned that Russia had taken delivery of Iranian ballistic missiles. This transfer poses a direct threat to European security just like those Russia received from DPRK, which took place in violation of UN Security Council Resolutions.
There is a critical difference between the two situations, which Russia neglects to acknowledge. In one, weapons are being supplied to a sovereign State, Ukraine, to give it the means to defend itself in accordance with international law. In another, weapons are being sent to a state, Russia, which is aggressively waging war against its neighbour which violates the UN Charter and the Helsinki Final Act. And what is more, these weapons are being used to wreak misery on Ukrainian civilians.
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has reported nearly 12,000 deaths and close to 25,000 injuries among civilians since Russia's illegal full-scale invasion began. The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine has reported a spike in civilian deaths and injuries over the last two months, making them the deadliest months so far of 2024.
Madam chair, we condemn in the strongest terms the shelling of a frontline aid distribution site on 12 September that resulted in the deaths of three members of staff from the International Committee of the Red Cross. It is essential that International Humanitarian Law is respected and that aid workers can do their jobs, providing help to the most vulnerable.
The UK also condemns the Russian strike on a civilian cargo ship carrying Ukrainian grain in the Black Sea on 11 September. This was a deliberate attack on a Turkish-operated civilian ship, transporting food to north Africa. Such attacks pose a genuine threat to global food security.
Madam Chair, as my Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary made clear last week, the UK's ironclad support for Ukraine's right to self-defence will not waver in the face of Russian threats and hypocrisy. Russia started this war by illegally invading Ukraine. It could end it immediately by withdrawing. Thank you.
