 prisoners of war, most recently on Sunday involving 50 Ukrainian and 50 Russian captives. We're encouraged by the meeting hosted in Turkey on 11 January of Russian and Ukrainian ombudspersons on this issue. Despite the challenging context, the Black Sea Grain Initiative continues to make a difference, including by helping bring global food prices down. The Food and Agriculture Organization now reports a continued decline of its food price index. More than 17 million metric tons of foodstuffs have now been moved under the initiative, reaching or on their way to some 43 countries. Roughly 20 percent of this total is for countries categorized by the World Bank as low-income or lower-middle-income economies. The United Nations also continues its engagement with all stakeholders to remove remaining obstacles to Russian food and fertilizer exports, including ammonia. These exports are key to keep prices down and mitigate food insecurity, and we urge all concerned to work to that end. Mr. President, as the Secretary General has made clear, Russia's invasion of Ukraine is a violation of the Charter of the United Nations and of international law. It has created a humanitarian and human rights catastrophe, traumatized a generation of children, and accelerated the global food and energy crises. And yet, this great damage could pale in comparison with the consequences of our prolonged conflict. I said at the outset of my statement that there is no sign of an end to the fighting. The logic that prevails is a military one, with very little, if any, room for dialogue right now. But all wars end, and so too will this one. Ukraine, Russia, the world cannot afford for this war to continue. The Secretary General is ready to assist the parties to end this senseless, unjustified conflict on the basis of the United Nations Charter and international law. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Ms. DeCarlo, for her briefing. I now give the floor to those Council members who wish to make a statement. I give the floor to the representative of Albania. Thank you, Mr. President, and thank you, Ms. DeCarlo, for yet another in-depth briefing on the ongoing situation in Ukraine. Mr. President's colleagues, a year has passed and the situation in Ukraine is no different. 323 days of an ongoing and unjustified war have resulted in devastating damage to the population and the country's physical, economic and human infrastructure. Thousands of civilians have been killed. Some 8 million have become refugees. A large part of the population is suffering from psychological trauma. Despite worldwide condemnation and rejection, despite the huge human toll in human lives, despite everything, Russia continues on the same course. Civilians and their families in Ukraine have and are enduring escalating devastation. Children continue to be killed, wounded and deeply traumatized by the violence all around them, and less individual traumas tell the larger story. Take this story. Yaroslav, a 13-year-old boy, was waiting the new year with his family in Nipryansk, when their home came under Russian fire. Seriously wounded, he was taken to the hospital in Kershon. But in the first few minutes of 2023, the Russian army shelved the hospital and Yaroslav was evacuated to another one in Mikolayev, where doctors continued to fight for his life, hopefully, with success in the skies. How many other children, boys, girls have seen their destiny at the mercy of a war they do not want and they do not understand? Mr. President, among a myriad of disasters inflicted upon Ukraine, there is one particular striking as much as hurting. There are no more children left in Ukraine. And I'm not speaking about those who have been killed without getting to understand the world they were born in. I'm not speaking about those who were forced to leave everything behind to flee a war inflicted by those claiming to be their brothers. And I'm not speaking about those tens of thousands deported and given for adoption by two strangers in Russia. No, I'm speaking about those premature adults of little age in Ukraine. Those who have been forced to grow up years in months. Those forced to face killing tanks and not play with soldier's toys. Those who cannot attend school because it has been destroyed. Those who cannot sleep by fear of a missile falling on the roof. Those who have no more tears left to cry their misery. Mr. President, since the very first day of this war, we and the absolute majority in this organization have made a fundamental distinction. Russia is the aggressor state. Ukraine is fighting to defend itself for survival. Russia is wrong and nothing can or will ever change this and no propaganda machine has been able to alter it. Ukrainian army and people have defied all expectations. We applaud their heroic resistance and military brilliance in the face of a brutal invasion. This is why it has been and remains crucial to help Ukrainians to defend themselves and prevail in restoring their sovereignty and securing their borders because any other result will only sharpen the Kremlin's appetite. Let's not forget only eight years separated Russia's seizure of Crimea and the invasion of Ukraine. Those who believe being on a messianic mission to restore falling empires will not stop if they are not stopped. They will just wait until the next move. The world needs Ukraine within its borders to save a world order from the current and future transgressors of commonly agreed rules. Ukraine has been able to show the world the strength of the right against the illusions of the might. In this conflict, it is the courage and resilience of Ukrainians that represent the hope for a life in peace for all of us. Mr. President, since February last year, the course of the war has forced multiple times Russia to define down its military goals. Russia abandoned the Kiev area because it was forced out. Kremlin officials declared that Russia is in Kersen forever and then they were forced out. All the ground lost in 2022 has not resulted from any tactical retreat but from outright defeat. The Kremlin has not changed its goals. It has been contained and stopped. This is why it is important to continue to support Ukraine by providing political, military, financial and humanitarian support and assistance. Even in heroes fighting for freedom for all of us, for what we believe in, for what we stand for, need and deserve modern weapons to push back their invader. This is even more evident given the realities on the ground. Since months, we see more and more a war of rage, a bloodshed of proportions, a war of attrition. Polidar, as rightly recalled, pounded for months and where nothing is any more standing now resembles Mariupol, let's not forget. The footprint of an absolute insanity. Reporters speak of a meat grinding machine where Wagner Group is using human lights as cannon fodder. Mr. President, it has become a pattern. Every time Russia has been stalling and in difficulty on the ground, it has deliberately targeted critical infrastructure, in particular Ukraine's electricity distribution grid and power generation capacity. By the way, a blatant war crime, thanks also to the extensive use of the Iranian drones acquired illegally in breach of the Security Council Resolution 2231 and for which we are still waiting clarity from the sector. It has forced, it has tried to force Ukraine into a submission. It has failed. Ukrainians may be without electricity, without water supply and heating, but they have a heart, a fighting heart for their country, for their freedom, for the right to be themselves. But let's not forget, sooner or later, those responsible for crimes committed will have to face their acts and pay for their actions. Mr. President, like every other war in history, this one will stop one day. It should not have started in the first place, but it is never late to stop it. Unrealistic and insincere calls for talks while wrecking havoc to the country, killing its civilians, and annexing its territories by force won't lead anywhere. The crimes committed against Ukrainian civilians, the rapes and murders, the scales of destruction, the sacrifices and the number of deaths, the persisting imperialist madness have not broken Ukraine, and we all know it. They only have strengthened the resolve of Ukrainians to defend themselves and bar the way to the aggressor. For any meaningful and credible diplomatic path to materialize, Russia must first withdraw its troops from the International Recognized Border to Ukraine. This can lead to an outcome. And I thank you. I thank the representative of Albania for their statement. I now give the floor to the representative of the United States. Thank you, Mr. President. Under Secretary General DeCarlo, thank you for your briefing. Deputy Foreign Minister Zaparova, thank you for joining us today. On January 1st, as the rest of us were celebrating and welcoming the New Year, the people of Ukraine endured three straight nights of Russian missiles and drone strikes against their cities. These attacks were barbaric. They destroyed systems that provide heat and light to the Ukrainian people during the coldest, darkest part of winter. They're not the actions of a country ready to give up on war. This New Year offers us, along with our new colleagues on the council, an opportunity to reflect on the last year. Let's start by reminding ourselves of the mandate of this body. The Security Council is the primary body responsible for the maintenance of international peace and security. That is a serious solemn duty. The UN Charter and the peace it strives to achieve is in our hands. It's in our care. Last January, we feared this peace was at risk. Twelve months ago, the United States first warned of troubling signs that Russia was planning a massive full-scale invasion of Ukraine. As Russia amassed troops along the Ukrainian border, including in Belarus, we rang alarm bells and pursued every diplomatic avenue possible to prevent war. In January 2022, we convened urgent meetings, including at the OSCE, the NATO-Russia Council, and the bilateral US-Russia Strategic Stability Dialogue. Our goal was for all sides to resolve their concerns through dialogue and diplomacy. But Russia chose a different path. President Putin chose to strike at the heart of the UN Charter. He chose war at the exact moment, in fact, that we were working in this Council to keep the peace. Today, we're all feeling the direct and spillover effects of this senseless war. For example, Russia's war in Ukraine has dramatically exacerbated the global food crisis. The World Food Program estimates that more than 345 million people suffering from are at risk of acute food insecurity. Acute. That means they are in imminent danger of dying. 345 million people, that's more than double the amount in 2019. Russia's attacks and continued blocking of some Ukrainian ports have decreased Ukraine's food exports by approximately 30%. And we thank Turkey and the UN Secretary General for helping to broker the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which has been critical to feeding the world's hungry. But here's the truth. The initiative's operations are not keeping pace with the strong global demand for Black Sea Grain. Due to Russia's deliberate slowdown of inspections, dozens of ships are waiting to depart and dozens more are waiting for inspections before they can bring their grain cargo to the world. This backlog means extra expense and extra delay for millions of tons of grain, a majority of which is destined for developing countries. The backlog means 2.5 million tons of grain are just sitting there waiting to move and farmers in Ukraine are waiting to plant. Some ships have been waiting for over a month. Grain is moving at just half the rate of the pace back in September and October. The initiative should operate as it was envisioned, moving 5 million tons of food per month. The world's hungry deserve nothing less. Today I'm asking members of the council to join us in urging Russia to scale up cooperation immediately. As we work to contain the ripple effect of Russia's war, we must also be laser focused on the horrors happening in Ukraine on the ground. Last week, the New York Times detailed the harrowing accounts from the Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office of well-documented cases of sexual violence committed against women, men and children by Russian Federation forces. I strongly encourage everyone, everyone at this table to listen, listening here today to read this report. The details are too awful, too sickening for me to recount here today. Of course, we don't only have to rely on the New York Times. The UN's Independent International Commission of Inquiry has documents of sexual violence and torture. Just as when we warned this council last January that Russia was planning a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, we also warned this council more recently that Iran and the DPRK plan to transfer prohibitive materials to Russia. They have. Since August, Iran has transferred hundreds of UAVs to Russia in violation of UN Security Council Resolution 2231. Russia has been using these Iranian UAVs to strike Ukraine's energy infrastructure, depriving millions of Ukrainian civilians of electricity, heat and critical services in the middle of winter. People in Ukraine today are suffering and dying as a result of Iran's support. We believe Iran is now considering the sell of hundreds of ballistic missiles to Russia and also in violation of council resolutions. We urge Iran to reverse course and not to take these steps. And we urge everyone who supports peace to ask Iran to do the same. Meanwhile, DPRK officials said publicly that they would not support Russia's war in Ukraine, but they have since delivered arms to the Wagner Group in direct violation of Security Council Resolutions. Last month, DPRK delivered infantry rockets and missiles into Russia for use by Russian Federation-backed Wagner in violation of the council's sanctions resolution. And we're concerned that the DPRK is planning to deliver more military equipment to Wagner. We condemn the DPRK's actions and urge the DPRK to cease these deliveries and come into compliance with the relevant Security Council resolutions. And once again, we encourage everyone to join us in that call. Mr. President, as we start this new year, the world is tired of war. The people of Ukraine who have suffered so much crave to return to a normal life. Now is the time for all countries to stand together and demand that Russia end this senseless war. We must come together in defense of the UN Charter and its most fundamental principles. We must come together to achieve a just and secure peace consistent with the Charter. And let us continue to do everything in our power to contain the ripple effects of Russia's actions, help those who are suffering both in Ukraine and outside its borders, and hold accountable everyone who violates international law and supports this illegal immoral war. Thank you. I thank the representative of United States for their statement. Now I give the floor to the representative of Ecuador. Gracias. Thank you very much, Mr. President. I'm grateful to Under Secretary General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, Rosemary DeCarlo, for her briefing. Since this is the first opportunity that my delegation has had to refer to this topic, a central topic on the agenda of the Security Council, I want to just stress that since the very beginning of the military aggression of Russia against Ukraine, Ecuador has condemned it unequivocally. This aggression against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine is contrary to the principles of the United Nations Charter and to international law. And it has no place in an international order based on the rule of law, as stated by our Foreign Minister, Orgin in the open debate in the Security Council yesterday. Now, pursuant to the principles of our foreign policy and remaining faithful to our vocation as a peace-loving nation, we do not recognize, nor will we ever recognize the acquisition of territory by force. We'd like to express our support to the Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, for the efforts to achieve peace undertaken as part of one of the most complex challenges represented by this conflict and any other conflict that involves one of the permanent members of this council. Ecuador regrets, Mr. President, the partial application of Article 27.3 of the UN Charter. That is the article from which the veto is derived but that article also establishes the obligation for parties in a dispute to refrain or rather to abstain from voting. Furthermore, I'd like to highlight Resolution 2623 of 2022, in which the members of the Security Council decided to convene 11th Extraordinary Session of the General Assembly, which allowed the members of this organization to express their position with determination. My delegation recalls the presidential statement of the Security Council of the 6th of May of 2022, in which this very organ demonstrated unity in expressing its profound concern about maintaining peace and security in Ukraine and recognize that pursuant to the United Nations Charter, and I quote, all member states have assumed the obligation to resolve their international disputes through peaceful means, end of quote. The Security Council and its members must honor that declaration or we therefore urge that an end be put to this invitation that will soon markets one year anniversary and we urge that this Council examine ways that make it possible to immediately suspend hostilities and to reestablish peace and security in Ukraine, those that are based on the respect of its sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence. Ecuador is ready to support any initiative that promotes political dialogue and diplomacy and that furthermore eliminates the specter of the nuclear threat. Mr. President, Ecuador deplores the recent escalation of attacks and strikes in Ukraine, which continue to deteriorate the humanitarian situation, which has been aggravated by bombing, targeting critical infrastructure that has decimated access to basic services. Furthermore, we are very concerned about the risk of accidents or incidents on nuclear power plants and on this point, we'd like to reiterate our wholehearted support to the International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA and would like to reiterate the need to facilitate its work, including on the ground in a way that is safe and without any impediments. Attacks against the energy infrastructure, against housing, hospitals, various educational facilities, these in particular affect the most vulnerable groups such as children and older adults. Even more, the electricity cuts caused by these attacks aggravate the suffering that the Ukrainian population is experiencing in the midst of a cold winter. These attacks also violate Resolution 2573 for the protection of facilities that are essential for the survival of the civilian population that was adopted in April of 2021. We would like to make an urgent appeal that attacks against civilians cease and that International Humanitarian Law be respected unconditionally. This conflict that is inflicting pain and destruction on the people of Ukraine has changed the dynamics of this council. And it has disastrous consequences that have worsened food insecurity around the world. And on this point, we call on the expansion and deepening of initiatives such as the Black Sea Grain Initiatives. I'd like to recall, remind this council that just during the first month of this military aggression against Ukraine, Ecuador had to evacuate almost 1,000 of our citizens and particular students in various humanitarian flights. And lastly, in the humanitarian sphere, Ecuador acknowledges a leadership and the efforts throughout 2022 of Mexico and France. Mexico concluded its very valuable role this past December. For this reason, Ecuador will work very closely with France to continue promoting humanitarian issues in this council. Thank you very much. I thank the representative of Ecuador for their statement. I give the floor to the representative of Mozambique. Mr. President, Mozambique wishes to thank Yanda Secretary-General Rosemary de Carlo for our useful and comprehensive briefing. We welcome the participation in this meeting of other distinguished delegations. In particular, that of our Excellency Missemin Zaparova, the first Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine. In the camp of our distinguished colleague, His Excellency Sergei Kislitseyev, the permanent representative of Ukraine to the United Nations. Mr. President, in his final address of the year last December, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expresses cautious hope that the year 2023 would bring an end to this conflict. It was a hope that we then wholeheartedly embraced. We note, however, that after almost a year of armed conflict, the war shows a little sign of abeting. The conflict appears to thread a narrow path of escalation of the conflict. As we have heard from the report of the USG de Carlo. We are deeply concerned that Europe are continent at the origin of two tragic world wars. And the epicenter of a long cold war is again plunging the world into a gloomy situation of fear and food crisis. We are here to encourage that ways of a negotiated solution to the conflict be explored. We have a genuine interest in peace and security worldwide as a global common good. We wish to remind ourselves that the concept of collective security, that the security of one is the security of war, was at the center of the creation of the United Nations. It is a concept enshrined in the charter and cherished by all peace loving nations. In this connection, we can only welcome the efforts of this body to address the issue. Mozambique hold the view that there should be an immediate cessation of hostilities and a return to direct negotiations between the belligerent parties. Those negotiations should be conducted in good faith by both parties in the spirit of the purposes and principles of the United Nations charter. We defend that humanitarian work be given a high priority in accordance with the relevant rules of international humanitarian law and practices of humanity. Mr. President, we see the need and importance in showing up the platform that led to the Black Sea Initiative with the support of the Secretary General's Global Crisis Response Group on food energy and finance. In this context, we encourage the Secretary General to continue devoting his efforts with our support and his moral authority in search for a negotiated solution to the conflict. I thank you Mr. President. I thank the representative of Mozambique for their statement. Now I give the floor to the representative of Switzerland. Mr. President. Mr. President, I wish to begin by thanking Under Secretary General Rosemary DiCarlo for her sober assessment of the situation. I also wish to welcome here among us the first Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine, Her Excellency Ms. Emine Duprova. And I welcome His Excellency, Mr. Wojciech Gerville of Poland to this meeting. I also welcome the representatives of the other delegations here present. For the population of Kiev and many other regions of Ukraine, this year began as the last one ended. That is with a large wave of airstrikes launched by Russia. At the same time, intense fighting continues, particularly in the east of Ukraine. Our thoughts are with the people who are suffering from this war, wherever they are in the world. Mr. President, Russia's large-scale military aggression against Ukraine is a serious violation of international law and of the UN Charter. Switzerland strongly condemns this violation and fully supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. We call upon Russia to immediately de-escalate the situation. We call upon them also to cease all combat operations and to withdraw without delay its troops from the entire territory of Ukraine. This includes the territories declared as annexed. As an occupying power, Russia must respect its obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law. Switzerland calls for rapid and unhindered access of humanitarian aid to be guaranteed throughout Ukraine, including in areas occupied by Russia. We also condemn the involvement of Belarus in Russia's military aggression. During an armed conflict, the civilian population pays far too high a price. Their protection is a humanitarian imperative. Switzerland stresses that all parties must protect the civilian population as well as persons or the combat. All parties must respect international humanitarian law and human rights. However, in Ukraine since February 2022, thousands of civilians have died or have been injured. The Ukrainian people have been subjected to and still face horrific situations. These include acts that the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine considers to be war crimes and human rights violations. Millions of people have been forced to leave their homes. The vast majority of them are women and children. These women and children have often been exposed to high risks such as human trafficking and sexual violence. In addition to all of this, in recent months there have been recurrent Russian attacks against Ukraine's energy infrastructure. Without electricity, the functioning of essential services such as hospitals and water supply systems is hampered. In view of all of the above, by today reiterate Switzerland call for a cessation of all attacks on civilians and persons or the combat as well as attacks against civilian property and on essential infrastructure. We must take a step forward towards peaceful, just and lasting solutions. This involves a commitment to diplomatic solutions. It also involves progress in the reconstruction process, action on accountability and victims' rights and involves redoubling efforts to guarantee nuclear safety and security. We must not forget that this war has consequences which go far beyond the European continent. The burden of more expensive food, uncertain energy supply and the threat of a nuclear incident weigh on the whole world. We share the Secretary General's conviction and I quote, this is not a time to sit on the sidelines. It is the time for resolve, determination and yes, even hope. End quote. Switzerland supports including as host state in Geneva the good offices of the Secretary General and his unwavering commitment to advancing peace. We will continue to provide humanitarian aid in Ukraine. We'll do this for example by supplying mobile heating devices. We support justice for victims including by promoting the documentation and investigation of crimes committed against them. We are committed to a participatory and transparent reconstruction process under Ukrainian leadership. This was set up by the Lugano principles. Mr. President, last year, war returned to Europe with full force. As members of this council, it is our responsibility to do everything in our power to ensure that this year is a year of just peace in accordance with international law in Ukraine and elsewhere in the world. Thank you. Thank the representative of Switzerland for their statement. I now give the floor to the representative of France. Monsieur le Président. Mr. President, I wish to thank Ms. Dikalo for her briefing. Soon it will be a year, a year that Ukraine has resisted with bravery and determination, the Russian aggression, which was unleashed in violation of international law and of the United Nations Charter. Russia had counted on the rapid collapse of the Ukrainian army and its authorities. 11 months later, the offensive on Kiev has been pushed back. The region of Kharkiv and the city of Kherson have been liberated. With each victory of Ukraine on the ground, Russia reacts with cowardice by shelling civilian infrastructure. These strikes have a very clear goal, that of sowing terror among civilians and breaking the morale of the Ukrainian people. The unilateral announcement by the Kremlin of a ceasefire that Russia and its own reserves have not upheld is additional evidence of Russia's cynicism. Mr. President, Russian strikes violate the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law and of international criminal law. These unacceptable acts constitute war crimes and will not go unpunished. France will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukrainian courts and with the international criminal court. Stocks of munitions in Russia are diminishing and they're facing major difficulties on the ground. At the same time, Russia is seeking to get supplies by all means possible, including by violating Security Council resolutions. Moreover, Russia is making extensive use of drones supplied by Iran. The United Nations must investigate these transfers. These violate Resolution 2231 and the United Nations must ensure Russia is held accountable. To compensate for these huge losses, Russia does not hesitate to mobilise Wagner mercenaries. Many criminals are among Wagner's ranks. The Russian aggression has devastating consequences on global food security. Global food security is used by Russia as a weapon of war and as an instrument of blackmail. The Black Sea Grain Initiative has proven effective. It has lowered the price of foodstuffs and allowed these foodstuffs to achieve those who need them the most. Several millions of tons of grain have been exported. The majority of this material has gone to non-European nations. We expect Russia to guarantee the full implementation of this agreement. Moreover, we support tangible initiatives taken by Ukraine France has mobilised through the Farm Initiative and as well as through the European Solidarity Lanes Initiative. Mr President, Russia continues its headlong workforce and steps up its abuses. In so doing, Russia has consistently demonstrated that it does not wish to see peace. Russia alone is responsible for continued hostilities. Through the 10-point peace plan proposed by President Zelensky, Ukraine is setting forth the path towards a just and lasting peace. This peace will only be achieved if there is a full withdrawal of Russian troops from the whole of Ukrainian territory. That is the only way that it will be possible to put an end to the suffering of the Ukrainian people, a people who fight courageously for their freedom. Against this backdrop, France will continue to provide the Ukrainian people with all necessary support for them to exercise their right to self-defense and so that they can preserve their sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence. I thank you. I thank the representative of France for their statement. I give the floor to the representative of China. Mr President, S.G. Guterres in his New Year's message stated that in 2023, we need peace now more than ever. Helping Ukraine and the European region restore peace and stability is an unshakable responsibility of the international community, the Security Council in particular, and a goal that we should redouble our efforts to achieve in the new year. I wish to make the following four observations. First, to create conditions for dialogue and negotiations. The current situation in Ukraine is the result of the long-term accumulation and continuous evolution of deep-seated security imbalances in Europe. Only when parties concerned overcome their differences and sit down at the negotiation table can we find the fundamental solution to end the war and rebuild the European security architecture. The path of peace talks is not a smooth one, but as long as we do not give up our efforts and demonstrate political determination and wisdom, starting from little and practical things and gradually building up, the prospect of peace will always be within reach. The international community, in particular countries with major influence on the current situation, should encourage Russia and Ukraine to engage in dialogue and help open a door to a political solution to the crisis. Escalating sanctions or providing weapons will only make it more difficult to turn the situation around and may even provoke larger-scale confrontations, thus exacerbating and prolonging the conflict, which must be avoided at all costs. Second, to spare no effort in alleviating the humanitarian crisis. The ongoing conflict and the cold winter have added to the humanitarian needs. Many people have to face the reality of shelling, lack of water and electricity, and family separation while ushering in the new year. Parties to the conflict should effectively uphold international humanitarian law, take measures to protect civilians and the civilian infrastructure from attacks and make every effort to reduce the humanitarian consequences of the conflict. Continued international humanitarian assistance is indispensable to help conflict-affected people survive the winter. It is imperative to help Ukraine repair damaged energy infrastructure as soon as possible so that people can survive the winter and a larger-scale humanitarian crisis can be avoided. Russia's 36-hour ceasefire over Orthodox Christmas allowed people to spend the holiday in peace and provided favorable conditions for the humanitarian agencies to deliver their supplies, which should be welcomed. We hope in future there will be more similar ceasefire initiatives so as to create conditions for a comprehensive ceasefire. Third, to eliminate nuclear security risks. The shelling around the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant has not ceased, and its safety and security has been a source of concern. According to the IAEA, all six reactors at the plant are down, and the last backup power line to guarantee the plant's safety and security functions was damaged by shelling at the end of last December. With power transmission only resumed last week, this should not happen again, and all military operations that could affect the safety and security of the nuclear power plant should be stopped immediately. China supports the IAEA in its continuous communication with Russia and Ukraine on the safety and security of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in order to reach a mutually acceptable and viable arrangement at an early date. Fourth, to contain a spillover effect of the crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic, the conflict in Ukraine, and other crises are reinforcing each other with devastating impact on the achievement of the SDGs. Developing countries are suffering from increasingly high inflation and debt burdens, and in last year alone, the number of people suffering from extreme poverty and severe hunger increased by several million. It should be noted that this is not simply about production and demand, and that the disruption of global industrial chain and supply chain by unilateral sanctions cannot be ignored. Major developed countries should adopt responsible economic, monetary, and trade policies to avoid negative spillover effects that exacerbate the economic and livelihood difficulties of developing countries. Not to mention using the world economy as a political tool or weapon thereby undermining the hard-won momentum of recovery. The Black Sea Grain Initiative has brought hope to people in hunger. China welcomes the continued implementation of the initiative and encourages the UN secretariat to make practical efforts in removing the obstacles to the export of Russian food and fertilizer. Mr. President, the crisis in Ukraine has once again brought the world to a crossroads. As President Xi Jinping stated, whether to revert to the Cold War mentality, unprovoked division and confrontation, or to proceed from the common welfare of the humanity and uphold equality, mutual respect, and women cooperation, this is a test of the wisdom of the international community and the reason of the humanity. Facts have proved that conflict, confrontation, containment, and decoupling are against the trend of the times and therefore doomed to failure. While peace, development, wing-wing, and cooperation are in line with the expectation of the people and the prevailing trend of the times. At the beginning of the new year, all parties should take new actions to actively open up new prospects for peace China will continue to uphold an objective and impartial position and take constructive efforts in its own way. Thank you, Mr. President. I thank the representative of China for their statement. Now I give the floor to the representative of Brazil. Mr. President, I welcome the first Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine, Mr. Zaparova, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland, Mr. Gerwell, as well as the representatives of Lithuania and the European Union to this session. I thank Undersecretary General Rosemary DiCarlo for the detailed and comprehensive briefing, which unfortunately confirms prevailing somber expectations. We are sorry to hear once again that there are no prospects for opening peace negotiations, while the humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate and the number of civilian casualties increases every day. Brazil understands that initiatives such as the temporary ceasefire during Orthodox Christmas could pave the way for the resumption of dialogue. It is heartbreaking to see that even in such moments, it is impossible to reach agreement, and yet another opportunity to build peace was lost. We urge the parties to break this senseless dynamic. At the same time, we expect all countries directly or indirectly involved to start showing genuine interest in a dialogue for achieving peace. The exclusive pursuit of military solutions will inevitably stoke long-lasting resentments and a post-conflict situation of fragility and instability. Mr. President, we regret the disbanding of the fact-finding mission set up by the United Nations to investigate the incident of 29 July 2022 in Olenivka even before it was able to begin its work. Impartial scrutiny is essential to contain the proliferation of false narratives and prevent such atrocities from happening again. We encourage the parties to increase efforts to ensure the security of future missions of this nature and the Secretary General to reconsider the decision. Mr. President, Brazil reiterates its commitment to the preservation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity and to a political solution to the conflict that takes into account legitimate security concerns. We also reiterate the call for the well-being of the civilian population on both sides of the frontline to be everyone's priority. We welcome Turkey's renewed mediation efforts and encourage other members of the United Nations to engage in initiatives that will allow for the prompt cessation of hostilities in order to abbreviate the suffering of the Ukrainian people. I thank you. I thank the representative of Brazil for their statement. Now I give the floor to the representative of Ghana. Thank you, President. I thank USG Rosemary de Carlo for her comprehensive briefing on the security and humanitarian situations in Ukraine. Ghana appreciates and remains fully supportive of the crucial work of the different United Nations agencies to address the several crisis generated by the war. Ten months of the Russian Federation's war on Ukraine has left many in fear of the greater evil that lies ahead unless the war is brought to an end sooner rather than later. We remain deeply concerned that belligency appears to prevail over a reasonable approach requiring a move away from the battle front and for the warring parties to resolve their dispute through dialogue. The prevailing conditions in Ukraine reinforce the critical need for the international community to intensify efforts towards a peaceful settlement of the conflict. Despite the echoing calls by the members of this council and the international community, the Russian Federation's actions have perpetuated a disregard for the prohibiting obligations of international law against the use of force as it engages in an intense fight to capture the city of Solida and many other parts of the country. The multiple impacts of the war on the lives of the Ukrainians, especially women and children, are tragic to say the least. Destruction to civilian and critical energy infrastructure are monumental and require extensive resources to be restored where possible. We are particularly concerned by recent escalatory rhetoric and posturing which carry the risk of a possible spillover of hostilities and that could set the stage for a wider war marked by existing global geopolitical features. While Ukraine has been the center stage of combat, the war has also deep intentions within the interstate relations of some of the most powerful nations and elicited responses ranging from the imposition of sanctions and military assistance to Ukraine. We must also note the continuing impact of the unfolding war on the world economy. The food, energy and financial crisis provoked by the war has caused many developing countries to experience receding economies and heightened chances of instability. Mr. President, international peace and security are under threat from the ongoing war in Ukraine. There is a need therefore for the Security Council to strengthen peace efforts by drawing on the tools for Pacific settlement provided under the charter of the United Nations. We are of the view that the Security Council must begin to consider a clear-cut process involving all the parties and all other relevant stakeholders. Such an effort would require the good faith commitment of all members of the Council and must be aimed at finding pragmatic and mutually acceptable solutions grounded in the rules of international law and the avowed values of the charter of the United Nations. It is most pressing for the Security Council to find common ground upon which it can accelerate action for peace in Ukraine. As the body mandated to promote and maintain international peace and security, we share a collective burden to restore peace to Ukraine and its people. We must however point out that a lot depends on the will of the Russian Federation to abate its violations of the sovereignty, political independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine. We therefore reiterate our call for an end by the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of the Russian Federation forces from the internationally recognized borders of Ukraine. We are firmly of the view that dialogue and diplomacy offer the most viable parts to address the security and other concerns of the parties in a comprehensive and mutual acceptable manner. Mr. President, we continue to be disheartened by the humanitarian suffering experienced by the people as a result of the war. Innocent people pay the price each day of the war with their lives and livelihoods. Millions of people have been displaced from their homes with little hope of returning to find them in place. To date, close to 7,000 deaths and more than 11,000 injuries including of children have been recorded. Most regrettably, humanitarian workers have also fallen victim to the war. The deliberate attacks of civilians and humanitarian workers are unacceptable and constitute violations under international humanitarian law. We condemn all such action and call on the parties to comply with their international obligations and also to grant humanitarian access to all impacted areas. We condemn all abuses and violations of human rights arising from the war and we reiterate our call for thorough, transparent and independent investigations into all such reports. We note with regret that the United Nations fact-finding mission that was to investigate the killing of prisoners in Olenevka has had to be disbanded for safety reasons. Despite any setbacks, we must sustain a collective commitment to ensure accountability for all war crimes and to avoid impunity in Ukraine. In respect of safety and security, we wish to underscore the absolute importance for the parties to take preventive measures including the delineation of a demilitarized zone around the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant as well as other nuclear facilities in other parts of the country. We urge the International Atomic Energy Agency in its engagement with the parties also to address the concerns regarding the physical and mental well-being of the staff at the Zaporizhia power plant. Finally, Mr. President, let me express Ghana's unwavering support for the sovereignty, political independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine. We stand in readiness to support the efforts of the Council and the wider international community in finding a comprehensive and lasting resolution of the conflict between the Russian Federation and Ukraine and further to address global challenges resulting from the war. I thank you for your kind attention. I thank the representative of Ghana for their statement. Now I give the floor to the representative of the Russian Federation. Mr. President, to be frank, we don't really understand very well why today's meeting was convened in order to hear a briefing by Madame DiCarlo which was drawn up based on the so-called reliable information that it was provided by so-called independent sources, so-called independent commission. What have we heard that's new from our Western colleagues that we haven't heard in various forms over the past year? The English writer William Thackeray who's well known in our country wrote a novel called Vanity Fair. Well, meetings on Ukraine which have been convened by our former Western partners increasingly recall a hypocrisy fair and the hypocrisy of representatives of the collective West and the Kiev regime increasingly are taking on the oddest forms. For example, our Ukrainian neighbors who just recently threatened us with terrible punishment and almost threatened to launch an offensive against Moscow which they have put on the garb of peacemakers. We felt that yesterday based on the statements of Madame Chaparrova and prior to that, based on the initiatives of her boss, Mr. Kuleba. Ukraine now is running around brandishing the idea of some sort of a peace summit suggesting any way it can that it's Russia who doesn't want war. Clearly this is merely an attempt to win sympathy among Western public who is increasingly asking inconvenient questions about where the money provided to Kiev is going and is surprised at why Ukraine is rejecting any realistic mediation initiatives. At first glance it seems there's the olive branch held out by Kiev. What could be nobler? However, even with the most cursory examination it becomes clear that behind this lovely facade there's a rotten structure and even a hidden compartment. Kiev does not try to hide that peace a la Ukraine is the capitulation of Russia that must be endorsed by the international community. This is why Mr. Kuleba is promoting his propaganda peace stunt initiative immediately specified that the Russian participation in the so-called summit is not planned. Now it's based on the same hypocritical and fundamentally flawed formula that the much vaunted Zelensky peace initiative is based on that our Western colleagues outdid each other in praising anyone who believed even for a minute in the peaceful intentions of the Ukrainian dictator I'd like to remind them that from the 30th of September the very possibility of dialogue with our country was forbidden by Ukrainian legislation. By decree number 679 literally Ukraine and I quote noted the impossibility of conducting negotiations with President of the Russian Federation Putin end of quote. There's no other way to explain this legislative provocation other than the intention to continue fighting to the last Ukrainian by the way it's difficult to shed the impression that the Kiev regime and its most rabid sponsors have completely forgotten the meaning of the word peace. It's no accident that the European Union is financing arms deliveries to Kiev through the European fund peace fund without even considering how abominable that sounds. Colleagues Ukrainian authorities once again have shown their true and far from peaceful colors in March of 2022 when it withdrew its own realistic elements of a peace agreement which we were ready to discuss whether Kiev decided on the spateful step by itself or was heeding the instructions of its London, Washington and Brussels sponsors is not so important now. What's most important is that precisely then the Kiev regime in spite of facts and common sense embraced the illusion that with the increasing direct support of NATO it could defeat Russia on the field of the Ukrainian dictator is still incapable of shedding this dangerous illusion. Even the western leaders have adopted a more sober view of the situation. As a result Ukraine has in essence become a NATO private military enterprise it gets money is supplied with weapons and intelligence information it's told what to target and who to attack. Those who suffer are the Ukrainian people who are being forced to fight for someone else's objectives and this was acknowledged yesterday by the Ukrainian Minister of Defense and I quote him we are fulfilling the mission of NATO without spilling their blood but spilling our blood this is why the West should continue to give us more money and more weapons end of quote that is the formula of NATO of a NATO war by proxy to the last Ukrainian it's you can't describe it any better at the same time the cynical confirmation of the true premise of any Ukrainian so-called peace initiatives. In mindset after my statement many colleagues will ask the legitimate question what is necessary for peace to prevail in Ukraine? This is a legitimate question especially in conditions when the key of regime and its western sponsors are trying to present this situation as though the goal of the special military operation in Ukraine is to destroy Ukraine as a state almost to de-ukronize Ukraine as it in and forced justification we have never set such goals it's important to understand we are waging war not with the Ukrainian people but with the criminal nationalist regime which came to power in 2014 as a result of an anti-constitutional coup supported by the West proclaiming the policy of de-rucifying Ukraine and glorifying Nazi collaborators the result of this criminal policy was an eight year long war against the inhabitants of Donbas who did not want to submit to the government the main goal of the special military operation was to end that eight year old war for the inhabitants of Donetsk and Lugansk people's republic the war hasn't stopped for eight years as far as how the population of that region survived under the shelling then and now and what the people of the Donbas wanted and how they tried to achieve that well we intend to tell everyone about that next Friday under an aria formula meeting we think that for all states and first and foremost members new members of the council and those interested it will be useful to get a first-hand account based on the testimony of witnesses and foreign observers and journalists who were there now everything in Ukraine could have concluded differently if Kiev had implemented the resolution the Minsk agreements endorsed by the UN resolution however this did not fit with the plans of Zelensky or its predecessors and thanks to the relations from Chancellor Merkel and President Hollande did not fit in the plans of its guarantors France and Germany furthermore we learned that the Minsk process was just a cover for the West behind which it was arming Ukraine in order to push it into conflict with Russia with the beginning of this special military operation the goal is to ensure that no threat will emanate from the Ukrainian territory for Russia and the discrimination of the Russian speaking population and if this can be achieved through peaceful negotiations we're ready to engage if not we will achieve it through military means to date though neither the Kiev regime nor the Western sponsors have drawn the necessary conclusions about this disaster further even worse in Ukraine with the tolerance of the collective West the Zelensky regime has become an authoritarian dictatorship which in itself is a significant obstacle to peace more recently in addition to persecuting dissidents and leaders of the opposition we've seen an attempt to destroy the only canonical church in Ukraine the Ukrainian Orthodox Church the consequences of such actions for regional peace and security could be very severe which is why we believe that this situation deserves close scrutiny by the members of the Security Council in this connection we'd like to request the Japanese presidency to convene a separate meeting of the Security Council on this topic in the afternoon of the 17th January thank you I thank the representative of Russian Federation for their statement now I give the floor to the representative of Gabon Thank you Mr President I thank Undersecretary General Rosemary DeCarlo for her briefing I also welcome here today the first Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine and the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Poland I also welcome the representative of Lithuania and the head of the delegation of the European Union to the United Nations here today Mr President since the last meeting of this Council on the war in Ukraine no lull has been noted on the ground there has been no respite for the people the bitter fighting taking place in Solida and in Bakut compels us to act civilians they are subject to regular shelling and are gripped in an unbearable vice as they struggle to control every space according to the most recent statistics from the United Nations this war has produced around 6.5 million IDPs there have been more than 5 million refugees produced more than 7,000 civilian deaths and more than 11,000 injured in addition there have been alleged rapes alleged acts of sexual violence infiltration trafficking in person, namely of children and women children's education has been disrupted and there have been consequences and trauma which go far beyond the boundaries of the conflict itself and the mass destruction and in particular the use of drones and other explosive weapons with wide area effects as well as the use of cluster munitions and antipersonnel mines has served greatly to swell the toll of the war in Ukraine many attacks have targeted energy infrastructure health infrastructure and there have been direct attacks on civilians such attacks have caused civilians to flee to escape danger and these attacks have also made it more difficult to distribute humanitarian aid to the millions of people in need the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance has spiked as temperatures have plummeted we hail the remarkable work of the humanitarian organizations present in Ukraine and present in refugee countries their work has been invaluable in providing aid as well as food, cash, medical care electric generators, drinking water and other basic services once again we call upon the warring parties to uphold their commitments under international humanitarian law we call upon them to refrain from using weapons whose indiscriminate effects afflict atrocious suffering on civilians Mr President as we approach the critical juncture of 12 months of tyler's war it would seem that the rhetoric of the all out use of weapons is prevailing everywhere and that heralds fighting which is even more intense everything points to the fact that this coming spring will be as this winter has been a season of increasingly violent offensive as such it is high time for the meetings of this council to be convened and focused on reaching an outcome which prioritizes the search for a solution it is now high time that the channels of diplomacy become active so that we can put an end to this bloody war my country calls upon all parties to throw their full force behind the quest for a political solution and this in order to put an end to the cycle of suffering and distress we must ensure that dialogue and diplomacy prevail to put an end to the war in Ukraine thank you the representative of gabin for their statement I now give the floor to the representative of malta thank you president I begin by thanking on the secretary the carler for her sobering briefing I recognize the participation Sabarofa first deputy for a minister of Ukraine the heralding of a new year has struck differently this year with the people of Ukraine due to the continuation of Russia's war of aggression at the start of 2023 we must continue to prioritize the prolonged and intensifying nature of this illegal war along with its consequences on Ukraine its people Europe and the rest of the world as we witness the systematic targeting of critical infrastructure particularly energy and water distribution systems we condemn this evident weaponization of winter to the severe detriment of the civilians in Ukraine these attacks have led to widespread blackouts and the disruption of essential services in Ukraine and constitute a violation of international humanitarian law in particular the four Geneva conventions and their protocols we stress that international humanitarian and international human rights law must be respected and upheld at all times without exception the repercussions of this war on children must be highlighted attacks on civilian infrastructure including schools and transportation systems coupled with displacements are having a disproportionate impact on children their education and their safety lack of access to basic services is depriving them of their fundamental rights and this will lead to long-term consequences that will not be easily reversed furthermore children have been forcibly moved to Russia breaking family ties and placing children in vulnerable situations while denying them the rights to family life dire consequences are also true for all the displaced people and refugees society organizations in particular women's organizations must be given priority and all CSOs must be included and participate meaningfully in coordination mechanisms and decision making processes at all levels we have heard harrowing testimonies of rape, torture, trafficking confirmed by the international independent commission of inquiry on Ukraine in this regard we welcome the framework of cooperation on the prevention and response to conflict-related sexual violence with the government of Ukraine and the UN system we urge rigorous and swift action with respect to accountability investigations, prosecutions compensation reparations and the service provision that is survivor centered rights based and trauma informed once again sexual violence has become a feature of war we cannot fail to investigate and prosecute these crimes we cannot tolerate impunity for sexual violence and conflicts we call for the safe, rapid and unpeded humanitarian access and corridors to anyone in need across Ukraine we commend the UN its related agencies and all humanitarian workers who are working on the ground in extremely difficult operational environment and taxing conditions over the last few weeks we have witnessed renewed and prolonged attacks on Kiev and other cities along with the suffering inflicted on the civilian population we reiterate our concern about the respect for international humanitarian law and hope that these attacks will cease immediately the documented providence of the UAVs using these attacks raise serious concerns which need to be addressed equally I reiterate that indiscriminate attacks and attacks on civil critical infrastructure must stop it is the responsibility of this council and all its members to uphold UN Charter and international law without exception in closing we welcome USG De Carlos positive update with regard to the ongoing contacts regarding prisoners of war and progress on the Black Sea grain initiative and we call upon the Russian Federation to seize international hostilities and take concrete steps towards solving contentious issues through dialogue and diplomacy in ways that are consistent with the UN Charter thank you I thank the representative of Malta for their statement I now give the floor to the representative of United Arab Emirates Thank you Mr President and I'd like to also join others in thanking Under Secretary General De Carlos for her briefing and my welcome to her Excellency Zaparova first Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine and his Excellency Gerwell Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Poland for their participation. Mr President since last February this council has met over the war in Ukraine more than 40 times our discussions have covered virtually every reason to abhor modern warfare from the threat of nuclear confrontation to the plight of children in conflict each passing day last year added to the urgency of a cessation of hostilities and the necessity of a negotiated settlement yet one fighting season has yielded to another as this terrible conflict continues and today nearly 40% of Ukraine's population needs humanitarian aid the ravages of war have not spared essential services either while the onset of winter compounds civilian suffering as we have heard donors and aid groups have responded with urgency scaling up the delivery of essential services and providing thousands of generators to help people through the winter indeed the UAE's aid program has so far sent 2500 generators as part of our ongoing humanitarian response to the conflict but aid actors have also been caught in the crossfire on 15th December a humanitarian worker was killed while distributing food and just a few days later the office of the Red Cross in Donetsk was damaged by shelling this war has already killed at least 7000 Ukrainian civilians and forced 15 million to flee their homes in September the World Bank estimated that Ukraine's reconstruction would cost around 350 billion dollars that was before the widespread destruction of critical infrastructure including power plants and the electricity grid beyond Ukraine's borders the war is contributing to turmoil in the global supply chain and food and energy markets and imposing unsustainable costs on countries in the global south for low income developing states the conflict added to an already difficult post-pandemic global economy with rising prices and interest rates and significant inflationary pressures nearly 60% of these countries now face a debt crisis people far from the front lines in Ukraine are paying a price for the conflict meanwhile the international system has had to confront the twin crises of function and principle the war in Ukraine has risked entrenching global divisions to the point of paralyzing multilateralism with the false choice of with us or against us at the same time the challenges to the most foundational tenets of international law and the UN Charter could not be more explicit Mr. President we have long gone for another year of lives lost and immense suffering the UAE has consistently held that there is no viable military solution however we acknowledge that ultimately it is the parties Ukraine and the Russian Federation that must decide when and how they begin comprehensive talks still the international community can and must do more to accelerate that process through active and deliberate diplomacy to prevent an escalation and expansion of the war and include minimizing the risk of a miscalculation in those efforts we must also preserve the space for positive interactions between the two sides at the very least to normalize engagement on key areas like the export of grain and fertilizers nuclear safety and security and respect for international humanitarian law and to encourage the parties to the negotiation table we should also provide incentives in the form of a post-war vision that is just and sustainable so in 2023 let us leverage the fact that we share a clear and urgent interest in bringing this war to a swift and peaceful end equally importantly let all of our efforts drive at an inclusive and robust multilateralism which is critical to addressing urgent global challenges but also to safeguarding Ukraine sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity as well as the region's long-term security stability and prosperity Mr President, today we must work for something more durable a piece that holds and endures we must begin to imagine the day after this war ends thank you I thank the representative of the United Arab Emirates for their statement now I give the floor to the representative of the United Kingdom thank you President and I join others in thanking Under Secretary General DeCarlo for her briefing and welcoming among us her Excellency Jepper over the First Deputy Foreign Minister and His Excellency Gherwell Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs this is our first meeting on Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine since the 9th of December last year many of us have spent the time since then resting recuperating celebrating with family and preparing for the new year Russia Russia has spent that time bombing civilians attacking Ukraine's critical infrastructure and attempting to seize Ukrainian territory as it did for most of last year Russia has continued to do this with the assistance of Belarus and using weapons sourced from Iran and North Korea in violation of Security Council resolutions and with utter contempt for this council President millions of Ukrainians spent the holiday period sheltering from missile and drone attacks sitting in the dark and the cold and living as refugees displaced persons and prisoners many of them thousands of miles away from their homes families and loved ones as the Secretary General said yesterday this war has created a humanitarian and human rights catastrophe traumatized a generation of children and accelerated the global food and energy crisis as a result millions across the world are facing another year of hunger and hardship President as many of us have said repeatedly Russia can choose to end the crisis immediately by stopping its attacks against Ukraine not just for 36 hours but for good and by withdrawing its forces from Ukraine while Russia's assault continues however Ukraine has no choice but to exercise its right to defend itself but like the rest of us what Ukraine wants is just and sustainable peace we welcome and support Ukraine's initiative to this end we join the international community in again calling for an end to the war which respects Ukraine's rights under international law and the UN Charter so that this year may be a year of peace I thank the representative of the United Kingdom for their statement I shall now make a statement in my capacity as the representative of Japan I thank Ms. Rosemary DiCarlo for her briefing it is truly regrettable that we have to repeat what we and other member states have said many times before in various occasions however we are compelled to articulate a position once again Japan condemns in the strongest terms Russia's aggression against Ukraine which is a clear and flagrant violation of international law and UN Charter by a permanent member of the Security Council which is supposed to bear heavy responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security Russia must immediately stop its war of aggression withdraw all of its troops and military equipment from Ukraine and respect Ukraine's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders in accordance with a series of General Assembly resolutions and the ICJ order on provisional measures we also condemn Russian attacks against civilian infrastructure in cities across Ukraine innocent civilians in Ukraine including children have been exposed to strikes even during the New Year holidays destructions of energy infrastructure has seriously aggravated the humanitarian situation in the harsh winter any continuation of these attacks is completely unacceptable we recall that in discriminant attacks on innocent civilian populations constitute a war crime we underline that there can be no impunity for war crimes and other atrocities including sexual and gender based violence the international community must hold these responsible those responsible to account in accordance with international law we strongly condemn the transfer of unmanned aerial vehicles from Iran to Russia we would support efforts by UN Secretariat to investigate the potential usage of Iranian drones by Russia in its war against Ukraine in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2231 we also strongly condemn Russia's irresponsible nuclear rhetoric and its seizure and militarization of the Freezya nuclear power plant we fully support the Japan reaffirms its commitment to play its part in shielding vulnerable countries that are severely impacted by the repercussions of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine and Russia's weaponization of energy and food we welcome the agreement we strongly urge the relevant countries to continue to steadily implement this initiative unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force shake the very foundation of the international order based on the rule of law and must not occur at any corner of the globe member state we have found such principles at the open debate we have found such principles at the open debate we have found such principles at the open debate yesterday Japan renews our full resolve to continue our assistance to support Ukraine's defense of its sovereignty and territorial integrity we will stand firmly with Ukraine for as long as it takes I shall now make I resume my function as the president of the council I now give the floor to High Excellency Ms. Emine Zheplova First Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine Mr. President distinguished members of the Security Council and the Secretary General Dikar Lor, dear friends dear colleagues I would like to start with the words of my huge personal appreciation to all of you who expressed support to Ukraine in our fight for the existence and not only in our fight for the existence but also for the existence of the whole world that is based on rules and order international law respect for the very fundamental things that we know like territorial integrity and sovereignty and finally respect for the human dignity and freedom I regret that the evils messenger is still here in the seat of the permanent member of the UN Security Council the seat of the Soviet Union the representatives constantly poison the discussion held here and cynically lie to all of us I reiterate what the delegation of my country has already pointed out that the legal grounds for such a presence are more than dubious if not absent Mr. President dear colleagues since the last council meeting on the Russian war against Ukraine the situation on the ground has further deteriorated active front line with Russia is more than 1,500 kilometers while the total combat line is almost 4,000 kilometers Ukraine has been turned into the world's largest minefield of 175,000 square kilometers the majority of Russian missile and drone attacks has been directed at civilian infrastructure namely 62% of all strikes thousands of residential buildings houses, schools, kindergarten hospitals, museums religious buildings electricity grids, water grids, railway markets have been either destroyed or heavily damaged over 7,000,000 of my compatriots mostly women and children have been roaming all around the globe being separated from their homes and families when other 7,000,000 of Ukrainians have become IDPs eternally displaced persons and this is on the top of 1,500,000 of IDPs since 2014 like myself when I left my homeland Crimea today the battle for Donbas is at its height the cities of Bakhmut and Solidar are now the major hotspots of the military action what happens there surpasses the most horrific picture of world wars there are ruins instead of residential buildings emptiness and dead bodies instead of joyful crowd shared tree trunks instead of forests and moon-like surface instead of grain fields ladies and gentlemen I think it's our shared responsibility to restore peace and justice to make every provision of the UN Charter operational to guarantee safe future to our children to our grandchildren and all generations to come it is our historic mission and it's the momentum where we live all together my President Volodymyr Zelensky has initiated peace formula to meet the pressing challenges of the world it consists of 10 points that are able to bring back security and justice to Ukraine and the entire world the formula is quite simple and it's based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter as we all see the Russia's war impacts the entire world because today our states and peoples are very much interconnected when Russia destroys grainfield and farms in Ukraine families from many countries in need suffer from food shortages and poverty thus our peace formula is aimed at ensuring security in all its dimensions food security, radiation safety, energy security countering ecocide and preventing repetition of the aggression we all need to develop enhanced security guarantees to ensure that the tragedy will never repeat we call on the responsible nations to facilitate and promote the peace formula plan Excellencies we also should be united in strengthening our further pressure on Russia to destroy its war machine the aggressor state has already felt the impact of sanctions even though they denied its invading army is running out of modern weapons and ammunition and although we haven't won yet, Russia has already lost for its final defeat and victory of our democracies another joint action is needed in this regard my message is very clear we need to reinforce sanctions in sector of particular economic importance to Russia Berlin-Gasemburgo disconnection of Russian banks from global financial system is price the aggressor state should pay as Russian finds itself in total isolation it has to intensify it ties with other barriers Moscow irresponsibly gets them ever more involved in its bloody war we could not allow those who assist Russia in committing its horrific war crimes avoid responsibility it is applicable both to Belarus that hypocritically denies its actual participation in the war and Iran that supplies its drones to Russia which continue to be an indispensable mean of Russian missile terror strategy Ukraine has officially requested the UN secretary general and UN secretariat more than once to send experts to Ukraine to investigate Iran's supplies of unmanned aerial vehicles today I reiterate this request and I hope that the mission will be dispatched as soon as possible because the delay undermines the credibility of the Security Council as such as well as its ability to ensure implementation of its own decision in particular the UN Security Council resolution 20 to 31 colleagues our efforts to restore peace and security cannot be complete without steps to ensure justice this is why it is a matter of paramount importance to establish special tribunal to hold Russia war criminals accountable in almost 11 months the aggressor state has already committed over 64,000 registered war crimes and I dread to think how many more mass graves like in Bucha, in Izhum in Liman we will be able to discover after full liberation of our territories these terrifying crimes would not be possible without so-called mother of all crimes which is crime of aggression that started in my native Crimea in 2014 and I would like to share with you a very personal story of mine that happened in March 2014 when I lived in Crimea and I was a journalist and I traveled the whole peninsula in order to collect evidences of the Russian crime of aggression and we were supposed to be briefed by the special envoy of the U.N. Secretary General Dutch Ambassador Robert Sari and he was not there for two hours and there was a rumor that he was kidnapped that he was seized by the so-called self-defense guys and I was actually the first to find him in one of the cafeterias in the center of the Sincere Opel and I became a communicator between the FSB actually and himself and he was put under ultimatum to leave Crimea as soon as possible and then the last message that he gave me when we were together in the Sincere Opel airport because we were took by FSB there in convoy and convoyed by fully equipped people and then he said I will report to the Secretary General all of the details of this issue of his travel because he was not able to exercise his mandate and this is exactly what has been happening while Russia has been declaring its openness for any access of international delegations monitoring missions like in Olenivka they in fact do not open for monitoring because they are dreaming of hiding their own crimes and we of course with Olenivka as far as we gave all of the necessary guarantees to have an access and that finding mission we regret that Russia failed to do so the International Criminal Court in the HEC which investigates Russian crimes against Ukraine does not have sufficient jurisdiction and power for the prosecution of the Russian aggression and thus we believe that the only way to restore justice is the establishment of this international mechanism or special tribunal your support of the respective resolution is a sign of hope for every single Ukrainian whose life was dramatically affected by Russia's war ladies and gentlemen my next point is dedicated to defence assistance and weapon air defence systems are still a top priority as Russia keeps its missile terror all across Ukraine almost half of our energy infrastructure is damaged millions of Ukrainians have to spend their evenings and nights by candlelight because they have no electricity for each part Ukraine even being under unprecedented attack keeps to share not only values and dignity but also something very practical like for example the initiative grain from Ukraine and I think to the UN and number of our partners for supporting the humanitarian initiative of my president it is clear that there is no room for compromise with evil because if Ukraine stops fighting it will die the war as we know it will die if Russia stops its aggression the war will end it is as simple as that however even after the victory there will be many challenges to address according to the estimates that we have the total amount of damage caused by Ukraine civil and critical infrastructure is more than 127 billion dollars the recovery of Ukraine will be one of the largest investment projects now Ukraine has become the biggest construction site in Europe that provides a wide range of multiple opportunities for international partners to implement the best practices in the sphere of engineering, construction and transfer of technologies the sooner Ukraine recovers the sooner Ukraine could again fully focus as a reliable partner and active contributor on resolving the global challenges such as climate change, food insecurity poverty, conflicts and many other that affect the daily life of hundreds of millions of people all around the world dear friends everyday life of people in Ukraine today looks exactly as what the UN has committed to counter and overcome war and insecurity lack of access to basic things like water and electricity, poverty and environmental degradation for many in my country and for many of you life in my country might seem unimaginable with cooking on firewood saving water and plastic bottles to drink, to wash dishes, to flush the toilets reading and making homework by the candlelight making laundry in a basin healthy walk instead of elevator into 20 plus something floor sleeping dress in a coat, hat and gloves hiding from bombs in the shelters and these are the problems for many vulnerable countries that the upcoming SDG summit as well as the summit of the future are supposed to address and I could keep on reflecting on this medieval lifestyle in my country but my big point is absolutely different you could hardly find someone who complains everyone is like a Ukrainian soldier in the trench we manifest dignity despite all threats and all I would say inconveniences we live our lives with dignity cherishing our unity and ability to resist cheering up by words of love and support, sharing food and clothes and candles mourning our heroes rejoicing newborns we became people and we are happy to see people on the streets and I feel happy when I am in the traffic gym can you imagine that one can be happy to be in a traffic gym we are now becoming experts on generators and the most common wish at the New Year's Eve and Christmas Eve was the victory the victory of Ukraine is not only a wish of millions of my compatriots who stood against idea to say neo-colonialism and restoration of empire and have been fighting for its independence with no fear anymore it is the common goal for those who understand that if the bigger attacks smaller no one in this room and thus in your respective countries can feel secured however we can make it secured by walking together shoulder to shoulder hand, heart to heart, we can make it I thank you for your attention I thank her excellency Ms. Jopalova for her statement I give the floor to his excellency Mr. Vojcef Gelwell Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Poland Your Excellency Mr. President Dear Ministers Honorable Delegates Poland commends Japan for convening this important meeting Let me express my appreciation to your Excellency Mr. President for your statement and to Undersecretary General Rosemary D. Karloff for her briefing and valuable insights Thank you for Your Excellency Amin Jopalova for your statement for your testimony about the dignity of the Ukrainian people which you so eloquently evoke Mr. President with each and every day of its aggression against Ukraine Russia is breaking the most basic rules and principles of international law enshrined in the UN Charter and other historic documents We are obliged to repeat this plain fact over and over again even though it falls on the aggressors death years Today I would like to make some points regarding the current situation in Ukraine First, I wish to assure you that Poland will continue to act as the assistance hub for Ukraine as long as it is necessary We have been proud to offer our goodwill services to Ukraine and Ukrainians from day one of the Russian invasion In addition to offering shelter to millions of Ukrainian refugees Poland keeps providing and facilitating transfers of multi-dimensional aid as well as hosting several hundred humanitarian workers from over a dozen UN agencies and international organizations We are the main support gateway for Ukraine and it is our intention to continue in this particular role as long as it is required Second I would like to inform you about the conclusions of the Lublin Triangle Summit of the presidents of Ukraine Poland and Lithuania which took place in Lviv just two days ago In their joint declaration the three leaders underlined among other things their full support for the creation in accordance with the principles of international law of an ad hoc international tribunal for the crime of aggression committed by the Russian Federation of Ukraine The presidents also voiced their support for convening the Global Peace Formula Summit initiated by Ukraine in order to consolidate international support as presented by President Zawenski Poland and Lithuania also re-confirmed their strong advocacy for Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic perspective Mr. President and last but not least my final point is an appeal to the members of this Security Council and the whole international community It is my duty to express in this chamber Poland's concern with the role of Belarus in the Kremlin's strategy regarding Ukraine By now we already know that Minsk is politically and practically supporting the Russian aggression However, accelerating Russian military build-up in Belarus including recently announced Russian-Belarusian military drills to take place between January 16 and February 1 should ring additional alarm bells I do not have to remind anybody here that the deployment of Russian troops and military equipment in Belarus just 12 months ago was a prelude to a full-scale invasion we have witnessed since February 24th 2022 The concentration of troops in our region is a negative development which we notice Therefore we should make clear to Belarus that it can still reverse its course and make the right choice Minsk has to be conscious that its further active involvement in the invasion will be met with firm response from the international community Let us make every effort to prevent further escalation of the conflict and use all the available tools to establish a just peace Ukraine strives for Thank you I thank His Excellency Mr.Gelvel for his statement I now give the floor to the representative of Lithuania Thank you Mr.President I am delivering this statement on behalf of the Baltic States Estonia, Latvia and my own country Lithuania I thank I am the secretary general Rosemary DiCarlo for her briefing and the presidency of Japan for the opportunity to address this council Today's date is a symbolic for us As on January 13th in Lithuania we commemorate the freedom Defenders Day On this day, in 1991 Lithuanian people, including myself stood unarmed against Soviet tanks defending Lithuania's independence and freedom Each year, we, the Baltic States commemorate all our victims who died in fight for the independence from the Soviet Empire and continue to stand with Ukraine today that today is defending not only Ukraine but also our freedom Mr.President we are fast approaching a morbid milestone one year anniversary of Russia's unprovoked, unjustified and illegal world of aggression against Ukraine As we speak, Russian troops continue systematic and massive attacks on civilians as well as deliberate destruction of Ukrainian vital infrastructure committing horrible war crimes in Ukraine daily This clearly demonstrates brutality and desperation of Russia's regime If not stopped, Russia will continue threatening rules based international order and pursuing its imperialist and colonial ambitions to retain Ukraine in its sphere of influence If Russia is not stopped countries around the world will continue to experience the consequences of this war including through the acute food and energy insecurity We reiterate that Russia is solely responsible for these hardships by starting the war of aggression in blatant violation of the UN Charter and its key principles Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia fully supports Ukraine's initiative on the establishment of the special tribunal for the punishment of the crime of aggression against Ukraine There must be no impunity for these crimes committed from Ukraine in soil Mr President we commend the people of Ukraine for their admirable courage in defending their country the international legal order and the UN Charter The international community must continue doing everything possible to help Ukraine to win this war and to get through this winter including through urgently providing specialized energy equipment and helping to repair destroyed energy infrastructure The Baltic states will continue to provide support to address the impact of Russia's systemic and deliberate attacks on Ukraine's energy sector as well as other official assistance Our countries are among the largest supporters of Ukraine per capita together providing more than 1.3 billion euros in official assistance to Ukraine since February 2022 and that excluding private initiatives We have been assisting vulnerable communities in the conflict torn eastern regions for the past 8 years and have scaled up our assistance to meet the massive and urgent relief and protection needs for civilians across Ukraine since last February In order to help Ukrainian people to get through this winter our governments, civil, society and private companies have already sent significant amount of equipment to Ukraine including power generators, power transformers and the SPS parts Lithuania, Latvia and Lithuania will continue to take the work towards the options to use the frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine's reconstruction and for the purposes of reparation in line with international law We must ensure that principles aggressors face the damage is fully implemented in practice Mr. President Baltic states support all meaningful efforts to bring Russia's work of aggression to an end We welcomed the 10 steps peace formula proposed by the president of Ukraine that we consider as a sound basis for achieving peace in Ukraine Any solution to Russia's aggression against Ukraine must ensure that Ukraine's voice is heard and that the sovereignty, independence, unity and the territorial integrity of Ukraine within its international recognized borders is respected As the international community we must continue to demand every single day that Russia stops this brutal aggression Our position is clear to Ukraine and defend the principles of UN Charter as long as it is necessary We are confident that Ukraine will prevail as this was powerfully conveyed to us by the first Deputy Minister I thank you Mr. President I thank the representative of Lithuania for their statement I now give the floor to his excellency Mr. Olof Skug Head of the European Union to the United Nations Thank you very much Mr. President, good afternoon colleagues I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its member states the candidate countries North Macedonia Montenegro, Albania, Ukraine Republic of Moldova and Bosnia and Herzegovina potential candidate country Georgia as well as Norway and Andorra align themselves with this statement and I want to thank Rosemary DeCarlo as everyone else have done and thank you Mr. President for the opportunity to say a few words on this very important topic I wanted to acknowledge and pay tribute to the participation and the testimony today of the Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine and I think she's made an incredibly powerful statement about how the struggle of the Ukrainian people is and should be the struggle of every free country and every member of the United Nations Mr. President Russia has decided to violate one of the most basic principles of international law and launch a fully fledged war of aggression against its neighbour a fellow member of this organisation the courage and resilience of the Ukrainian people in their darkest hour inspired the world and we came together also here at the UN to condemn this unprovoked aggression and defend the UN Charter in 2023 not even two weeks into the new year Russia continues its brutal attacks on civilians and critical infrastructure in the midst of winter so in response we must continue to stand together with Ukraine and in defence of the founding principle of these organisations and as members of the Security Council we call on all of you to assume your responsibility in upholding the Charter and in defence of international peace and security today as Russia's onslaught against the people of Ukraine persist I'd like to highlight and I think we also as one the need to protect civilians second the importance of accountability and third our support to all meaningful initiatives towards a just peace first the members of the UN abound by international law to protect civilians Russia's ongoing campaign of systematic airstrikes against civilian targets and critical infrastructure must stop these cruel inhumane attacks only aim to increase human suffering of Ukrainian people and emergency services of electricity heating and water attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure add to the growing evidence that Russia is committing war crimes as has been reported by the independent international commission of inquiry on Ukraine the EU is intensifying our provision of humanitarian aid and civilian protection assistance and our support to the restoration of Ukraine's critical infrastructure to help Ukraine get through the winter we've also responded with additional restrictive measures against Russia as well as against Iran in response to the delivery of drones and their deadly deployment in Russia's war of aggression we call again on Russia to ensure unimpeded humanitarian access to all areas under temporary control as well as to persons detained by Russia and those forcibly transferred to Russia the contamination of land mines and remnants of war left behind by Russia's armed forces is not only posing a serious obstacle to relief and aid delivery efforts but they're also a serious threat to the lives of civilians in particular children second, Mr President, there can be no impunity Russia's war has brought death and destruction to its neighbour the EU welcomes all efforts to ensure full accountability for war crimes and the other most serious crimes in connection with Russia's war including ways to secure accountability for the crime of aggression Russia must bear the legal consequences for all violations of international law and accountability in its broadest sense must be ensured including victims' rights to truth and reparations as well as guarantees of non-repetition we support the investigations by the prosecutor of the ICC the EU has and we reiterate the order of the International Court of Justice of March of last year Russia to immediately suspend its military operations in Ukraine we call on Russia to comply with this legally binding order we will continue to support Ukraine in the framework of the ICJ proceedings thirdly, we support all meaningful efforts to bring an end to Russia's war the path to peace is for the aggressor to withdraw its troops and military equipment from the entire territory of Ukraine and respect its sovereignty and territorial integrity and Ukraine's initiative for just peace to date Russia has not shown any genuine willingness for a fair and sustainable peace in line with this charter or the charter of this organization nor of international law Russian troops have continued their relentless airstrikes against civilians using cold and hunger as weapons of war it has blocked any meaningful action by this Security Council to react to all these crimes Mr President, in closing I want to re-firm for the EU its full support for Ukraine's independence sovereignty and territorial integrity we will continue to stand with Ukraine its people for as long as it takes we will continue to increase the collective pressure together with our international partners on Russia to end its war of aggression and to withdraw its troops and we will continue to be at the forefront of global efforts to address all the global consequences of this Russian aggression and we count on the members of the Council to do the same I thank you very much I thank His Excellency Mr Skug for his statement there are no more names inscribed on the list of speakers the meeting is adjourned