Madam Chair,

At the outset, the Delegation of Ukraine would like to thank Permanent Representative of Paraguay, Ambassador Facetti, and his able team for their dedicated efforts in successfully guiding the work of the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee for the last two years.

We congratulate Ms. Botezatu from the Romanian Space Agency on her election as the next Chair of the STSC. We wish you, Madam Chair, the fullest success in steering the work of this Subcommittee as it addresses complex challenges related to space and fosters peaceful cooperation among nations. Please be assured of our Delegation’s full support and readiness for constructive cooperation.

We also warmly welcome UNOOSA Director Holla-Maini and wish her and her team every success in future endeavours.

Distinguished delegates,

Ukraine aligns itself with the statement of the European Union delivered earlier under this agenda item. I also would like to add some remarks in my national capacity.

Ukraine remains committed to actively contributing to the multilateral work of COPUOS and its Subcommittees. They are crucial platforms for international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space, including space weather, near-Earth objects, global satellite systems, the long-term sustainability of outer space activities, and the use of space technology for socioeconomic development or to support disaster management.

The development of space technologies and equipment should serve the use and exploration of outer space for peaceful purposes.

However, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022, highlights the vulnerability of both space and space technology, and the international space order as such.

Space technologies, which should be aimed at improving people's lives, and thus opening a path a better, happy future, are today widely used by the Russian Federation in the military sphere to wage an aggressive war against a neighbouring state.

As a result of Russian war against Ukraine, many tasks of our national space sector, including those related to the development of space science and technology, such as space research, the development of space technologies, space education, have faded into the background.

It is because of this war that the adoption of the National Space Programme of Ukraine is being delayed. The absence of such a programme leads to the emergence of a number of barriers to the development of the space industry in Ukraine, such as lack of government funding and private industrial investments, and insufficient participation of Ukrainian experts in international forums where space activities are discussed and planned.

Massive missile attacks and drone strikes by the Russian armed forces are destroying the existing space infrastructure throughout the territory of Ukraine.

The constant threat of missile attacks on the production facilities of Ukrainian space companies is viewed by our partners as a risk to the reliability of product supplies. This has already led to the termination of some contracts, such as, for instance, the Antares programme.

All this leads to the fact that our country is deprived of the opportunity to use all its potential accumulated over many years in the space industry. The war unleashed by the Russian Federation makes it impossible for our country to access space science and technology, as well as slows down the development of national research programmes in space science and technology to serve our country's innovation agenda.

Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine is a flagrant violation of norms of international law, including the UN Chater. Russian war clearly contradicts the values of this organization as well as other international organizations dealing with peaceful space exploration.

It is impossible to imagine how we can agree for the Russian Federation to influence the decision on any pressing issues in the space industry, while this country is destroying international law as a value and heritage of humanity. Not to mention tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilians brutally killed by this country during the war it started.

Against this background, introduction by the Russian Federation of the UN General Assembly draft resolution entitled "Space Science and Technology for Promoting Peace", the text of which was distributed by the Russian delegation on 15 December 2023, looks especially hypocritical and cynical and is not viewed by Ukraine as acceptable.

We also reiterate our position against granting UN affiliation to the Regional Centre for Space Science and Technology Education hosted in Russia.

Distinguished colleagues,

Ukraine has resources to achieve the ambitious goal of restoring its positions in the space sector. However, for these aspirations to come true, Ukraine must first win the war and survive as an industrial, high-tech state, and in the near future — a space state. In this endeavour, we count on the support of our partners.

Thank you, Madam Chair.