Madam Chairperson,  

Today we celebrate the anniversary of the entry into force of the UN Charter.  

It is symbolic that Malta is both an elected member of the UN Security Council and the Chair of the OSCE, which is a powerful reminder of how the UN Charter and the Helsinki Final Act are linked.

Both documents proclaim a human life and human rights as the greatest value to be protected by all necessary means. So, today’s anniversary is, first of all, about responsibility.     

With daily strikes on Ukraine’s communities and terror against civilians Russia continues to remind us about this common responsibility “to take effective collective measures for the suppression of acts of aggression”.  

Because every such an attack causes death and destruction.

On 19 October, Russia’s bombs dropped on the centre of Zaporizhzhia left ten people wounded, including two children.   

20 October, Russia’s yet another massive attack on Kharkiv wounded 12 people, including a pregnant woman.

21 October, Kryvyi Rih was hit by a ballistic missile. Four people were injured, including a 12-year-old girl.  

22 October, Russia’s attack on Sumy killed three members of a family, including a girl. The girl would have turned 15 in November.  

From 14 to 20 October alone, Russia fired more than 20 different types of missiles, nearly 800 guided aerial bombs, and over 500 strike drones against Ukraine and peace.

Moreover, according to the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, the trend of increasing civilian casualties that started in July and continued in September.

At least 208 civilians, including 9 children, were killed and 1220 injured, among them 76 children, making September the deadliest month for civilians in 2024.   

These figures speak to us - could we have done more to prevent these deaths and injuries, using in full the powers given to the international community by the UN Charter and the Helsinki Final Act? 

In addition, Russia continues its systematic policy in executing prisoners of war in violation of the international humanitarian law.

On 18 of October, two more Ukrainian soldiers were again brutally killed near the town of Selydovo in the Donetsk region.   

At the same time, as we heard during the last PC meeting, Russia’s threat to continue attacks on Ukraine’s ports and civilian ships not only poses risks to food security but also inspires others to blackmail the world, as attacks on commercial vessels are also being replicated in the Red Sea, thus, undermining the freedom of navigation and global trade. 

The growing North Korea’s involvement in the war against Ukraine, however, shows the most serious implications of the Russian aggression for international security and stability.

The deployment of North Korean forces to Vladivostok has been confirmed.

Reportedly, Russia is trying to cover up their presence by providing them with Russian military uniforms and weapons, and by issuing fake IDs of residents of the Yakutia and Buryatia regions.    

According to publicly available information, Russia plans to use about 11000 DPRK infantry troops.

And the Ukrainian intelligence expects to see the first Korean soldiers on the frontline within days.

Russia, thus, is violating resolutions and sanctions of the UN, where it continues to illegally occupy the seat of a permanent member of the UN SC.

Moreover, by its actions Russia is providing resources to the regime that violates the non-proliferation regime.  

This is on top of Russia’s nuclear sabre-rattling, occupation of the biggest NPP in Europe and threats to attack elements of Ukraine's nuclear energy system. 

Do we need aby more evidence that the current Russian leadership is not interested in peace and cooperation?

Esteemed colleagues, 

There is one thing Russia, Iran and the North Korea have in common.

Each is focused on the destruction of another sovereign state. And each of them dreams of imposing a new world order based on the dictate of force, rather than the rule of law, as enshrined in the UN Charter and the Helsinki Final Act.

While Moscow is receiving ammunition, military equipment and now manpower, its allies are being offered the opportunity to improve the efficiency of their weapons, to get technologies and know-how in critical areas, and to train soldiers in field conditions.  

Isn’t this a real escalation by Russia?

Should we doubt that this experience will be applied by Russia’s allies in other regions?

Will this make the world more secure, just and stable? Absolutely not.

At the same time, North Korea’s involvement is a sign of Russia’s desperation and weakness.  

The fact that it took the so-called "second strongest army" two and a half years to take the city of Vuhledar, by actually razing it to the ground, says the same thing. As does the situation in the Kursk region.

But it is weakness if properly exploited by an immediate and strong international response – in order to effectively stop the assault on the rules-based international order by Russia and its allies. That’s why last week President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy presented the Victory Plan. 

Its first point is indeed an invitation for Ukraine to join NATO. Russia must finally recognize that Ukraine’s European and Euro-Atlantic integration is irreversible based on the will of people. This will be fundamental for peace and stability, by removing geopolitical uncertainty in Europe.

The second point is defense. It implies the irreversible strengthening of Ukraine's capabilities in the face of the aggressor.

The third point is deterrence. Ukraine proposes deploying a comprehensive non-nuclear strategic deterrence package on its territory, sufficient to protect the country from any military threat posed by Russia. Effective deterrence will ensure that Russia either resorts to diplomacy or is going to lose its war machine.

The fourth point is strategic economic potential. This is about how Ukraine’s economic potential could be turned into Ukraine’s success story.

The fifth point is designed for the post-war period. After this war, Ukraine will have one of the most experienced and largest military contingents, which could contribute to security in Europe.

These steps aimed to prevent Russia from adapting to the battlefield and facilitate the implementation of Ukraine’s Peace Formula.

While Ukraine is open to diplomacy, we need force to avoid a major war. It is a guarantee of negotiations without coercion.   

Once again, we are grateful to our partners for helping Ukraine along this path. As of now, six thematic conferences were successfully held under the Peace Formula.  

And it is more than symbolic that today Latvia is hosting another conference on the implementation of the UN Charter together with the Third Parliamentary Summit of the Crimea Platform.

It is clear that Russia’s war must end where it began – in Crimea.

And the road, which led to the creation of the UN Charter, is a stark reminder that peace depends not on comforting the aggressor, not on territorial compromises, or the aggressor’s presence at the international organizations. This only creates the illusion of normality.  

However, by standing up to a deliberate terror, by isolating an aggressor, and by holding him to account, we can effectively change the behaviour of Russia.

Because the world deserves a real and just peace.    

I thank you, Madam Chairperson.