As delivered by the Permanent Representative of Ukraine Mr. Yurii VITRENKO to the 1507th meeting of the Permanent Council on 06 February 2025
Mr. Chairperson, dear Colleagues
I came here from the country at war.
From the country who fights for the very right to exist.
Whose defenders for already three years sacrifice their lives not only for Ukraine’s freedom, but for the Europe as we know it. For the Europe embodied by the Helsinki Final Act fundamental principles.
My (tactical fleece) jacket today is a sign of solidarity with those who, in the trenches on the frontline, hold the line against the horde of invaders, letting us sit here in this sterile environment. It is a sign of solidarity as well as reminder of their immense, and often ultimate, sacrifice.
Mr. Chairperson,
The unjustified and unprovoked Russian war of aggression against Ukraine brought devastation and caused millions of individual tragedies for the people of my country.
This war poses unprecedented threat to the whole civilized world and rules-based order, in the very heart to which there have always been a respect for norms and principles of the international law and human rights.
Everything that provided the countries of the European continent with an opportunity to recover after the wounds of previous confrontations, reach reconciliation with the neighbours and focus on their prosperity and development, is now challenged by one revanchist dictator, his brainwashed followers and silent – thus complicit -majority.
Such a challenging situation could not bypass OSCE causing the Russian crisis within the organization, as Russia has violated and keeps violating every single day all consensually agreed principles. Yet, Russia does appeal to consensus when it wants to avoid well-deserved criticism, deflect attention of participating States from its violations of all principles and commitments of the Helsinki Final Act, and when it wants to pretend that there is still a chance for any security cooperation with this aggressor-state.
But Russia does not seek any consensus when its ICC indicted war-criminal leader takes unilateral decisions to invade other OSCE participating States, occupy their territory and kill thousands of innocent people.
Three years ago, the same Russian diplomats who seat by the same table with us today, did not think of consensus as well as any rules, principles and commitments when they were spreading lies about the absence of any Russia’s plans to launch a fullscale aggression against Ukraine.
Yet we strongly believe that despite the Russian crisis, OSCE should remain credible and stand firm on its founding principles, no matter how flagrant the Russian manipulations and blackmailing could be.
Further isolation of Russia and finding proper responses to the threats and challenges stemming from its aggressive policy and malign activities is the only way to deal with this crisis here.
Mr. Chairperson,
We all know that Russia has miserably failed to reach the goals of its war of aggression. It will not be able to destroy Ukraine’s sovereignty and independence and erase my country from the political map of the world.
But this bare fact doesn’t make this war less bloody and tragic for Ukraine.
Russia continues its missile and assault drone terror against Ukraine, killing and injuring more and more people.
Take the period since the last PC only.
In the evening of 31 January, the Russian missile hit the historic centre of Odesa, a World Heritage site, severely damaging at least two cultural buildings placed under UNESCO Conventions’ protection, and more than 10 of other monuments of architecture.
7 people were injured. By miracle the Norwegian diplomats who appeared to be very close to the explosion did not suffer.
The very next day, a deadly Russian attack on a high-rise building in the one of the Ukrainian regional centres, the city of Poltava, took lives of 14 people. Three of them were children of 7, 9 and 12 years old. 20 people, including 4 children, were injured.
9 years old Sofiya was killed together with her parents by Russia that day. Her grandfather, the only survivor in this family, was waiting for the whole night while rescuers were trying to recover the bodies of his close ones from under the rubble.
Then on 4 February the Russian ballistic missile targeted the central part of the town of Izium in Kharkiv region, causing massive destruction of civilian infrastructure. 6 civilians were killed, including a young pregnant woman. 55 were injured, including 1 child and 4 teenagers.
(Mr. Chairperson, we kindly ask you to allow observing a minute of silence in memory of these innocent lives).
Being unable to break the heroic resistance of the Ukrainian Defence Forces, Russia deliberately kills its own civilians as well, increasingly shelling Russian settlements without any mercy for the people and applying its typical scorched-earth tactics.
On 1 February, the Russian aviation conducted an attack with a guided aerial bomb on an orphanage in the town of Sudzha in the area of defence operation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kursk region of the Russian Federation.
At the time of the attack, dozens of local residents were inside the building, preparing to evacuate. 4 people were killed, 4 were severely injured and a total of 84 people were rescued from the rubble.
Russia clearly knew that only civilians were in the building.
The attacks on Odesa, Poltava, Izium and Sudzha are yet another war crimes committed by the Russian authorities against the civilian population.
We are grateful to the OSCE Chairpersonship of Finland for proper reaction to such crimes.
Colleagues,
Putin does not want to end this war. His regime survival depends on it.
Nuclear blackmailing, demonstrational intermediate-range ballistic missile strike on Dnipro last year, use of banned chemicals as a weapon on the battlefield, targeted attacks on civilians and executions of POWs, malign activities in Europe and state funded intimidation and disinformation campaigns…
All these are the elements of Putin’s strategy aimed at breaking our common will.
But we will never give him such a comfort.
I am aware of how much support the Delegation of Ukraine has been enjoying on the part of the Polish, North Macedonian, Maltese and now the Finnish Chairpersonships of OSCE.
This also applies to the participating States. And I wholeheartedly thank you for this.
Yet, we will have to do even more together as OSCE should further strengthen as a platform for Russia’s accountability.
OSCE is well equipped with the necessary tools to reach this goal.
Further enhanced monitoring, documentation and reporting on the Russian war crimes and its violations of the IHL should be continued as a matter of priority.
When the time comes, this work will serve as indispensable contribution for finally breaking the vicious cycle of Russia’s impunity.
All of us here know all too well a real price of any Russian promises and assurances.
Excessive caution, management of escalation and appeasement of the Russian aggressor have already proved to be not working with Moscow.
The Russian good will can be well-shaped by the language of military, economic and political pressure.
The language of those who are strong, not weak. The only language Russia understands.
Because the just and lasting peace can be reached through strength only. And through our unity.
Mr. Chairperson, dear Colleagues,
In the first days of the full-scale invasion of my country, almost three years ago the Russian invaders destroyed the Ukrainian plane “Mriya”.
It was the biggest cargo plane in the world. Its name is translated as
“a Dream” from Ukrainian.
But Moscow will never destroy a real dream of the Ukrainian people, which is the just and lasting peace for sovereign, independent, strong and prosperous Ukraine.
And Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders will never be the bargaining chip.
I thank you, Mr. Chairperson,
And I am keenly looking forward to our fruitful cooperation, dear Colleagues.