Mr. Chairperson,

I would like to deliver a statement on the subject of Russia’s ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine.

Esteemed colleagues, 

The Chairpersonship of this Forum rotates every four months. Russia’s terror against Ukraine does not rotate. The Forum and the OSCE have a working schedule, public holidays and recesses. Russia’s attacks have no holidays and no breaks. They continue every day. This is the one constant in this room and the figures quantify it.

In August alone, Ukraine’s Defence Forces destroyed more than 4,600 aerial targets. Yet even this extraordinary defensive effort could not prevent Russia’s attacks from inflicting further death and destruction across the country.

The United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine verified that in July at least 437 civilians were killed and 2,610 injured — the highest monthly toll since May 2022. During the first seven months of 2026, conflict-related violence resulted in 12,477 verified civilian casualties: 1,839 killed and 10,638 injured. This was 44% higher than during the same period in 2025 and more than double the corresponding figure for 2024.

These are not merely statistics. Each number is a life taken or permanently changed by Russia’s aggression.

Esteemed colleagues,

Today, 16 September, Ukraine marks Journalists’ Remembrance Day (twenty-six years since the disappearance and murder of Georgiy Gongadze, founder of Ukrainska Pravda). This date has an enduring meaning for Ukraine’s journalistic community — a reminder that those who document the truth are often targeted by those who fear it.

Eight days ago, on 8 September, a Russian strike drone hit the Kyiv building housing the television channels “My Ukraine”. The main impact struck the newsroom and offices while a live broadcast was under way. Five media workers were wounded. The same building had already been damaged during the Russian attack of 20 August.

According to the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine, at least 152 representatives of Ukraine’s media community had been killed since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion as of July 2026, including 21 killed while performing their professional duties. Ukraine’s Human Rights Commissioner reported in August that Russia continued to hold 28 Ukrainian journalists and media workers in captivity.

Mr. Chairperson,

Today’s date carries another grave reminder. Four years ago, on 16 September 2022, investigators began exhumations at the mass burial site near liberated Izium. In total, 447 bodies were recovered: 414 civilians, 22 Ukrainian service members and 11 persons whose status had not yet been determined. Investigators reported that at least 30 victims bore signs of torture or summary execution.

Izium demonstrated what Russian occupation means for those left without international protection: arbitrary detention, torture, disappearance and death. Occupation is not an abstract line on a map. Any proposal presented as a ‘territorial compromise’ must be measured against the fate of real people living under Russian control.

Mr. Chairperson,

The Forum should also note that Russia’s missiles and drones increasingly endanger states beyond Ukraine.

On 30 July, a missile assessed by the Polish authorities as most likely a Russian Kh-101 exploded near Tarnawa-Kolonia in the Lublin region. On 16 August, a Spanish F/A-18 assigned to NATO air policing shot down a drone that had illegally entered Romanian airspace; NATO stated that the drone appeared to be Russian, while the investigation continued.

On 8 September, Moldovan authorities reported that two Russian drones entered Moldova’s airspace. One came down on Moldovan territory, while the second continued into Romania. Fighter aircraft were scrambled, alerts were issued to Romanian residents, and operations at Iași airport were temporarily suspended.

Ukraine stands in full solidarity with Germany and strongly condemns the Russian-organised attempted attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport. The German Government concluded that the operation had been prepared in Russia and directed against Germany. Leipzig/Halle is part of Moscow’s wider hybrid campaign across Europe — from sabotage and proxy recruitment to GPS interference, cyberattacks, threats to undersea infrastructure, and repeated incursions into NATO airspace. Russia is adapting methods tested against Ukraine for operations against EU and NATO states. Its aggression targets European security as a whole.

Esteemed colleagues,

The distance between ‘war in Ukraine’ and ‘war outside Ukraine’ is now measured not in political declarations, but in kilometres. It is shrinking.

Impunity is not the absence of a policy. It is an incentive. Ukraine therefore calls for stronger air defence support, sustained pressure on Russia and full accountability for every crime committed in the course of its aggression.

Thank you, Mr. Chairperson.