Mr. Chairperson,   

Over the last week, Ukraine was rained with the russian missiles twice.

On Friday night, at 4 a.m., Ukraine was attacked by Tu-95 aircrafts from the Caspian Sea area.

21 out of 23 Kh-101/Kh-555 cruise missiles were intercepted.

One of the missiles hit a high-rise building in the city of Uman (Cherkasy region) – killing 23 persons, including six children – 1-, 8-, 11-, 14-, 16- and 17-year-old.  

A young woman and her 3-year-old child also were killed in Dnipro. 

On Sunday night, at 2:30 am, russia again attacked Ukraine with nine Tu-95 from the Olenegorsk region (Murmansk region) and with two Tu-160 from the Caspian Sea region.

As a result, 15 out of 18 Kh-101/Kh-555 air-based cruise missiles were shot down.

A residential area was hit in Pavlohrad, Dnipropetrovsk region - 19 high-rise buildings, 25 private houses, 6 schools and pre-school education institutions, and 5 shops were damaged.

25 civilians, including 3 children were injured. Later two people died because of wounds.  

Let me emphasize, all latest attacks were conducted at night-time.

Including this night russia attacked Ukraine with 24 Iranian drones from different directions.

With the purpose to cause as many casualties as possible when people were sleeping and to inflict stress to the mental health of people thought all Ukraine.

At the same time, similar attacks against cities like Pavlohrad with the chemical industry may also pose a risk of technological disaster with dire consequences for the environment of adjacent regions and Europe in general.

This is also about deliberated attacks by the russian military we continue to observe around the ZNPP, in Nova Khahovka hydro-electric power plant as well as in other sites of critical infrastructure. 

Russian fighting positions constructed from sandbags on the ZNPP reactor buildings say a lot.   

Colleagues, 

After Friday’s attack, the russian ministry of defence bragged on social media with the slogan “Right on target!”.

Were the six children killed in Uman the right target for them? Like hundreds of others?

However, I couldn’t find words to describe what 6-year-old Mykhailo felt, who came to the funeral of his 11-year-old sister Sofia and 17-year-old brother Kyrylo on Sunday.

Colleagues, do we need more arguments to call russia a terrorist state?

Do we have hope that the kremlin regime is committed to the OSCE?

After all, the state-run TV channel “Russia-1” used the video footage from Uman to say that this was the shelling of Donetsk by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

This is a new low. Beyond any morality.

But this is a very telling example of how propaganda is being falsified and disseminated by the state-run television in russia to dehumanize Ukrainians and mobilize russian for the war.

And by russian diplomats here in the OSCE, to whitewash russian war criminals.

I believe this deserves special attention from the OSCE, including the RFOM.    

After Friday’s attack on Uman, Lyudmila Luzan, medalist of the 2020 Olympic Games, decided not to participate in the Rowing Cup of Ukraine.

The athlete was not far from the house hit by the russian missile.

As Lyudmila Luzan wrote that “the tragedy happened next to the hotel where our team was staying. I woke up at night from the explosion, everything was shaking... and I consider this as inappropriate when the city is in mourning, to compete after the missile attack”.  

This is an exemplary position of a true moral leader despite his or her ambitions. Like any athlete is expected and must be.

However, sports functionaries in Lausanne think differently and continue looking for new and new arguments to justify the participation of russian and belarusian athletes in international competitions.

Because as they say, sports and politics do not mix. For some the war of aggression is still about politics. 

But let’s make no mistake. As we know from the past, totalitarian regimes use sports as a smoking screen for planning crimes.

Like it was with the Sochi Olympic Games and the occupation of Crimea in 2014.

Already then, russia must have been banned from sports.

And let’s remember, in times of full-fledged aggression russian athletes remain acting members of the aggressor army with a quite clear purpose – to consolidate popular support for the criminal regime. Nothing besides.

And if even one may try to cover these athletes with a white flag of neutrality, however, this will not cheat us.

History will remember this flag of neutrality as stained with the blood of killed innocent people.    

Dear colleagues, 

This russian war already lasts too long. Our common security is losing too much. Our common prosperity is endangered over the odds.

Europe cannot be threatened by geopolitical aberrations of the kremlin regime any more.

The globe cannot be kept hostage by russia’s food and nuclear blackmailing any longer.

And we know too well that any compromise with the russian aggressor would mean nothing else but a suspended war.

On a larger scale with many more victims. With a much higher price for our common security and prosperity. As it happened after 2014.

That’s why, there is only one way to end it – to approximate Ukraine’s victory.

Votes for the resolution of the UNGA “Cooperation between the UN and Council of Europe” clearly displace that more and more countries understand that the kremlin regime has no future.

Furthermore, bringing the russian leadership to account would be the best vaccine for future russian generations of politicians of all political stripes.

So, we are grateful to North Macedonia for joining the coalition on the establishment of a Special tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine.

We call on other participating States to follow the case of the OSCE Chairpersonship by joining our fight for justice.

We also need a strategy for peace in Europe, as suggested by Ukraine’s peace formula.

No more opportunities for the aggressor to dictate its red lines but clear cut and solid guarantees of the non-repetition of the aggression.

In this regard, Ukraine’s membership in NATO would be the best investment in Euro-Atlantic security.

The upcoming summit in Vilnius is a proper occasion to make the first step on this path.

Human life and human rights are the only red lines we have to respect and defend by all available means.  

As in the coming days we will repeat “NEVER AGAIN” I cannot but mention yesterday’s deliberate terrorist shelling of Kherson and the region by russia.

A railway station and a crossing, a house, a hardware store, a grocery supermarket, a gas station – were under russia’s fire during the day.

As of now, 22 people were killed and 48 wounded!

Let’s remember that TODAY AGAIN human lives, our freedoms, and our democracy are at stake.

 

I thank you, Mr Chairperson.