Madam Chairperson,

Russia continues its ruthless attacks against Ukraine’s critical infrastructure.

On Saturday night, russia launched 53 missiles of various types - 35 Kh-101/Kh-555; four Iskander-M; one Iskander-K; 10 Kalibr missiles; three Kh-59/Kh-69 - as well as 47 Shahed drones.

According to Ukraine’s Ministry of Energy, critical energy infrastructure was under attack in several regions, including Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kirovohrad, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions.

Several energy and power generation facilities were damaged.

The Dnipro HPP, the biggest dam in Ukraine, was targeted again.

Today’s anniversary of the destruction of the Kakhovka dam is a stark reminder about the possible consequences, if any other dam is again destroyed by russia.

Moreover, Saturday’s attack aggravates the already dire humanitarian situation in Ukraine. Ukraine has lost one more Giga-Watt of energy generation.

Therefore, I would like to thank once again the OSCE Chairpersonship of Malta for convening an additional EEC meeting last Friday.

This meeting was very timely and right to the point.

Saturday’s missile attack further amplified a common call, expressed during the meeting, that the OSCE should keep energy resilience and deliberate man-made disasters in its focus.

At the same time, it also underlined the cynical nature of calls for “a political dialogue” we heard from a russian representative while protesting against the EEC meeting.

A grim reality proves that instead of engaging with russia, one has to apply all available OSCE tools to address the implications of its war, as well as to keep the OSCE agenda war-related.

Furthermore, the International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression, we marked two days ago, speaks volumes that children remain among the most vulnerable groups amidst the russian war.

Since 2014, russia killed more than 800 children in Ukraine.

To pay tribute to these children, let me name a few of them.

Little Tymofiy was only four months old when he was killed with the Shahed in Odesa, in March 2024.

Maksym, Anna and Maria died under the rubble in Dnipro, on January 14, 2023.

7-year-old Oleksiy, 4-year-old Myshko and 6-month-old Pavlo were burnt alive in Kharkiv, in February 2024.

13-year-old Oleksandr was killed by a shell splinter in the first days of the aggression, in the Chernihiv region.

This is a heartbreaking list.

At the same time, many more children are traumatized by russia mentally.

This week, Ukraine’s Security Service has notified Serhiy Havrilchuk, the head of the “regional headquarters of the Yunarmy” in the occupied Crimea, of the suspicion in absentia.

Havrilchuk massively recruits local schoolchildren to the military organization - every school on the peninsula has instructions to send their students to the “Yunarmia”.

If one checks the web-site of this organization, the number of children involved in Ukraine’s occupied territories and russia is stunning.

As it says, since its establishment in 2016, more than 1 million 600 thousand children have become members of the Yunarmia.

8-year-old children are already eligible to apply.

Schoolchildren are trained in combat and fire tactics, reconnaissance and sabotage activities.

Furthermore, they are indoctrinated with war propaganda and hatred against the Free World.

Can we, as the international community, accept this reality? That russia is literally preparing children for its future wars? Can we tolerate the fact that russia simply treats children as spoils of its war?

At the same time, russia’s countless attacks lead to severe psychological impacts on children.

The mental consequences of this war are felt even hundreds of kilometers away from the frontline.

Therefore, we welcome the adoption by the 77th World Health Assembly a resolution on mental health in times of war and disasters, initiated by Ukraine and the Netherlands.

This is a step forward in strengthening international support for Ukraine in overcoming the complex problems of physical and psychological recovery of Ukrainians, especially children, as well as in helping all other countries experiencing mental health challenges amidst various emergencies.

And it is important that the OSCE has already stepped in this field by implementing two projects on psychological rehabilitation and social support of war-affected population and children.

This is a good example of the OSCE’s work on the ground and tangible support for Ukraine.

These OSCE activities, based on a prior assessment of the projects’ effectiveness, should be scaled up.

Esteemed colleagues,

Constraining military aid for Ukraine and disrupting diplomatic efforts have become the single most important objects for russia’s diplomatic and covert activities.

This is also the basis of russia’s weekly statements in the OSCE.

And there are clear grounds for that.

Timely flows of weapons and equipment help Ukraine respond to any russia’s attempt to expand the war and increase pressure on Ukraine.

Failed plans to capture Vovchansk in two days and the russian forces stuck in the border area is a vivid example of that.

The same goes about the areas of Chasiv Yar and other locations in the Donetsk direction.

It is clear to moscow that if Ukraine has enough weapons, we will be able to stop russia’s offensive.

Being confronted with this dilemma, the russian propaganda is trying its best to convince the world that “russia does not lose wars” and to end the war one has to accept russia’s terms of ‘peace’.

However, in reality, russia has lost many wars. Even throughout this war, russia has repeatedly suffered defeats despite its numerical superiority in men, ammunition and equipment over Ukraine.

On the other hand, as Minister Kuleba recently said, driven with the same logic, russia seeks to disrupt the Global Peace Summit by using three types of counteraction.

First, by discrediting the Summit through sending letters, making public statements and addressing closed meetings.

Second, by convincing individual countries not to participate at all.

And third, by persuading countries, that have confirmed their participation, to attend at the lowest possible level.

All these vain attempts prove that the Peace Summit really matters to russia.

Because Ukraine, together with its partners, is setting a precedent for convening the Peace Summit not on the terms of the aggressor-state but on the terms of the UN Charter.

Moreover, today’s 80th anniversary of the D-Day Landing and Battle of Normandy reminds us of the price paid for the UN Charter on different frontlines. Both in the East. And in the West.

By paying tribute to those who lost their lives on the shores of Normandy, we remember what they fought against.

Against dictatorship. Against attempts to enslave sovereign nations. And against tries to redraw borders in the world by force. Now we are facing similar challenges.

Today’s anniversary also speaks volumes about why the international community must not allow russia to instrumentalize the memory about the Second World War to pursue its aggressive plans.

And despite moscow’s attempts to monopolize the victory in the Second World War, the Ukrainian people, as one of the nations who suffered the most on the Eastern front, acknowledges the contribution of international unity, solidarity and mutual aid to the common victory over the ideology of Nazism.

And today freedom can prevail only if the international community stays united against the russian war of aggression and ruscsism.

I thank you, Madam Chairperson.