Kyslytsya: Ukraine uses all political and diplomatic means at the UN to counteract the Russian Federation

Kyslytsya: Ukraine uses all political and diplomatic means at the UN to counteract the Russian Federation

Throughout all 1000 days of the full-scale war, Ukraine has employed all available political and diplomatic tools within the UN to resist Russian aggression. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy plays a key role in this process.

He has spoken at UN Security Council meetings seven times and addressed the General Assembly three times. This was reported by Ukraine’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Serhiy Kyslytsya, to Ukrinform.

In his speeches at the UN, the Head of State emphasized the need to hold Russia accountable for its act of aggression and war crimes. Zelenskyy also stressed that peace in Ukraine must be achieved based on the UN Charter and international law.

Kyslytsya recalled that through the efforts of Ukraine and its partners, an emergency session of the UN General Assembly was convened during the urgent Security Council meeting in February 2022, as the Security Council itself was paralyzed by Russia. As is known, the aggressor country took the place of the Soviet Union as a permanent member and exercises veto power.

The emergency GA session adopted six historic resolutions, with more than 140 countries voting for four of them (a total of 193 countries are UN members). These are documents titled "Aggression against Ukraine," "Humanitarian Consequences of the Aggression against Ukraine," "Suspension of the Rights of Membership of the Russian Federation in the UN Human Rights Council," "Territorial Integrity of Ukraine: Defending the Principles of the UN Charter," "Promoting Accountability and Reparations for the Aggression against Ukraine," and "Principles of the UN Charter Underpinning a Comprehensive, Just, and Sustainable Peace in Ukraine."

The General Assembly annually adopts resolutions on human rights violations in the temporarily occupied territories, including Crimea, which hold "extremely important political and international legal significance." The GA also voted for a resolution "Safety and Security of Ukraine’s Nuclear Facilities, including the Zaporizhzhia NPP."

Additionally, for the second consecutive year, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have been included in the so-called blacklist by the UN Secretary-General for the killing and maiming of children, as well as attacks on schools and hospitals in Ukraine.

"This is an important achievement since such a decision by the Secretary-General is unprecedented. Throughout history, no member of the UN Security Council, let alone a permanent one, has ever been placed on the list of egregious violators," Kyslytsya noted.