Source: United Nations General Assembly and Security Council
Meeting again today to discuss Western arms supplies to Ukraine, the Security Council heard that civilians there continue to be killed and injured by a panoply of deadly munitions, while the organ’s members alternately urged a diplomatic end to the violence and condemned Moscow’s initial — and continued — aggression.
“More than 1,000 days have passed since the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, launched on 24 February 2022 in violation of the UN Charter and of international law,” observed Izumi Nakamitsu, High Representative for Disarmament Affairs. Since the Council last met on this topic on 31 October, the world has continued to witness “unacceptable levels” of civilian deaths and injuries, she noted, also spotlighting Moscow’s “systematic and deliberate” targeting of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
Transfers of arms and ammunition, and the provision of other forms of military assistance to Ukraine’s Armed Forces, have also continued, she said. Additionally, there have been reports of States transferring — or planning to transfer — weapons and ammunition to the Russian Federation. Further reports refer to an increase in military cooperation between the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the Russian Federation, including troop deployment by the former into the latter’s Kursk region.
“I urge all concerned to refrain from any steps that may lead to further spillover and intensification of the conflict, as well as any further harm to civilians,” she said, citing reports by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) of over 12,340 civilians killed — and more than 27,836 injured — between 24 February 2022 and 30 November 2024. She also noted reports of cross-border strikes by Ukraine inside the Russian Federation – with some reportedly resulting in damage to civilian objects.
Expressing particular concern over the use of explosive weapons in populated areas, the use and transfer of cluster munitions and recent announcements regarding the transfer of non-persistent anti-personnel landmines, she called on States to abide by their international obligations and become parties to disarmament treaties “as a matter of priority”. Further, universal participation in arms-control instruments is essential to prevent the diversion of conventional arms and to regulate the international arms trade.
Concluding, she reiterated the Secretary-General’s call for “a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in Ukraine, consistent with the UN Charter”.
United States’ Speaker: Permanent Council Member Violating UN Charter
“This document has meaning,” stressed the representative of the United States, Council President for December, as he took the floor in his national capacity. For 80 years — “through thick and thin”, he noted — the Council has worked to uphold the Charter’s principles and to oppose territorial conquest. Now, today, one of the organ’s permanent members is openly, unashamedly violating the Charter, as well as Council resolutions — that it voted for — to prevent a rogue nation from acquiring nuclear weapons.
He went on to detail Beijing’s continued supply of dual-use items to Moscow’s war-industrial base, stating that China “telegraphs tacit approval for Russia’s war” by doing so. “Russia listens only to strength and action — something we collectively lacked when Russia invaded Crimea, and when it invaded Georgia before that,” he noted, adding: “Appeasement didn’t work then, and it won’t work now.” Therefore, the United States and its partners will continue supporting both Ukraine and the UN Charter.
Russian Federation’s Speaker: Ukraine ‘Gold Mine’ for Military-industrial Complex of ‘Anglo-Saxon Countries’
Meanwhile, the representative of the Russian Federation said that there would have been no war “if the United States had not supported the coup d’état in Kyiv in 2014” and had not “made Ukraine into anti-Russia”. Noting that Ukraine has become a “gold mine” for the military-industrial complex of “Anglo-Saxon countries”, he said that half of all weapons sales went to 41 United States corporations. In 2023, the revenue of 100 major weapons manufacturers reached $632 billion, he added.
“It would be naïve to think that these unprincipled traders will give up on their huge profits for the benefit of the helpless Ukrainians,” he emphasized. Further, he said that the Pentagon had to admit that the whereabouts of more than half of the Javelin and Stinger missiles sent to Ukraine were unknown, highlighting the corruption that “accompanies Western supplies”. He concluded: “My advice to all of those who are hoping that military activities will stop: don’t have any illusions about the real intent of the comedian Zelenskyy. We never had them.”
Ukraine’s Speaker: Kyiv Strikes Legitimate Military Targets on Its Occupied Territory and in Russian Federation
“Ukraine never wanted this war and — more than any country across the globe — Ukraine wants the war to end,” stressed that country’s representative. Noting that the Russian Federation again prefaced today’s meeting “with air terror against Ukrainian cities”, he described Moscow’s behaviour as: “A — plan a strike; B — call a Security Council meeting; C — carry out a strike; D — call a meeting to complain about Western weapons supplies”. This correlation has been registered in at least 18 cases, he emphasized.
Against this backdrop, Ukraine strikes legitimate military targets on its occupied territories and in the Russian Federation, he went on to say, stressing that “it is more than easy” for Moscow to stop the war it launched. Instead, Russian Federation President Vladimir V. Putin called for a “high-tech duel” between his country and the West, in which Moscow would strike Kyiv with medium-range ballistic missiles while Western missile-defence systems would attempt to protect it. “Yesterday’s revelations from Putin leave no room for doubt: his regime must be neutralized as soon as possible,” he urged.
Council Members Weigh In
Throughout the meeting, several Council members also pointed out that it was Moscow who originated the war. “It is quite clear that this conflict began with Russia’s invasion of a neighbouring country in violation of the UN Charter,” stressed the representative of the Republic of Korea. “Today’s meeting on the issue of weapons transfers to Ukraine is irrelevant,” he added, underscoring: “The world knows the difference between an aggressor and a victim.” He also expressed concern over the future of the “illegal coalition” between Moscow and Pyongyang, which is internationalizing the conflict.
Similarly, Japan’s representative — noting today’s “shamefully familiar topic” — underscored that “there is only one aggressor in this conflict”. The Russian Federation launched this unprovoked war of aggression, and that country is the one systematically violating international law. Also expressing concern over Moscow’s military cooperation with Pyongyang and Tehran, he stressed: “We must focus on Russia’s violations of international law and not fall prey to its disinformation or malicious tactics.”
Echoing that was France’s delegate, who said that today’s “umpteenth meeting” on arms transfers requested by the Russian Federation was merely “a smokescreen to mask” its treatment of Ukraine’s sovereignty and independence. “There is one aggressor: Russia,” he underscored. Moscow can choose to cease its aggression at any time without harming its own security, but Ukraine’s right to defend itself includes striking Russian Federation military targets.
“Every country has an inalienable right to defend itself in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter,” observed Slovenia’s representative, adding: “By extension, every country has the right to procure the means to defend themselves.” As others, he said that “it is worth pointing to the source of inconsistencies with international law during this war — it is Russia that illegally invaded Ukraine”. Also expressing concern over the extent of mine use in Ukraine, he stressed that these weapons will “pose a threat to the civilian population for years to come”.
Ukraine Most Mined Country in the World
On that, Guyana’s delegate observed that Ukraine is now considered “the most-mined country in the world”, as potentially 23 per cent of its land is at risk of contamination with likely clearing costs of over $34 billion. Emphasizing that such weapons “have no place in our world”, she called on all States transferring weapons and ammunition into the conflict area to do so within the existing international legal framework — including Council resolutions – and with adequate controls in place to prevent their irregular transfer.
In that vein, Mozambique’s delegate called on weapons-exporting States to refrain from transferring arms where risks of human-rights violations or breaches of international humanitarian law exist. Similarly, recipient States must ensure that the arms transferred are used in a manner consistent with applicable international legal instruments and are not diverted or transferred to other destinations. Ecuador’s representative concurred, urging States to act responsibly at every stage of the chain of transfer to prevent the diversion or misuse of arms.
Algeria’s representative, citing the use of modern medium- and long-range missiles in Ukrainian and Russian Federation territory, called on both parties to ensure that these weapons do not fall into the hands of criminals, terrorists or extremist groups — who often use such weapons against defenceless civilians. Adding to that, the representative of Sierra Leone urged all parties to “refrain from further escalation in pursuit of the option of winning battles at all costs”. For his part, the representative of Malta stressed: “The people of Ukraine deserve better. The people of Russia deserve better. Both nations deserve a peaceful future.”
“Weapons may help win a war, but cannot bring about lasting peace,” observed China’s representative, recalling that Beijing has called on the parties to cease hostilities and restore peace for the past three years. “The United States is the only country that has chosen to turn a blind eye to China’s efforts,” he said, adding that one country’s security cannot be achieved at the expense of another’s. He also expressed hope that the United States will abandon the “zero-sum mentality of the cold war”.
Switzerland’s representative, meanwhile, noted that today’s meeting was one of approximately 70 so far dedicated to Ukraine. “And, for the seventieth time, I repeat that Russia must immediately withdraw its troops from the entire territory of Ukraine,” she said, adding: “This repetition is important, however; we cannot — and must not — normalize what has happened in Ukraine.”
“This Christmas, I suggest the Russian delegation reads How Much Land Does a Man Need? by Leo Tolstoy,” said the representative of the United Kingdom. Noting that this is a story about a man who — in his greed to acquire more and more land — exhausts himself and dies, he said that the man is then buried in a six-foot grave — “which is all the land he ends up with”. “The moral is quite clear,” he observed, adding: “The Russians would do well to heed the wisdom of their forebears.”
MIL OSI United Nations News –