Blog

On April 8, a meeting of the UN Security Council was convened, at which member states condemned the Russian attack on Kryvyi Rih. The ballistic missile attack killed 20 civilians, including 9 children.

At the UN Security Council meeting, Russia's Permanent Representative Vasily Nebenzya commented on the strike on Kryvyi Rih, saying that its goals had been achieved. He said that the Ukrainian side is trying to make the failures of its air defense look like strikes by the Russian military and space forces. He referred to the Russian Defense Ministry, which stated that as a result of a high-precision missile with an explosive device hitting the place of a meeting with the commanders of the units and Western instructors, the enemy's losses amounted to up to 85 soldiers and officers of foreign states, as well as up to 20 vehicles. He also added that the Kremlin considers European military and NATO instructors "its legitimate target," while also stating that Ukraine's accusations against Moscow of disrupting the peace initiatives of the new US administration are an attempt to undermine the US-Russian dialogue. After all, Russia allegedly attacks exclusively military targets.

Despite such a statement by the Moscow propagandist, the rest of the representatives of the UN Security Council countries supported Ukraine and condemned the Kremlin's crime.

In particular, the representative of South Korea believes that the truce talks have gone in the wrong direction if people continue to die. If this vector continues, it will only lead to more human losses. 

"Given our long experience of the Korean War, prolonged negotiations only complicate the conflict," he said, expressing dissatisfaction that all the details of the talks between the parties and how long they will last are not yet known. He added that military cooperation between North Korea and Russia is increasing and this causes "uncertainty that Moscow is capable of a ceasefire in principle at all." 

At the same time, the representative of the United Kingdom said that the United Kingdom will not stop in the face of Russia's barbaric actions and will stand with Ukraine to achieve a just and lasting peace. She noted that Russian dictator Putin continues to delay ceasefire proposals, drag out the negotiation process and insist on his own terms. The Kremlin's actions show that Russia has no desire to move towards peace.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga thanked the UN Security Council for condemning Russia's horrific war crime. Ukraine will continue to demand full accountability for this and other atrocities. The Kremlin continues to reject a full and unconditional ceasefire, lying about the military targets it is allegedly attacking in Ukraine. In reality, Russian attacks are targeted acts of terror against civilians. Therefore, a strong and united international response to Russia's war crimes is essential, and such terror should not become the norm. Ukraine needs to strengthen its defense capabilities, put pressure on Moscow, and show international resolve to bring the aggressor country to justice.

"The United States will not tolerate bad faith negotiations or breach of commitments in the effort to end the war in Ukraine." This was emphasized by the Acting Permanent Representative of the United States to the UN Dorothy Shea. "We express our sincere condolences to the families of the victims of the Russian ballistic missile strike on a residential area of Kryvyi Rih near a children's playground, which killed at least 20 people, including nine children, and injured more than 70 civilians. We understand that the missile carried a cluster warhead, which caused the terrible loss of life," said Shea. She once again warned Russia of the possible consequences of attacks on civilians. "We urge the Russian Federation to remember that strikes like the one in Kryvyi Rih and executions of prisoners of war can harm peace efforts. And we will ultimately judge Putin's commitment to the ceasefire by Russia's actions," she emphasized.

Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andriy Sybiga expressed gratitude to the current OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen for initiating a special meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council in connection with Russia's missile attack on Kryvyi Rih, which took place on the eve of the UN Security Council meeting. He emphasized the need to increase international pressure on Russia and strengthen Ukraine's defense capabilities in response to this terrorist act. "We welcome the clear and resolute messages from OSCE participating States calling for Russia's accountability, strengthening of Ukraine's defense capabilities and decisive steps to ensure a just and lasting peace in Ukraine and across Europe. Russia's terror against children and playgrounds is a disgrace to humanity. Only beasts can fire a ballistic missile with a cluster warhead at a residential area, killing nine children. This barbarism must be stopped by strengthening the defense of Ukraine and increasing pressure on Moscow."

"Moscow still aims to achieve Ukraine's complete surrender, not to agree on a ceasefire and lasting peace." This opinion was expressed during a meeting of the UN Security Council in New York by the Permanent Representative of France to the Organization, Jerome Bonafonte. Russia is not negotiating in good faith, it is stalling. Bonafonte emphasized that the conditions that Russia is setting for Ukraine to agree to a temporary ceasefire are unacceptable to any sovereign state. That is why the French and Europeans are not standing idly by, but continue to work to achieve peace. "The peace must be just and lasting, and must be in line with the UN Charter, i.e. protect Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, as reaffirmed by the UN General Assembly. Our commitment to this goal is unwavering: France will continue to support efforts to establish a ceasefire and call on Russia to stop its aggression," the diplomat assured.

The head of the UK delegation to the OSCE, Neil Holland, strongly condemned the Russian shelling of Kryvyi Rih on April 4 and said that if Russia truly wanted peace, it would immediately stop these barbaric attacks and agree to an unconditional ceasefire. 

"The Kremlin claims to want peace. The Russian government had the opportunity to prove it by signing a ceasefire agreement on equal terms. But instead, Russia not only rejects President Trump's initiative, but also continues its barbaric attacks on Ukraine," Hollande emphasized.

He added that this completely contradicts Putin's declared desire for peace.

"Missile attacks on residential areas are not a desire for peace. Killing children is not a desire for peace. Increasing air attacks on the civilian population of Ukraine, in particular in cities far from the front line, also does not indicate a desire for peace. The attack in Kryvyi Rih was yet another grim episode in this senseless war," said the head of the British mission to the OSCE: 8pt; line-height: 15.693334px; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; text-decoration: none; text-align: justify">He also pointed out that the mentioned Russian missile attack should not be considered as an exception. This strike is on the same level as the missile attack on the Kyiv children's hospital "Okhmatdyt", mass casualties after the attack on the supermarket in Kostyantynivka, the massacre in Bucha and many other tragedies. Every death of a civilian in this war is a tragedy. We call on Russia to immediately cease these barbaric attacks and commit to an unconditional ceasefire, just as Ukraine has already done," Hollande emphasized.

He assured that the UK, together with partners and allies, "will continue to provide Ukraine with the military assistance it needs to protect its citizens and will put further pressure on Russia, using all available tools to prevent it from waging this aggressive war.