1. Mr Chair, the continuing attacks on Ukraine that we have witnessed since the last time we discussed this matter in depth here clearly underline that Russia's illegal, unjustifiable and unprovoked war of aggression will remain the critical and primary focus of our deliberations.
2. In the attack on 20 December last year, Russia’s missile strike killed at least one and injured 12 in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv and damaged a building housing six embassies. Another person was killed and 11 were wounded in a ballistic missile strike on an apartment block in Kryvyi Rih on 24 December. The day after, as Ukrainians marked their Christmas Day on 25 December, Russia executed a
missile and drone attack on Ukraine’s energy grid which resulted in more than half a million people left without heating, water and electricity, all this at a time when the outside temperature was reaching the freezing point.
3. On 8 January, another aerial strike on an industrial facility in Zaporizhzhia killed 13 civilians and injured 110. As the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine noted, this marked the highest number of civilian casualties in a single attack in almost two years and underscored the threat to civilians from the indiscriminate use of aerial bombs in populated areas. Ten days later, four people died in Kyiv and four more died in Kryvyi Rih following Russia’s air strikes.
4. Last week on 30 January, nine persons were killed and 13 wounded following Russia’s drone attack on a residential building in Sumy. The following day, a missile struck the centre of Odesa, leaving at least seven wounded and damaging a UNESCO-protected area. And the day after, a wave of missiles and drones hit a number of targets in Ukraine, including a residential building in Poltava, resulting in a further 12 deaths. Such heinous attacks must stop now.
5. In addition to Russia’s numerous indiscriminate attacks on civilians, reports of Russian forces executing Ukrainian prisoners of war continue to filter through, such as that of five unarmed soldiers shot after surrendering on 22 December and the case of six Ukrainian captives executed in Donetsk oblast as reported on 23 January. These appalling acts are particularly concerning and amount to a clear violation of the Geneva Conventions. Each of these attacks and other acts of violence is one too many and shows Russia’s complete disregard for international law.
6. The EU and its Member States condemn the repeated violation of Romania’s air space, the latest occurring on 17 January, as a consequence of brutal Russian attacks against Ukraine. Violations of sovereign airspace are destabilising and irresponsible and carry the risk of escalation.
7. Mr Chair, the EU and its Member States reiterate that Russia must immediately stop its war of aggression, put an end to this unbearable suffering and devastation, and completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its forces and military equipment from the entire territory of Ukraine.
8. We reiterate our unwavering support for Ukraine's independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders, as well as for a comprehensive, just and lasting peace based on the UN Charter and international law. We will continue to provide Ukraine with multifaceted support for as long as it takes and as intensely as needed to help Ukraine exercise its inherent right to self defence.
9. We strongly condemn the continued support for Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine provided by third countries, such as the DPRK, Belarus and Iran. We condemn in the strongest possible terms the increasing military cooperation between the DPRK and Russia, including the DPRK’s export and Russia’s unlawful procurement of DPRK ballistic missiles in breach of multiple UN Security Council resolutions, as well as Russia’s use of these missiles and munitions against Ukraine and the deployment of DPRK troops to Russia.
10. Russia endangers environmental and maritime safety as well as causes threats to critical undersea infrastructure. It has amassed a vast shadow fleet, often in poor shape and manned by unprofessional crews, to circumvent the restrictions of its oil exports.
11.We urge all countries to cease all assistance, including the provision of dual-use goods and sensitive items that sustain Russia’s military industrial base, thereby enabling Russia to continue to prosecute its war of aggression against Ukraine, we strongly reiterate that this is a blatant violation of OSCE core principles and commitments and international law, including the UN Charter. Thank you.
The Candidate Countries NORTH MACEDONIA*, MONTENEGRO*, ALBANIA*,
UKRAINE, the REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA, BOSNIA and HERZEGOVINA*, and
GEORGIA, the EFTA countries ICELAND, LIECHTENSTEIN and NORWAY,
members of the European Economic Area, as well as ANDORRA align themselves
with this statement.
*North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania, and Bosnia and Herzegovina continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.