Statement given yesterday by Ambassador Sarah MacIntosh, UK Permanent Representative to the UN, at the UN General Assembly meeting on Ukraine.<\/p>\n
It is 1,651 days since Russia began her illegal, full-scale invasion of Ukraine.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And twelve years since her illegal annexation of Crimea.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Russia\u2019s attacks are escalating, launching at least 429 missiles into Ukraine, into July alone, more than double the month before.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And Ukrainian civilians are paying the price.<\/p>\n
\u00a0Almost 17,000 Ukrainian civilians, including 820 children, have been killed in Ukraine since February 2022.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
And over 51,000 civilians, including 3,000 children, have been injured.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Before Russia\u2019s 2022 invasion, Ukraine accounted for 12% of global corn exports; 10% of wheat; 50% of sunflower oil.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
But Russian strikes on Ukraine\u2019s ports and civilian shipping have also escalated.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Blocking vital food supplies, contributing to driving up food prices worldwide, and killing seafarers from UN Member States from Africa to Asia.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mr President, Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine is a clear violation of our UN Charter and of Ukraine\u2019s sovereignty and territorial integrity.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
These are key principles; principles that bind every United Nations Member State.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Russia has invaded Crimea, and areas in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And uses violence to consolidate its control within them:\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Families are separated; children forcibly deported and indoctrinated, and their names changed; Ukrainians forced to take Russian passports; Ukrainian civic leaders arbitrarily detained and disappeared; torture; ill treatment; communities left for days without water; without access to humanitarian aid; and Ukraine\u2019s cultural heritage erased, and her language suppressed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Russia\u2019s occupation and attempted illegal annexations are inflicting a terrible toll on the Ukrainians living in these territories.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But these actions do not change Ukraine\u2019s sovereignty; nor do they rewrite her borders.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
And so today, we call on all States to uphold the UN Charter; to reject Russia\u2019s illegal claims; to press Russia to allow humanitarian access; and to support accountability; to help get Ukraine\u2019s children back home, and her civilians released.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The United Kingdom will stand with Ukraine as she exercises her lawful right to self-defence, in accordance with Article 51 of our United Nations Charter.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Today, and for as long as it takes.<\/p>\n
We support Ukraine\u2019s call for a full, immediate, and unconditional ceasefire, and a just and lasting peace.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
And we urge Russia to commit to the same.<\/p>\n
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