Statement by the Permanent Representative of Ukraine H.E. Mr. Sergiy Kyslytsya at the UN Security Council meeting on “Threats to International Peace and Security”

Madam President, Under-Secretary-General Di Carlo, Director General,

First of all, I would like to express my gratitude for immediate reaction by the Under-Secretary-General to the lies by the Russian representative. We are all accustomed to his lies. “We have survived the night that could have stopped the history of Ukraine and Europe”. Said the President of Ukraine this morning.

Indeed, every day provides us with newer and newer evidence that it is not only Ukraine under Russian attack. It is Europe. It is the entire world. It is humanity. And finally, it is the future of the next generations. Russia seems to be furious that its plans to quickly invade Ukraine have already failed. Russia is furious that the Ukrainian people continues to courageously fight for its freedom. Russia is furious about the worldwide solidarity with Ukraine. In retaliation Russia has resorted to war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Russia does not even try to hide them. Residential areas of Ukrainian cities and villages across the country are being ruined by Russian bombs, shells and missiles. Peaceful civilians are being killed, critical infrastructure totally damaged. Just yesterday Russian airstrikes killed 47 peaceful residents of the city of Chernihiv, including children. But it is not enough for Russia. Or TerroRussia, as we may already call it.

Because yesterday they committed an act of nuclear terrorism while shelling and seizing the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in the town of Energodar. The lies by the Permanent representative of Russia are not surprising. He may not be properly informed by his capital and we saw it on many occasions in the Security Council. He had no idea what his capital, what the President was planning to do in the middle of one of the recent sessions.

So, I wouldn’t really rely on his words. As a result of the shelling on the territory of the nuclear power plant, a fire broke out, killing and injuring several people. The Zaporizhzhsa NPP site as well as the Chernobyl NPP are currently under the control of the Russian armed forces.

Employees of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant are monitoring the condition of power units and ensuring their operation in accordance with the requirements of the technical regulations for safe operation. It is alarming that several employees, responsible for maintaining nuclear security at the site, have reportedly been killed by Russian soldiers. There has been no rotation of personnel since yesterday morning. The building of unit 1 (main building) is damaged, the overpass of the special building is damaged. The telephone line connection is disrupted and not available at the moment. The state of the power units now is as follows. Unit 1 is in outage. Its main building is damaged, the overpass of the special building is damaged. Units 2 and 3 have been disconnected from the grid, and the cool down of the nuclear installations is being carried out. Unit 4 is in operation at 690 MW power. Units 5 and 6 are being cooled down.

State nuclear safety inspectors of the State Inspectorate for Nuclear Regulation of Ukraine are not allowed access to the Zaporizhzhia NPP site. Changes in the radiation situation have not been registered. Data from the automated radiation monitoring system of the Zaporizhzhia NPP does not work. Cooling of the nuclear fuel within Zaporizhzhia NPP power units is maintained by dedicated systems of power units, in accordance with the requirements of technical regulations for safe operation. If, at any point, the cooling process is disturbed, this could cause radioactive damage across large territories and have irreparable consequences for the environment of the entire continent.

Thousands of people – including civilians who are currently unable to evacuate the area near the plant due to ongoing shelling and fighting - would be affected. Now per lies of the Russian Ambassador about foreign students. An appalling example of gaslighting. Example of what he probably intended to present as almost an angelic message of peace. But let me remind him and remind all of us that Satan was also an angel. An angel that rebelled against God.

So, I would like to ask the Permanent representative of the Russian Federation if he still is able to communicate with his capital, which is probably not the case, who knows, please make an appeal to the armed forces [of Russia] to ensure a safe corridor to allow foreign students leave the areas of concern. Stop spreading the lies! You know it very well what is going on there if you are indeed in contact with your capital. As a result, a nuclear disaster of this scale may exceed all previous accidents at nuclear power plants, including Chernobyl and the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disasters.

Russia has deliberately undertaken an armed attack on a nuclear power site, an action that violated all international agreements within the IAEA, in particular the IAEA Charter, the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management, the Convention on Nuclear Accident Warning and the Convention on the Protection of Nuclear Accidents and the Convention of Protection of Nuclear Facilities and Nuclear Material. The shelling of the Zaporizhzhia NPP is also a gross violation of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism.

We are disappointed by the reaction of the IAEA, whose statement did not go as far as to include any mention of the attacking side. We demand clear and decisive action from the IAEA. The international community must respond adequately to the actions of the Russian Federation, which could lead to an unprecedented nuclear catastrophe. All Russian forces must be withdrawn from the nuclear power plant.

Today I have sent a letter to the Security Council President, reminding of the Council’s decisions on no-fly zone during previous conflicts in order to prevent further civilian casualties, protect the civilian population from air attacks, including those who are humanitarian personnel, insure access of humanitarian assistance, and evacuation.

In this regard, we request to consider the issue of protection of nuclear power plants and other critical infrastructure in Ukraine. Urgent discussion on establishing a ban on all flights in the airspace of Ukraine should be a top priority for the Security Council.

We would also like to remind that Ukraine on 30 March, 2015, requested the deployment of an international peacekeeping and security operation in the territory of Ukraine (S/2015/225), with the exact modalities to be defined in consultations with the Ukrainian side. Taking into account that Russia’s armed forces could not be a part of the peacekeeping contingent, because it is exactly the occupation armed forces that should be separated to maintain a ceasefire and peace. Failure of the Security Council to act and especially due to the position of the Russian Federation as a party to the conflict would be a historical responsibility of the Security Council and the entire Organization.

Distinguished members of the Security Council,

I ought to ask the USG DiCarlo to forward our request to SG Guterres to ensure that every single body, every employee of the Secretariat respect the decision of UNGA of March 2, and does not deviate or substitute with ambiguities or fakes like “special military forces” the language of the Resolution that is called “Aggression against Ukraine”. A week of a full-fledged Russian invasion has already resulted in thousands killed, over a million refugees, ruined infrastructure. It is already the common duty of the international community to stop Russian murderers and terrorists. Stop by closing the skies over Ukraine. Stop by supporting Ukraine in terms of security and humanitarian assistance. Stop by expelling Russians from international institutions as they do not deserve to be among civilized and responsible nations. Einstein said once: “The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil – [the Ukrainians will deal with evil] - but by those who watch them without doing anything”. The people of Ukraine do more than they can, including by paying the ultimate price, their lives! And still there is a handful of those who do nothing among us. Act now or it might be too late. Not only for Ukraine. For all of you.

I thank you.