Statement by the Permanent Representative of Ukraine, Ambassador Sergіy Kyslytsya at the UN Security Council meeting on “Non-proliferation” (6 July 2023)
Madam President, distinguished members of the Security Council,
I also recognize the representative of putin’s regime in the permanent seat of the Soviet Union.
I would like to start by thanking Under-Secretary General DiCarlo and Ambassador Skoog for their briefing as well as UN Secretariat for its important role in supporting the implementation of resolution 2231 (2015) and in particular the fifteenth report of the Secretary-General on this subject (S/2023/473) prepared for today’s discussion. I would also like to thank Ambassador Vanessa Frazier for her briefing and her team for their work as Facilitator.
We are extremely alarmed about the latest findings of the Secretary-General’s report on the implementation of the Security Council resolution 2231 (2015), in particular the violation by Iran and Russia of Paragraph 4 of Annex B of the resolution 2231 (2015). These unlawful activities are not limited to the region. Right now, these actions are directly affecting peace and security in Europe.
Since September 2022 the Russian Federation has massively used the Iranian Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) of the “Shahed-131,” “Shahed-136” and “Mohajer-6” types in its full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine, in particular as an element of its terror strategy against the civilian population and critical infrastructure.
As of today, more than a thousand launches by the Russian Federation of the Iranian UAVs over the territory of Ukraine have been recorded. All types of Iranian UAVs that struck or were shot down over the territory of Ukraine as well as their debris were thoroughly disassembled and studied. According to the results of these studies, Ukrainian investigators and independent international experts identified evidence confirming the Iranian origin of the UAVs used by the Russian Federation against Ukraine.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine also intercepted UAVs marked as "Geran-1" and "Geran-2". After detailed technical examination these UAVs appeared to be UAVs "Shahed-131" and "Shahed-136" respectively, capable of delivering payloads to a range greater than 300 km. They were just renamed with the Russian names “Geran-1” and “Geran-2”.
Despite numerous official denials and statements, Iran continues the transfer of the UAVs to the Russian Federation. They are then used by putin's regime not only as a weapon on the battlefield but as a method of warfare against highly populated areas and critical infrastructure of Ukraine. Moreover, the competent authorities of Ukraine possess still more alarming information about the intention of the Russian Federation to continue further attacks on Ukraine with more advanced Iranian ballistic missiles and UAV systems.
The Government of Ukraine assesses that the transfer of UAVs from Iran to the Russian Federation constitutes a flagrant violation of the UNSC resolution 2231 (2015), in particular Paragraph 4 of Annex B of this document. In line with the mandate UNSC resolution 2231 (2015) Ukraine has asked multiple times on a bilateral level as well as in correspondence with the Office of the Secretary-General of the United Nations for UN experts to visit Ukraine to inspect recovered Iranian-origin UAVs in order to facilitate implementation of UNSC resolution 2231 (2015).
Any further delay to the UN's comprehensive consideration of the facts of UNSCR 2231 (2015) violations by Iran and the Russian Federation undermines if not discredits the credibility of the Security Council as well as its ability to ensure the implementation of its own decisions.
Since the UN team has not visited Ukraine, on June 9th, 2023 we shared a document containing the relevant evidence on the supply of the Iranian-origin UAVs to the Russian Federation, which is prohibited under UNSC resolution 2231 (2015).
We once again reaffirm our readiness to facilitate the respective visits of the UN experts to Ukraine at the earliest possible opportunity to study samples of the recovered Iranian-origin UAVs that the Russian federation uses in their ongoing war against Ukraine.
We also urge the international community to reinforce joint efforts aimed at combatting the uncontrolled transfer of these items, which are prohibited under UNSC resolution 2231 (2015).
If Russia insists that the photos with Iranian drones are fake, why does it so resolutely oppose the UN inspection to corroborate the Russian statements. I leave you with that, ladies and gentlemen.
Thank you.
Related news
Statement by the Delegation of Ukraine at the UN Security Council meeting “The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question”
