‘Scale, Scope of Devastation in Ukraine Appalling’, High Representative Tells Security Council, Calling Invasion in Full Violation of Charter
The spread and proliferation of weapons — including in the Ukraine conflict — always spurs the danger of escalation, briefers warned the Security Council today, while its members sparred over the transparency and source of the threat of arms transfers in that ongoing regional crisis.
Izumi Nakamitsu, High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, pointed out that reports emerged “just this morning” of a massive wave of missile and drone attacks targeting power facilities in Ukraine, leaving more than 1 million people without power. “The scale and scope of this devastation are appalling,” she said, adding that the targeting of energy infrastructure providing essential public services “is simply unacceptable”. She reported that, since the last discussion of today’s topic in January, the provision of military assistance and transfers of arms and ammunition to Ukraine have continued in the context of the full-scale invasion of that country by the Russian Federation.
Much of the information from Governments about transfers of weapons systems and ammunition to Ukraine is available through open sources, she stated, also spotlighting reports of States transferring — or planning to transfer — weapons to the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. Stressing that the supply of weapons and ammunition into any armed conflict raises significant concerns about the potential escalation of violence and the risks of diversion, she called on importing and exporting States to “act responsibly” at every step along the transfer chain to prevent diversion, illicit trafficking and misuse. In this regard, pre-transfer risk assessments, marking and record-keeping practices and tracing capabilities are of utmost importance.
“Almost 25 months have passed since the Russian Federation launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in violation of the UN Charter,” she stated — more than two years of death, destruction and suffering. She reiterated the UN’s commitment to support all meaningful efforts to bring a just, sustainable peace to Ukraine guided by the Charter of the United Nations, international law and relevant General Assembly resolutions.
From a different perspective, Matthew Hoh, independent political analyst, observed that the strategy of Washington, D.C. and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) for the war in Ukraine has been two-pronged: economic and military. However, that failed strategy “has not been revisited, replaced or remanded, but reinforced”, he stated, highlighting “a steady wave of escalation for two years”. The United States and its allies openly disparaged and repudiated diplomacy; as a consequence, the killing, destruction and suffering have entered their twenty-sixth month. The reality in warfare is that whatever new technology or tactic is introduced, the enemy will counter it in an escalatory manner.
On 18 March, he recalled, Russian Federation President Vladimir V. Putin announced his goal of buffer zones in Ukraine, presumably territory to the west of the annexed oblasts, to be taken as a response to the extended-range munitions and F-16 fighters to be provided to Ukraine. In recent weeks, multiple NATO Heads of State and their Generals, most prominently the French, have openly called for deployment of NATO combat units to Ukraine. Moscow, in response, reminded the world of their nuclear capabilities. “This is an escalatory game for fools and madmen,” he warned.
Moscow’s invasion is a strategic error and a pre-emptive war that violates international law. However, it must be noted that the Russian Federation attempted negotiations in 2021, 2022 and 2023, efforts that may have prevented, concluded or frozen this war if those diplomatic offers had been responded to. Noting the “shocking” toll, he said that generations of unborn Ukrainians will pay for it, either in land made uninhabitable or through mothers who give birth to dead, deformed and disabled babies. He further called for the abolishment of the permanent member veto.
In the ensuing debate, numerous Council members — including the representatives of Sierra Leone, the United Kingdom, Ecuador, Slovenia and Japan — deplored the increasingly destructive conflict in Ukraine, affirming the sovereign right of nations to defend themselves. Others, including Algeria, Guyana, Switzerland and Mozambique, disapproved of any weapons transfers that do not take place within the applicable international legal framework, as the supply of weapons into any armed conflict creates risks of escalation and an “unacceptably high human cost”.
The representative of France noted that this was the thirteenth Council meeting dedicated to weapons delivery since September 2022, and the Russian Federation continues its campaign of disinformation. Moscow waged an aggression against a free sovereign nation, and any escalation in Ukraine is solely its doing. “There is no other way to prompt Russia to end its war other than by helping Ukraine,” he stressed. France will continue its support for the Ukrainian people and its right to legitimate defence, bilaterally and through the European Union, providing material to allow it to resist and retake lost territory.
The delegate of the United States stressed that, hours before the meeting, Moscow launched yet another unconscionable large-scale missile and drone attack against several regions of Ukraine. “We should all see the cynicism of today’s meeting,” he said, noting that the Russian Federation is complaining about the assistance to Ukraine that is protecting civilians from its attacks. Moscow continues to procure weapons to continue its war of aggression, he observed, voicing concern that its military relationship with Iran and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is “deeper than ever”.
The representative of Malta affirmed that the arms transfers that should be condemned are those between the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the Russian Federation, in violation of multiple Council resolutions and the sanctions regime. The use of ballistic missiles from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in Ukraine not only furthers the suffering of its people, but also gravely erodes the non-proliferation regime, undermining the authority of the Council.
The Republic of Korea’s delegate emphasized that the Russian Federation has been chipping away at international law that has served as a foundation of global peace and security for nearly 80 years. He therefore urged Moscow to immediately stop its military cooperation with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, which violates multiple Council resolutions, and withdraw its forces from Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders. “The one who ties the knot has to untie it,” he observed.
The representative of China stressed that the continued flow of weapons to the battlefield will only exacerbate the unpredictability of war, accelerate the threat of a spillover effect of the Ukraine crisis, and make the hope of peace more elusive. Against this backdrop, he called on all parties to act responsibly and devote their resources to diplomatic efforts for a ceasefire. Reiterating China’s commitment to promoting peace talks, he supported holding an international peace conference recognized by both parties.
Pushing back against numerous Council members, the Russian Federation’s delegate cited ongoing deliveries by Western States of weapons and military equipment to Ukraine, and the escalatory rhetoric of “the sponsors of the Kyiv regime”. The magnitude of NATO participation in supporting Kyiv is far broader than Washington, D.C., and Brussels have admitted — while even despite the military, financial and political assistance, Ukraine is inexorably moving towards a military defeat on the battlefield. However, “Western puppet masters are calling for more and more Ukrainians to be thrown into the meat grinder.” He recalled when United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson prohibited the Kyiv regime from signing a peace agreement with the Russian Federation that had already been initialed, dooming hundreds of thousands of young Ukrainians to their deaths.
He asserted that the goal of demilitarizing Ukraine has been achieved — as its fighters are now surviving exclusively through weaponry delivered by NATO, which Russian armed forces continue to destroy. He accused the West of engaging in “delusional rhetoric about a willingness for a new acute phase in the conflict” — a direct confrontation between the Russian Federation and NATO. European regional security “has been colossally damaged” due to the spread of weaponry provided to Ukraine. Stating that the Russian Federation remains willing to live with Ukraine in good neighbourly relations, peace and harmony, he recalled that, to that end, there was a need to fully achieve the “special military operation” — which does not include the elimination of Ukraine and its de-Ukrainianization.
In response, Ukraine’s delegate said that “the propaganda nonsense from Russia sounds extremely cynical,” as just hours before, that country launched a massive missile strike targeting critical energy infrastructure across Ukraine. According to preliminary information, the Russia Federation launched 151 weapons units, cutting off electricity and heating to hundreds of thousands of households. “That is how terrorists perceive the lack of response to their previous crimes — as an invitation to new attacks,” he stated. The situation in the northern part of the Sumy region of Ukraine can be equated to a humanitarian catastrophe, he stressed, while Moscow is bombing its own held territory with the same level of cruelty and disregard for civilian infrastructure.
“Solidarity with Ukraine is critical to sober the aggressor, as its appetites are not limited to Ukraine alone,” he stressed. Ukraine must ensure reliable protection of the skies because “if Putin loses the battle for the Ukrainian skies, he will lose the land as well,” he said. It is particularly cynical that Moscow laments “Western weapons” while actively receiving significant supplies of munitions from Pyongyang, including ballistic missiles and artillery shells. Noting that later that day, the Council was scheduled to vote on extending the mandate of the Panel of Experts on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, he called on it to “prove the global order can work by preventing attempts to silence independent and objective experts, and by ensuring the relevant sanction regime works and the DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea] is not able to help the Russian terrorists.”