Warning Security Council of Civilian Death Spike Due to Escalating Attacks on Ukraine, Top Disarmament Official Says Weapons Transfers Must Comply with International Law
Escalating attacks in recent weeks on Ukraine have cause civilian deaths and destruction to surge, a senior United Nations disarmament official said today, as he briefed the Security Council on the rise in military assistance and transfers of arms and ammunition to that country, stressing that such activity must adhere to international law.
“Let me say it clearly: directing an attack against civilians or civilian objects is prohibited,” said Adedeji Ebo, Director and Deputy to the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, underscoring the principles of distinction, proportionality and precautions in attack in international law. “All attacks contrary to these obligations must stop immediately.”
According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), July 2024 was the deadliest month for civilians in Ukraine since October 2022, with at least 219 civilians killed and 1,018 injured, he said.
The transfers of weapons to Ukraine have reportedly included heavy conventional weapons, such as battle tanks, armoured combat vehicles, combat aircraft, helicopters, large-calibre artillery systems, missile systems and uncrewed combat aerial vehicles, as well as remotely operated munitions, and small arms and light weapons and their ammunition, he said. There have also been reports of States transferring, or planning to transfer, weapons such as uncrewed aerial vehicles, ballistic missiles and ammunition to the Russian Federation armed forces and that these weapons have been used in Ukraine.
“I reiterate that any transfer of weapons and ammunition must take place consistently with the applicable international legal framework, including of course, relevant Security Council resolutions,” he stressed. Reports related to the use of cluster munitions and widespread contamination with mines and explosive remnants of war in Ukraine are deeply concerning. Mitigating the human cost of weapons through responsible arms and ammunition transfers is crucial. That requires supply chain transparency and information exchange among importing, transit and exporting States.
He noted that, in June, States reviewed progress in implementing the Programme of Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons and its International Tracing Instrument and adopted, by consensus, action-oriented measures for 2024-2030 in order to prevent, combat and eradicate the illicit trade in such weapons throughout their life cycle. “All States should now implement these commitments and other related commitments,” he said, including those in the Global Framework for Through-life Conventional Ammunition Management.
The use of armed uncrewed aerial vehicles and missiles by the Russian Federation continues to cause civilian deaths and injuries, he went on to say. There have also been recent reports of cross-border strikes using missiles and uncrewed aerial vehicles by Ukraine inside the Russian Federation, with some, according to the Russian authorities, reportedly resulting in civilian casualties.
The representative of the Russian Federation, who called today’s meeting, said that the West is senselessly pumping weapons to Ukraine. The Kyiv regime has received “fairly modern” Western equipment, including tanks, artillery equipment and long-range missiles, without which, “they would have stopped fighting a long time ago”. “The bloody Ukrainian head honcho can make his people fight only through force and coercion and only thanks to the supplies of Western weapons, Western intelligence, Western instructors and mercenaries,” he said.
This month, Ukraine made a “fatal mistake” by pushing forces over the border into a Russian Federation region. “The world, as I said two days ago, saw the pictures of the Ukrainian murderers with Nazi symbols, looting and marauding, taking hostages and firing at women, children and old persons,” he said, adding: “This was so far from the image of the innocent victim of aggression that the US and its satellites have sought so hard to paint Ukraine.”
Western moralists have already sent highly enriched uranium and cluster munitions to Ukraine, he said. Having a direct confrontation between the Russian Federation and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is what Ukraine wants. “Kyiv just doesn't have another Plan B. […] We warned about this a few days ago; that the Kyiv regime is planning for a provocation of a dirty nuclear bomb,” he said, which would lead to an enormous escalation far beyond Ukraine’s borders.
He also expressed concern over a new law in Ukraine whose aim, he said, is to eliminate the Ukrainian Orthodox Church or force it to join other religious organizations. Hundreds of monasteries and millions of Orthodox believers in Ukraine risk losing their legal rights, property and place of worship. He called a move an “unprecedented anti-democratic decision”, and said that “even the Pope condemned it, who has not particularly been pro-Russian”.
Hitting back on Moscow’s claims, the United States’ representative said that the Russian Federation’s alleged concern that Member States are helping Ukraine defend itself is nothing short of absurd. Moreover, there is a deep falsehood in Moscow’s narrative that only Western countries support Ukraine. “If Russia would like to have a discussion on the risks resulting from weapons transfers, then let us have a real one,” he said. Moscow continues to deploy chemical weapons on the battlefield, kill civilians and destroy Ukrainian critical infrastructure. Meanwhile, Iran, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and China are providing the Russian Federation with the material it needs to wage its “war of choice”.
If Iran were to move forward with the transfer of ballistic missiles to the Russian Federation, it would represent a dramatic escalation and a serious risk to international peace and security, he warned. Baghdad’s support for Moscow’s war of aggression threatens European security and illustrates how Iran’s destabilizing influence reaches beyond the Middle East. Moreover, “Moscow's military cooperation with Pyongyang is cynical and dangerous,” he said, stressing that the latter continues to unlawfully transfer ballistic missiles and munitions to the Russian Federation, prolonging the Ukrainian people’s suffering.
Beijing is exporting to the Russian Federation nitrocellulose machine tools, microelectronics, optics and unmanned aerial vehicles and cruise missile technology. “China cannot have it both ways,” he stressed. “It cannot claim to be for peace and want better relations with Europe while at the same time fuelling the most significant threat to European security since the end of the cold war.”
China’s delegate retorted that Beijing did not create the Ukrainian crisis, nor has it provided weapons to any party to the conflict. He urged Washington, D.C. — which “still maintains economic and trade relations with the Russian Federation” — to refrain from shirking its responsibility and creating confrontation. Underscoring that increased weapon supply to the battlefield will only cause more harm, he declared: “No expansion of the battlefield, no escalation of fighting and no provocation by any party.” Rather, the international community must de-escalate the situation and provide practical assistance to start peace talks. Beijing, he stressed, will continue to uphold an impartial position, maintain close communication with all parties, promote consensus and make efforts for an early political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis.
Other Council speakers expressed reservations about the relevance of the current meeting. Among them was the representative of Slovenia who said: “It strikes us that we are approaching the discussions on weapons transfers pertaining to the war on Ukraine from the wrong end.” Weapons transfers to that country are not happening in a vacuum; they support legitimate self-defensive efforts of a sovereign country, she said. Inadequately controlled arms supply not only violates international humanitarian law and international human rights law— it can hamper the delivery of life-saving humanitarian aid, she said.
“I'm wondering how many times Russia will continue to repeat the same rhetoric,” Japan’s delegate said, adding that the country requests Security Council meetings such as this one, “out of spite whenever someone else does”. The Russian Federation speaks of peace while conducting large-scale air raids; such hypocrisy is nothing new. That country has also procured missiles from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in violation of relevant Council resolutions and refused to renew the mandate of the Panel of Experts, which had played a crucial role in monitoring implementation of the resolutions.
The speaker for the Republic of Korea also expressed concern about the Ukrainian authorities’ announcement that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s ballistic missiles were recently used again by the Russian Federation to strike Ukraine. This in fact, should be the focus of the Council meeting, he said. “This week’s spasm of violence against civilians is not an anomaly,” he added, pointing to OHCHR’s data that July 2024 was the deadliest month for civilians in Ukraine since October 2022.
“Since calling this meeting, Russia has bombarded Ukrainian cities across 15 regions, more than half the country — using hundreds of drones, cruise missiles, hypersonic ballistic missiles and glide bombs,” stated the United Kingdom’s delegate. Noting that Moscow’s intent is “to terrorize the civilian population in Ukraine into submission,” he reiterated that direct attacks on civilian infrastructure constitute a war crime. “Russia cannot step up the war from its own soil while increasing attacks on the civilian population and expect Ukraine not to seek to remove the source of the threat,” he asserted. And while London and its allies will support Ukraine’s capabilities to defend its people, they do not seek direct confrontation with the Russian Federation, nor a wider escalation of tensions.
For its part, France will continue to provide Ukraine with the military support vital to protecting its air and land space, its delegate said. Moscow is attacking Ukraine in the border regions from military sites located behind the Russian border. Ukrainians must be able to adapt to strike the sites from which Moscow is conducting its aggression and neutralize the military targets directly involved in operations aimed at them, he asserted, adding that Ukraine’s exercise of its right to self-defence “is not limited to Ukrainian territory”.
Raising concern about the risk of diversion of weapons and ammunition transferred to the conflict area, Guyana’s representative said that Latin American and the Caribbean knows “only too well” about the deadly impact of this scourge, especially small arms and light weapons and their ammunition. They account for most homicides in the region and play a central role in transnational organized crime, leading to profound socioeconomic impact and human cost. She, therefore, urged due caution in ensuring that all transfers are transparent, within the international legal framework.
Malta’s delegate, observing that over 14.6 million people in Ukraine require some form of humanitarian assistance, said that the principles of proportionality and distinction, as well as the special protections afforded to children, must be adhered to at all times in order to reduce the risk of harm to civilians. She underscored the need for full accountability for all crimes committed by the Russian Federation in Ukraine, and supported the ongoing work of the International Criminal Court and the Register of Damage for Ukraine.
Switzerland’s speaker pointed out that the global community is bound by a series of principles and rules, including the UN Charter and the Geneva Conventions, which aim to mitigate the horrors of war. Reiterating Ukraine's right to ensure its security, she cited one of the signatories of the Geneva Convention and said: “We know today that war never solved the problems that gave rise to it. It is always followed by long years of suffering for the vanquished and for the victors, and its results are not commensurate with the evil it generates.” Likewise, Ecuador’s delegate said history has shown that no conflict has ever been sustainably resolved in a military manner, warning that amid intensifying hostilities and an expanding battlefield, “the window of opportunity for dialogue and negotiation [is] closing”.
Noting that his delegation has consistently warned against pursuing strategic advantage before engaging in dialogue – “which is the permeating logic in this conflict” – Mozambique’s representative said that this will likely lead to further escalation. To avert a protracted stalemate, strict arms controls, recommitment to diplomatic engagement and implementation of confidence-building measures are crucial. “Diplomacy should take the lead,” concurred Algeria’s representative, urging that inclusive, constructive dialogue “be given a real chance to deliver”.
Also pointing to the “vicious cycle” evinced by the conflict and the need for diplomatic engagement was the representative of Sierra Leone, Council President for August. All parties to the conflict must prioritize the protection of civilians and turn away from “the option of winning the war on the battlefield at all costs”, he said.
Mali’s representative, taking the floor near the end of the meeting, said that his delegation asked to participate to share its concerns over the consequences of the supply of weapons to Ukraine on those “far from the front lines”. On that, he said that the spokesperson for Ukrainian military intelligence and Ukraine’s ambassador in Senegal both publicly admitted Kyiv’s involvement in the “cowardly, treacherous and barbaric attack” by terrorist groups that caused the death of Malian security and defence forces in Tinzawatène on 24 to 26 July. Worse, he said, was that “Ukrainian high-level officials publicly announced other ‘results’ to come”.
Noting that his Government has decided to sever diplomatic ties with Ukraine, he called on the Council to uphold its responsibilities “to prevent subversive action that threatens the stability of the Sahel, and even the entirety of the African continent”. He also called on the countries supplying weapons to Ukraine to ensure that such weapons do not fall into the hands of terrorist and extremist groups in the Sahel, stressing: “Mali has no desire to be used as a proxy battlefield between the Powers.”
At the outset of the meeting, the representative of the United Kingdom, noting the inclusion of Mali on the speakers’ list, said he did not accept the premise that its interests are specially affected by Western weapons transfers to Ukraine. The Russian Federation’s delegate responded by asking for an explanation about how “a whole number of EU countries’ interests are specifically affected” when they are invited to speak under Rule 37. Mali has encountered the impact of Ukraine’s support for terrorism, he said.