Security Council Split over Russian Federation’s Mid-range Ballistic Strike, Ukraine’s Use of Western-supplied Long-range Missiles
Speakers Condemn Moscow's Nuclear Threats, Pyongyang's Supply of Troops
As the Russian Federation’s war against Ukraine surpasses 1,000 days, speakers warned the Security Council today of a dangerous escalation, citing reports of mid- and long-range missile firings by both sides and the deployment of troops from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in the conflict zone.
“In recent days, we have seen alarming signs of further escalation in this already explosive war,” said Miroslav Jenča, Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas in the Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations, pointing to a strike on 21 November of an industrial area in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, by a Russian intermediate-range ballistic missile. According to Ukrainian authorities, the missile, which was equipped with six warheads, took only 15 minutes to arrive from the launch site in the Astrakhan region of the Russian Federation, 1,000 kilometres away from Dnipro city, he said.
Hours after the strike, the President of the Russian Federation confirmed that Moscow had tested a new conventional intermediate-range missile called “Oreshnik”, in response the use of Western supplied long-range missiles by the armed forces of Ukraine against the territory of the Russian Federation, indicating that it would continue to test the new missile in combat. “The use of ballistic missiles and related threats are a very dangerous escalatory development,” Mr. Jenča said, urging all parties to take immediate steps to de-escalate the situation.
Meanwhile, systematic Russian aerial strikes have continued to wreak havoc across Ukraine, he went on, citing Tuesday’s launch by the Russian Federation of 188 drones against 17 regions of Ukraine. “This was reportedly the record number of drones deployed in a single attack,” he added. At least 12,162 civilians have been killed and 26,919 injured in Ukraine since February 2022, he reported, stressing: “The cost of this war is already too high for the people of Ukraine, and for the world — and it is growing by the day.” Therefore, he again called for the dangerous cycle of escalation to be reversed, through political will and inclusive diplomatic efforts towards a just, lasting and comprehensive peace, in line with the Charter of the United Nations and international law.
Ukraine’s delegate pointed out that the ongoing deployment of troops from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea “remains one of the clearest indicators of Moscow’s unwillingness to de-escalate, alongside the weapons supplies Russia has been receiving from Pyongyang for over a year”. He noted that the first clashes between the Ukrainian forces and Pyongyang’s servicemen are already taking place. Those troops are fighting with forged documents that provide them assumed identities, he said, adding that the current military contingent of 11,000 troops could quickly be increased to 100,000 soldiers.
Missiles supplied by Pyongyang since August 2023 are responsible for one third of all ballistic missile attacks against Ukraine this year, he stated, adding that such transfers and the training of servicemen deployed to Kursk flagrantly violate multiple Council resolutions. He therefore called on “responsible nations to take immediate actions to counteract the Russian and North Korean regimes”, and to condemn Moscow’s “irresponsible nuclear sabre-rattling”. Ukraine will continue to exercise its right to self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter, which does not impose geographical limitations on defending against an armed attack, he said.
The United States’ representative said that Moscow expanded the war by seeking external supplies of missiles, drones and ammunition to replenish its dwindling stock, violating Council resolutions. In return for Pyongyang’s support — 1,000 troops and 18,000 containers of munitions and materiel used to strike Kyiv and other populous places — Moscow provides the Asian country air defense systems as well as free and subsidized fuel, he stated, calling on China to use its influence to stop a further escalation of the conflict.
As a “gift to Pyongyang” in March, the Russian Federation vetoed the renewal of the Panel of Experts assisting the 1718 Committee monitoring sanctions against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, he condemned. Underscoring Ukraine's right to defend itself, Washington, D.C., is supplying Kyiv with hundreds of additional Patriots and advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles (AMRAAMs) to strengthen its air defence capabilities, he added.
However, the Russian Federation’s representative countered that his country’s recent use of a new missile system was in response to Ukraine’s firings of long-range missiles authorized by the United States and the United Kingdom against his country, which placed the world on the brink of a global nuclear conflict. “Every wave of escalation from the West will be decisively responded to,” he declared, stressing that Moscow has the right to use its weapons against military facilities of those countries that allow the use of their weapons against its facilities.
Ukraine’s “bankrupt Zelenskyy regime” is dragging the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) into a conflict to avoid a humiliating defeat, he stressed, citing the “failed Kursk escapade” and the “clear collapse of the Donbass front”. Recent developments, including the fleeing en masse of forcefully conscripted Ukrainian soldiers from their positions, made it increasingly difficult for the “actor Zelenskyy” to lie his people, he stated. Further, the incoming United States President Donald Trump is expected to cut assistance for the Ukrainian army, which is a “death sentence” for them, he said, adding that the new Administration’s audit of assistance to Ukraine is a “frightening scenario” for Kyiv.
“Japan, as the only country that has ever suffered atomic bombings during war, will never tolerate Russia’s nuclear threats, let alone its use of nuclear weapons”, its delegate declared. The representative of the Republic of Korea also sounded the alarm over Moscow’s new nuclear doctrine, which lowers the threshold for nuclear engagement. By launching an intermediate-range ballistic missile, the country is “dangerously blurring the lines between conventional and nuclear warfare”, he warned.
“Ukraine is not a testing ground for new weapons,” warned the representative of the United Kingdom, Council President for November, who spoke in her national capacity, calling for combined efforts to deter Moscow from its aggression. “No one wants peace more than Ukraine,” she underscored, affirming her country’s support for Ukraine’s right to self-defence and its efforts to achieve sustainable peace.
However, the representative of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea defended the Kremlin's position, saying “Russia’s counterstrike on 21 November is an exercise of just and legitimate right to self-defence and serves as a serious warning to the US and Western countries in war mania.” He then declared that Pyongyang will continue to strengthen relations with Moscow to defend the fundamental interests of both their peoples, contribute to regional and global peace and security and “realize international justice”.
Many delegates voiced alarm over the ongoing Moscow-Pyongyang military cooperation, including Slovenia’s, who called the deployment of troops an “unprecedented development”. Estonia’s representative, speaking on behalf of Latvia and Lithuania, drew attention to Moscow’s reported recruitment of cannon fodder from Yemen to fight in Ukraine. “It is highly alarming that military and mercenaries from all over the world are being recruited to fight in the heart of Europe to satisfy Russia’s neo-colonial and imperial ambitions,” he said.
China’s delegate called on all parties, especially the United States, to work with his country to “make a genuine effort to end the war”. His country has actively conducted “shuttle diplomacy” through its special representative and is engaged with all relevant parties, he said, also highlighting its founding of the Group of Friends for Peace on the Ukraine Crisis, which calls for “upholding the three principles of no expansion of the battlefield, no escalation of fighting and no fueling the flame by any party”.
Poland’s representative stated that any future peace must be negotiated and agreed upon by Ukraine, calling for Russian authorities and soldiers to be held accountable for all crimes committed in Ukraine. “If they go unpunished by international justice, aggressive Moscow could inspire other actors to replace international law with a 'might makes right' approach”, a point echoed by the representative of the European Union, speaking in its capacity as observer.
Some speakers highlighted the impact of the conflict on civilians, among them Guyana’s delegate, who called for their concrete protection, citing the finding by United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) that an average of at least 16 children are killed or injured in Ukraine every week.
Relatedly, her counterpart from Malta voiced concern over Moscow’s systematic targeting of Ukrainian civilian infrastructure. This month alone, it launched another massive missile and drone attack with the sole intent of damaging Ukraine’s energy capacity just before the upcoming winter months. Ecuador’s delegate pointed out that Ukraine has become one of the most heavily mined countries worldwide, with almost 25 per cent of its territories contaminated, a concern shared by the speaker for Switzerland.
The delegates of Sierra Leone, Mozambique and Algeria, called for diplomacy, with the latter warning against confrontation and polarization and urging the parties to avoid the worst scenario. “Only dialogue and negotiation can lead us to a ceasefire and stop the bloodshed,” he stressed.