UK Military Advisor, Lt Col Joby Rimmer, says that despite
claiming commitment to peace, Russia has escalated its military
aggression by refusing to engage in peace talks, launching
record-breaking drone attacks on Ukrainian civilians, and
continuing to violate international law.
"Thank you, Madame Chair. When Russia initiated its war of
aggression on Ukraine on 24 February 2022, there was no doubt
about the illegality of this undertaking. The full-scale invasion
contravened all the underpinning documents of this organisation
to which we are all signatories and violates international law.
The responsibility for this illegal military invasion absolutely
sits with Russia. However, Russia continues to blame others for
prolonging the conflict that they started and continues to accuse
others of seeking to ‘gain military superiority' in a conflict
that they initiated.
The UK's continued and unwavering support to Ukraine is not about
achieving military superiority but about defending a sovereign
nation under attack. The UK, along with our allies, has
consistently emphasised that military aid is in support of
Ukraine's self-defence and aimed at helping Ukraine uphold its
territorial integrity in accordance with international law. Prime
Minister recently reiterated that the
UK's goal is peace, not escalation.
In contrast, the Russian Federation insist that they remain
committed to a negotiated solution, but their actions say
otherwise. While President Zelenskyy travelled to Istanbul on
15th May to attend peace talks, supported by the USA and hosted
by Türkiye, in good faith, President Putin refused to the same.
On the same day President Putin dodged the possibility for
constructive negotiations, his Armed Forces launched 112 drones
at Ukrainian cities, killing and injuring civilians. On 17th May,
the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission confirmed that a Russian
drone hit a bus evacuating civilians in Ukraine's Sumy region,
killing nine non-combatants. On 18th May, Russia launched 273
one-way attack (OWA) drones against multiple targets in Kyiv,
Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk oblasts. This is reportedly the
largest wave of uncrewed aerial systems Russia has launched into
Ukraine – surpassing the 267 drones launched on 23rd February
2025.
This is not evidence of a genuine commitment to peaceful
resolution. This is fundamentally military escalation and an
increase in the indiscriminate targeting of civilians. As a
result, the UK is further increasing sanctions on Russia as
President Putin further intensifies these strikes on Ukrainian
civilians. Yesterday we announced the sanctioning of 100 targets
across Russian energy, and financial services sectors, the
Russian military industrial complex and its third country
suppliers, and malign actors involved in democratic interference
and Russia's information war on Ukraine.
At the opening session of the FSC on 14th May, The Russian
delegation spoke of the ‘need to increase the effectiveness of
the FSC'. We couldn't agree more. The UK supports the opportunity
to pursue the politico-military advantages of the FSC, to
encourage enhanced implementation of arms control, and of
confidence- and security-building measures. But this is
impossible whilst Russia continues to violate the principles of
the Helsinki Final Act, and broader international law. The UK
also agrees with another comment from Russia's opening address
last week that ‘the FSC is not a place for hate speech and
incitement to confrontation'. And we would encourage Russia to
refrain from disrespectful language in the forum, particularly
towards Ukraine, and of spreading disinformation about the
intentions of the UK and our allies. We look forward to a
constructive trimester.
The UK will continue to play a leading role in accelerating work
on Ukraine's future security, and we strongly urge Russia to
commit to an immediate, complete and unconditional 30-day
ceasefire to buy the space and conditions for further
negotiations. Europe is ready if President Putin chooses the path
of peace. Thank you, Madame Chair."
