UK military advisor, Nicholas Aucott, says that Russia abandons
the position of a responsible global power by breaking sanctions
it previously supported, turning to Iran and the Democratic
People’s Republic of Korea for military support.
"Thank you, Mr Chair. Towards the end of last year, I referenced
the Russian Delegation’s statement on the eve of war. ‘The idea
of there being plans for a “Russian invasion” of Ukraine was
hatched inside the US Department of State’. Within 24 hours,
Russia had illegally invaded its neighbour, Ukraine. In this
moment, Russia demonstrated its willingness to misinform the
members of this Forum, and to violate the Organisation’s aims of
‘creating greater openness, transparency and co-operation’.
In the intervening two years, we have listened repeatedly to a
litany of further misinformation as Russia has sought to justify
its violation of the prohibition on the use of force at Article
2(4) of the UN Charter, resulting in the deaths of thousands of
Ukrainian civilians.
For Russia, the consequence of its unprovoked war of aggression
is a diminishment in international standing. Since the start of
the full-scale invasion, not one other member of this Forum has
spoken in support of Russia’s actions - while Russia’s influence
and gravitas has eroded across multinational fora.
Russia abandons the position of a responsible global power by
opting to break sanctions that it itself ascribed to, turning to
Iran and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea for military
support. Russia now abuses the consensus principle, or simply
issues threats of manipulation such as we heard when it stated it
would, ‘train the current Chair and future Chairs until we have
appropriate outcomes, so get ready for next week’.
Mr Chair, as Russia continues in this egregious behaviour, the
United Kingdom will continue to stand firm in support of Ukraine
as it defends its people, its territory and the principles of
sovereignty and self-determination. As Putin’s three-day war
closes in on the two-year point, Ukraine continues to inflict
significant damage on Russia in a conflict of Russia’s own
making.
The shooting down of an SU-34 FULLBACK combat aircraft over East
Luhansk on 30 January brings the number of Russian fixed wing
combat aircraft losses to over 80. And, on 1 February, the loss
of a Russian missile corvette, the TARANTUL-III Class IVANOVETS,
provided further evidence of the continued vulnerability of
Russian warships operating in the Black Sea.
The United Kingdom will continue supporting Ukraine for as long
as Russia insists on persisting with this imperial conquest.
Through the UK-Ukraine Agreement on Security Cooperation, the
Maritime Capability Coalition or a host of other initiatives,
which now amount to almost £12Bn in support for Ukraine, the
United Kingdom and our allies will remain resolute.
Russia must acknowledge the impact of its egregious actions and
take the necessary steps to end its war of choice by withdrawing
all its troop from Ukraine’s internationally recognised borders
and working towards a sustainable and just peace. Thank you."
