Ambassador Holland condemns Russia's missile attacks against
civilians in Sumy and Kharkiv over Easter and President Putin's
transparently cynical attempts to portray Russia as the party of
peace.
"Thank you, Mister Chair. The United Kingdom is grateful to
Finland for convening this Special Permanent Council. It
was only 16 days ago that you were last compelled to call an
extraordinary meeting of the Council after a Russian missile
killed 20 people, including nine children, in Kryvyi Rih.
It was the largest number of children killed in a single strike
since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion, according to
the UN.
Last week was one of major religious festivals where communities
around the globe came together in the spirit of peace and
goodwill. But while Christians around the world were marking the
beginning of Holy Week, a Russian ballistic missile struck the
centre of Sumy. 34 people were killed, including two
children. A further 117 were injured. Some of the
victims were heading to church for a Palm Sunday service.
On Good Friday another Russian ballistic missile struck Kharkiv
using a cluster munition. One person was killed and at
least 60 were injured. On the same day, a drone attack on
Sumy killed another civilian and destroyed a bakery preparing
traditional Easter ‘paska' bread.
Mister Chair, our thoughts are with all the victims and their
loved ones at this tragic time.
Russia's response to the widespread condemnation in this Council
– and at the UN - following their attack on Sumy was to resort to
their familiar playbook of disinformation and distortion in an
attempt to justify the unjustifiable. We can expect to see
a similar tactic on this occasion.
Through these barbaric attacks, Russia has shown that its cruelty
knows no bounds and that it is not serious about peace. President
Putin's so-called “Easter truce” was a stunt, violated repeatedly
by his own forces. A day later – Easter Monday – a further
five civilians reportedly lost their lives following Russian
attacks, laying bare the Kremlin's transparently cynical attempt
to portray themselves as the party of peace. Similar
attacks have continued since, including yesterday against Kyiv,
in which nine civilians were reportedly killed, and 70 more
injured.
If Russia was serious about peace, it would agree to an
immediate, full and unconditional ceasefire, just as Ukraine did,
more than 40 days ago. If it was serious about peace, it
would stop these senseless attacks on civilians. If it was
serious about peace, it would honour the commitments it has made.
Russia's continued attacks against Ukraine are another stark
reminder that President Putin has not abandoned his goal of
subjugating Ukraine. For this reason, the UK, alongside our
partners and allies, will continue to provide Ukraine with the
military support it needs to defend its citizens. And we
stand ready to apply further pressure on Russia to hinder its
ability to wage this war of aggression.
Thank you, Mister Chair."
