Joint Statement - Conference on Disarmament High Level Segment

Joint Statement at the High Level Segment

Conference on Disarmament, Geneva, 23 February, 2026

Mr. President,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of: 

Albania, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria,Canada,Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Republic of Moldova, Principality of Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, New Zealand,North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and my own country, Norway.

The high-level segment of the Conference on Disarmament is taking place when the world marks four years since the beginning of Russia’s unjustified and illegal full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine.

This year also marks twelve years since Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol and the military operation in Donbas. 

Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, in clear violation of international law, including the United Nations Charter, drastically changed the paradigms of global peace and security. We emphasize that Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine is a threat not only to Ukraine, but to international peace and security, the rules-based international order, and the global non-proliferation and disarmament architecture, which, in the process, undermines confidence in disarmament institutions. 

We condemn in the strongest possible way Russia’s actions, its nuclear rhetoric in its war of aggression against Ukraine, which is irresponsible, provocative, dangerous and escalatory, andwhich further demonstrate how Russia’s repeated actions undermine international commitments, peace and security. Russia continues to blatantly violate the UN Charter, and to contravene the principles of the “Helsinki Decalogue” and the security commitments it undertook in the Budapest Memorandum.

We reaffirm our unwavering support for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders, extending to its territorial waters, as well as for Ukraine’s inherent right to self-defence against the illegal Russian war of aggression.

We reiterate our demand to Russia to stop its war of aggression against Ukraine and to ensure the full, immediate and unconditional withdrawal of all Russian forces and military equipment from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders. 

A complete and unconditional ceasefire could be the first step towards restoring the minimum level of mutual trust necessary to start genuine,credible peace talks. 

We urge Russia to engage in meaningful negotiations towards a just and lasting peace. For peace to be just and lasting, borders must not be changed by force and any future agreement must respect Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and guarantee Ukraine’s long-term security and ability to defend itself.

Mr. President,

We strongly condemn Russia's indiscriminate attacks, killing civilians and destroying civilian objects, including critical energy infrastructure as well as use of heavy weapons and explosive devices in populated areas of Ukraine causing indiscriminate harm to civilians.

In 2026, Russia has significantly strengthened its campaign of terror against Ukrainian civilians. Due to constant barbaric rocket and artillery shelling and the destruction of residential areas and critical civilian infrastructure, hundreds of civilians in Ukraine lose their lives, get injured, and are left without electricity and water. 

This escalation, occurring in parallel with international efforts aimed at a just and lasting peace, reveals the real goals and intentions of Russia. The aggressor state shows no interest in achieving peace and ending its aggression.

Mr. President,

The situation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) continues to cause serious concern.

Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, and its subsequent seizure and militarisation of the ZNPP, combined with its repeated, deliberate and targeted large-scale missile and drone attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, continue to substantially increase risks to nuclear safety and security. As a consequence, the ZNPP has experienced multiple times a complete Loss of Off-Site Power (LOOP), relying solely on emergency diesel generators, and many times has had to rely on a single off-site power line. Even today. Furthermore, Russia’s attacks on electrical substations have endangered the safe operation of all Nuclear Power Plants in Ukraine and has forced a reduction in output in the past months. Substations and power lines are essential elements to nuclear safety. Striking them constitute a flagrant disregard of the IAEA Director General’s “seven indispensable pillars for ensuring nuclear safety and security during armed conflict”, as well as the “five concrete principles for protecting the ZNPP”.

We support the continuation of the IAEA’s monitoring missions to all Ukrainian nuclear sites and to substations identified by the Agency as critical for the safety of nuclear power plants. We express our appreciation for the Agency’s commitment and for the professionalism and courage of its staff in continuing these missions despite the risks. 

We reiterate our demand that Russia urgently cease all military activities affecting nuclear facilities and related critical infrastructure, withdraw its military and other forces, equipment and other unauthorized personnel from the ZNPP, and return the plant to the full control of the competent Ukrainian authorities.

Thank you