OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation N°1064 Vienna, 6 December 2023
1.Madam Chair, during last week’s OSCE Ministerial Council in Skopje the overwhelming majority of Ministers and Heads of Delegation of the OSCE participating States once again expressed outrage and condemnation of Russia’s ongoing illegal, unprovoked and unjustified war of aggression against Ukraine. This is a war in which Ukrainian men, women and children are killed every day in their homeland.
2.Since we last met in this Forum, sadly, there have again been reports over the past weeks of civilian casualties, such as in Selydove, Bilozerka and Kherson. On25 November, the Holodomor Remembrance Day, Russia launched one of its largest drone attacks since the beginning of its full-scale unjustified invasion of Ukraine. For more than six hours, Kyiv and its surroundings were the target of 75Iranian-made Shahed drones. As a result, people were injured and 12,000households lost power. And again this weekend, we heard reports of shelling killing civilians in Kostyantynivka and Sadove.
3.In view of these tragic events, we recall that in line with the 1949 Geneva Conventions, the deliberate targeting of civilian populations is illegal. Under the Geneva Conventions and their Protocols, it is prohibited to attack or destroy ,remove or render useless objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population, such as drinking water installations. The EU and its Member States condemn in the strongest possible terms Russia’s ongoing systematic and indiscriminate attacks against Ukraine, its civilians and its critical energy infrastructure, especially as we head towards the winter season.
4.In addition to Russian missile and drone attacks and shelling, several reports shed light on Russia’s extensive use of landmines, including antipersonnel mines, in Ukraine. In total, 608 civilian casualties of landmines and explosive remnants of war were reported in 2022. As such, Ukraine suffered a ten-fold increase in the number of civilian casualties compared to 2021, before Russia started its full scale war of aggression.
5.Moreover, the Russian Federation is not limiting itself to the use of conventional arms in its war of aggression against Ukraine. In fact, we are also facing Russia’s efforts to weaponise energy, food, migration, and information. That is why the choice of information integrity in the military space for the Security Dialogue was particularly relevant and timely for the work of this Forum.
6.Today, 6 December, marks the Day of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The EU and its Member States salute the courage of the armed forces’ personnel of Ukraine. They fight not only for the freedom of Ukraine but for all of us, for our freedom and democracy as well as for the core values of this organisation. And we will continue to stand by Ukraine. As President Charles Michel said in Kyiv on the 10thanniversary of the Maidan Revolution: ‘We have already provided nearly 85 billion euros of assistance to Ukraine and your brave soldiers must get what they need to defend your country. We will therefore continue to provide strong military support — more missiles, more ammunition, and more air defence systems.’
7.Madame Chair, the EU and its Member States reiterate that Russia must immediately stop its war of aggression, and completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its forces and military equipment from the entire territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders. We reiterate our strong call on the Belarusian authorities to stop providing support to Russia’s war of aggression, and to abide by their international obligations.
Thank you.
The Candidate Countries NORTH MACEDONIA*, MONTENEGRO*, ALBANIA*, UKRAINE, the REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA and BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA*, the Potential Candidate Country GEORGIA, and the EFTA countries ICELAND, LIECHTENSTEIN and NORWAY, members of the European Economic Area align themselves with this statement.
*North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina continue tobe part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.