OSCE Permanent Council No.1449 Vienna, 9 November 2023

1. Each day since the beginning of Russia’s illegal, unprovoked and unjustified war of aggression against Ukraine brings new evidence of the war crimes and other violations of international law committed by the Russian Forces. Russia’s desperate attempts to capture Ukrainian land have been accompanied by an intensification of indiscriminate shelling and deliberate attacks by Russia against cities, civilians and civilian infrastructure across Ukraine. Last week, record levels of Russian attacks were reported, with over 100 Ukrainian settlements coming under Russian fire in just 24 hours. We deplore the reported damage caused by Russian attacks to the century-old UNESCO-protected National Art Museum in Odesa and a college building in Kharkiv, dating back to 1915.
2. Last week, we witnessed the regrettably familiar, unacceptable pattern of intentional Russian attacks against Ukraine’s critical civilian infrastructure, including agriculture and energy facilities, ahead of the winter months. In the early hours of 3^rd November, Russia launched its largest drone attack against Ukraine in weeks, damaging civilian objects in Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Odesa, Kherson and Kharkiv regions, and confirmed our fears that Russia will again resort to barbaric tactics of weaponising food, electricity, water, housing and medical care this winter. Such actions are particularly cruel and reprehensible as their sole aim is to maximise human suffering, and to attempt to break the spirit and resistance of the Ukrainian people. Russia, however, will not succeed in this, just as it did not succeed last year. The EU and its Member States will intensify the provision of humanitarian and civil protection assistance to Ukraine to help it and its people face another winter at war due to Russia’s condemnable actions.
3. The recent Report by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on the attack on the funeral reception in Hroza corroborates existing evidence of Russia‘s premeditated attacks against Ukrainian civilians. According to OHCHR, there are considerable grounds to believe that this civilian gathering was the intended target of an attack by the Russian Armed Forces, using a precision weapon. OHCHR also concludes that, this attack was carried out in clear violation of international humanitarian law, as there were no military personnel or any other legitimate military target present at or in proximity to the funeral reception. We reiterate that intentionally directing attacks against civilians or civilian objects constitutes a war crime. The EU will spare no effort to ensure full accountability for all damages and crimes committed in connection with Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Russia and its leadership will also be held fully accountable for waging a war of aggression against Ukraine.
4.  We regretfully note that on 2^nd November Russia signed into national law the revocation of its ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). This took place in the context of Russia’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine and after months of irresponsible nuclear rhetoric and threats by Russia, some specifically pointing at a resumption of nuclear tests. The EU deeply deplores this decision by Russia and calls on it to continue to respect the object and purpose of the Treaty.
5. Mr. Chair, during her sixth wartime visit to Ukraine, the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen reaffirmed that in the face of Russian brutality and in front of Ukrainian bravery, there is only one thing that we, in the rest of Europe, must do. And that is to stand alongside Ukraine for as long as it takes. By doing so, the EU solely aims to help Ukraine exercise its inherent right to self-defence in line with the UN Charter and ultimately win the just peace it deserves. And we will neither tire, nor falter in aiding Ukraine and in providing it with strong financial, economic, humanitarian, military and diplomatic support. In the longer term, we will contribute, together with partners, to future security commitments to Ukraine, which will help it defend itself, resist destabilisation efforts and deter acts of aggression in the future. We will support Ukraine’s repair, recovery and reconstruction, in coordination with international partners, including the demining process. And we will work to further weaken Russia’s ability to wage its brutal war of aggression, including by further strengthening sanctions, and through their full and effective implementation and the prevention of their circumvention, in close cooperation with partners and allies.
6. We reaffirm our unwavering support for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders. The EU and its Member States will continue their intensified diplomatic outreach efforts and cooperation with Ukraine and other countries to ensure the widest possible international support for a comprehensive, just and lasting peace and the key principles and objectives of Ukraine’s Peace Formula, with a view to a Global Peace Summit being held.
7. In conclusion, we once again call on Russia to immediately stop its war of aggression against Ukraine, and completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its forces and military equipment from the entire territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders. We also condemn the continued military support for Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine provided by Belarus and Iran, as well as reports about arms transfers and military cooperation between the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and Russia. We urge all countries not to provide material or other support for this aggression.

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 and LIECHTENSTEIN, members of the European Economic Area, as well as ANDORRA, MONACO, and SAN MARINO.

* North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania, and Bosnia and Herzegovina continue to be part of the Stabilization and Association Process