Nordic Statement at the UN Security Council Briefing on Maintenance of Peace and Security of Ukraine

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Thank you, President.

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the five Nordic countries, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway – and my own country, Sweden.

We thank OCHA for its briefing, and for shedding light on yet another horrendous wave of Russian attacks on civilians and civilian objects in Ukraine, including residential buildings, hospitals, water treatment plants, places of worship, schools and playgrounds.

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President, in its war of aggression, Russia has chosen terror to achieve its political goal: the subjugation of Ukraine, and the annexation of sovereign Ukrainian territory.

This blatant disregard for international law and human lives requires the strongest of condemnations. It requires that those responsible are held to account, and that the international community remains firm in its support for a just and sustainable peace in line with international law, the UN charter and relevant GA-resolutions.

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President, for years, in this very chamber, we’ve heard Russia’s attempts to justify its aggression. We’ve heard that Ukraine, NATO or “the West” in general were poised to launch an attack on Russia. We’ve heard the Russian stories about killer mosquitoes, secret nuclear programmes, or bio-labs in Ukraine.

In reality, all these Russian claims were made to sow confusion and hide the simple truth that the Ukrainian people had chosen something that the Kremlin feared more than anything else: democracy, liberty and justice.

For Kremlin, the uncomfortable truth is that there is no Russophobic conspiracy.

What there is, is an overwhelming global majority of UN member states that seek to uphold international law and the UN Charter. A majority that seeks to protect the inviolability of sovereignty and territorial integrity. A majority that refuses to accept spheres of influence, or that might makes right.

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President, to our Ukrainian friends, and to the rest of the world, we have but one message: we will stand by Ukraine for as long as it takes. President Zelensky’s ten-point peace plan is a sustainable path towards peace, and it should continue to enjoy global support.

To Russia we say this: leave Ukraine. Choose a future where the great potential of the Russian people is used to advance mankind, not bomb its neighbours.

Until a comprehensive, just and sustainable peace has been reached in line with international law and the UN charter, we demand that Russia ensures safe, timely and unimpeded humanitarian access to the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. We demand that you allow UN inspectors to verify your unsubstantiated claims of civilian casualties. And we demand you allow the UN and the ICRC to visit Ukrainian prisoners of war. International humanitarian law requires it. 

Thank you.