78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly
General Debate on the situation in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine
Statement delivered by H.E. Mr. Rein Tammsaar, Permanent Representative of Estonia
New York, 26 February 2024
Thank you, Mister/Madame President,
It has now been 10 years since the beginning of Russia’s brutal aggression against Ukraine. As of today, Russia has illegally occupied and annexed about 17% of the territory of Ukraine. The UN has verified over 30 thousand civilian casualties, including almost 2000 children, since the beginning of invasion, with the actual numbers likely to be significantly higher. Millions of Ukrainians have been forced to leave their homes and their country.
On October 12, 2022, here in the United Nations General Assembly, we the 143 Member States, overwhelmingly condemned Russia’s attempted annexations and declared these illegal and without effect. Since then, tens of thousands of Russian soldiers were left rotten in the Ukrainian soil and yet, reinforced by the verified military support on side of complicit Iran, Belarus and the DPRK, Kremlin´s goals vis-à-vis Ukraine remain exactly the same as a year ago – to erase sovereign Ukraine from the map and to deny the very existence of an independent Ukrainian nation.
Putin’s recent public revelations not only prove his utter incompetence in history but also clearly indicate that Russia was never genuinely ready to fulfil its obligations under the Minsk agreements. Quite the opposite, in Putin’s paranoid imagination, Ukraine as a nation does not exist. This deeply genocidal thinking is in the core of his neo-colonial and imperial crusade. Moreover, Russia’s behavioural pattern on occupied territories presents a horrifying example of so-called Russian World and modern Russian fascism in action. Any opposition in the occupied territories, or increasingly also in Russia itself, is met with repressions, deportation, imprisonment or extrajudicial killings. The latest example here is a murder by Putin and his cronies of the much-feared opposition leader Alexei Navalny, after his poisoning and prolonged torture in the colony.
It is quite clear that with the elimination of all credible alternative candidates and without the international monitoring, Russia’s so-called elections in March will again lack any democratic legitimacy. Holding the so-called elections in the temporarily occupied and illegally annexed territories of Ukraine is in itself a grave violation of international law, the UN Charter and Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. We will not recognize or support holding of such elections nor will we accept their results.
Mister/Madam President,
Ukraine has verified close to 20 000 children who have been forcibly deported to Russia from Ukraine and the occupied territories and who´s national identity is a subject of systemic erasure. Russia, being the first Permanent Member of the UN Security Council ever listed in the report on Children and Armed Conflict as a party carrying out grave violations against children, has disregarded the issue. That’s why we call upon the UN Secretary-General to list Russia as an uncooperative party in its next report on Children and Armed Conflict. We also call on UNICEF to remain fully seized on this matter. The UN and UN membership have to put pressure on Russia to end this appalling criminal practice and return Ukrainian children to their families and to their homeland.
It goes without saying that masterminds behind the aggression and criminals who are responsible for the deportation of Ukrainian children must be brought to justice. The arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court for Putin and Lvova-Belova should be executed as soon as possible. We would also like to emphasize, contrary to what Russia tries to convey, that the International Court of Justice has found that Russia has violated the provisions of the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism and the Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. Russia has also violated its obligation under the ICJ Order on provisional measure by launching its aggression against Ukraine.
Mister/Madam President,
After 2 years of brutal invasion, it is clear that Russia and its current leadership are not interested in genuine peace. As we know from the 20th century, appeasement of dictatorships can only lead to a global catastrophe. Therefore, we call on wider UN membership to support the Ukrainian peace plan, which offers the only viable path towards a just and lasting peace in Ukraine, in full accordance with the UN Charter. We once again insist that Russia immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraws is military forces and mercenaries from the entire territory of Ukraine, within its internationally recognized borders.
While Ukraine is fighting for its very survival in full conformity with the UN Charter, let me assure you that Estonia is determined to continue supporting Ukraine as long as it takes by all means. It is a right thing to do from the moral, legal and global security´s point of view.
Mister/Madame President,
This weekend, Estonia celebrated 106 years of independence. From 2022, our celebrations have been overshadowed by the war Russia brought to Europe. In the shadow of the aggression against Ukraine, our own independence and sovereignty is being undermined by Russia every single day, one way or another. Attempts to undermine our security and destabilise our societies take many shapes. Last week we were able to neutralise another hybrid operation by Russia’s agents against our freedom and independence. Only together with our allies and partners can we push back aggression and uphold the sacrosanct UN Charter and principles of the International law.
Thank you!