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Statement on behalf of the Baltic States at the United Nations Security Council meeting on Ukraine on Tuesday, 27 September 2022.

Mister President,

I am speaking on behalf of the Baltic States – Latvia, Lithuania and my own country, Estonia. We welcome President Zelenskyy’s participation in this meeting and we thank the Under-Secretary-General DiCarlo for her latest update on Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.

Last week, when the world leaders gathered here in New York to express their support to the values embodied in the United Nations Charter, and called on upholding global peace and security, Russia chose a path to further escalate its illegal, colonial, imperialistic and racist war of aggression against Ukraine.

Let me be clear: these so-called referenda in Ukraine’s temporarily occupied territories are illegal under Ukrainian and international law and constitute to nothing more than illegal land-grabs furthering Russia’s occupation.

By announcing his plan to conduct sham referenda in the occupied parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions of Ukraine, Putin gave further instructions to its troops to continue to commit crimes of aggression and other atrocity crimes against Ukraine. The Baltic States strongly condemn holding unlawful referenda and urge Russia to immediately cease provocative actions of further escalation of its military aggression against Ukraine.

The Kremlin regime does not even care to mask the nefarious nature of the process. Nothing can be further from free and fair elections when soldiers of occupying forces stand by as the ballots are filled in. When a machine gun is pointed at you, you can only choose between ticking the “right” box or face persecution, torture or even death.

We will never recognize Russia’s illegal and illegitimate annexation of the territories of Ukraine, be it Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson or Crimea. These territories belong to Ukraine and Ukraine has every right to defend them and liberate them from Russia´s occupation in full accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter. We call upon all members of the international community to support Ukraine’s efforts in restoring its territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders.

Russia is losing this war. It is also becoming more desperate. Declaring mobilisation is an admission to that. The Security Council members should send a clear message that Putin’s reckless nuclear threats must stop immediately.

Mr President,

Russia bears full responsibility for the war and for the immense suffering its aggression is bringing upon the Ukrainian people. Everywhere where Russia has occupied Ukraine’s territory, it has left behind war crimes and mass graves. Tortured and executed bodies were scattered on the streets of Bucha; recently, more than 500 graves have been found in Izyum. Whole families tortured, killed and buried together.

On 23 September the International Commission of Inquiry concluded that Russian Federation forces have committed war crimes in Ukraine, accounting torture, executions and sexual violence committed against civilians.

Condemnation of Russia’s atrocities alone is not enough. It is our common duty to ensure independent and effective investigations into atrocity crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine. Putin and his administration must be held accountable for the crimes of aggression that they have committed in Ukraine. An international tribunal to address Russia’s aggression against Ukraine must be established and full reparation for the damages must be ensured by Russia. 

We must not forget that the Belarusian authorities are also accomplice to those crimes, as they have enabled Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.

Mr President,

This is not just Russia’s war against Ukraine or Europe. This is Russia’s war against the core values and principles of the UN Charter. Therefore, all States who stand on the side of peace, stability and rules-based international order need to step up. We need to actively defend our common values. Ukrainians are doing exactly that in the battlefield. They are defending our shared values of peace, justice, dignity, and every country’s equal right to sovereignty and territorial integrity. The least the international community can and must do, is to support Ukraine every way we can, including calling out the aggressor and ensuring accountability for Russia’s cruel, inhumane and illegal actions against Ukraine and Ukrainian people.

Mr President,

To conclude, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania reaffirm their unwavering support for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders, and for Ukraine’s inherent right to self-defence.

Slava Ukraini!

I thank you.