Category: Foreign Affairs

The speech made by Yvette Cooper, the Foreign Secretary, at the UN Security Council Meeting held in New York on 23 September 2025.

Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you to the Secretary General for his briefing, and thank you to President Zelenskyy and Minister Sybiha. The United Kingdom commends you for your leadership and your determination.

Thank you too for welcoming me to Kyiv two weeks ago, where I saw first-hand the impact of Russia’s brutal war and I met families whose lives had been uprooted, their homes destroyed, their children’s education torn apart.

But as Putin cynically stalls on peace, I also saw a nation resolute in its fight, and I saw the strength and the courage of the Ukrainian people, the soldiers, civilians, the mothers and fathers, first responders, health care workers, who are standing up to defend their homes and their land.

Russia’s illegal and unprovoked war of aggression is not just a test of Ukrainian resilience and security, it is an assault on the United Nations Charter and its most foundational principles: respect for sovereignty and for territorial integrity, principles on which we all depend every day and feel acutely whenever they are threatened. And it is an assault on the UN Charter by a member of this Security Council.

President Zelenskyy has made clear that he wants peace and wants this war to end, that he and Ukraine have supported a full unconditional ceasefire and reaffirmed his readiness to meet President Putin.

Alongside European partners, the US and President Trump are working to support a peace process, but Putin continues to choose war. He has rejected calls for a meaningful ceasefire. He has refused even to meet President Zelenskyy in a neutral venue.

And Putin’s strategy includes the forced deportation, indoctrination, and militarisation of children. It includes the intensifying of targets against civilians, strikes on Ukrainian cities and critical infrastructure on families as they sleep in their beds at night.

Civilian casualties have risen nearly 40% with children killed in playgrounds, diplomatic premises and government buildings damaged, hospitals and schools destroyed. And these are not accidents of war. They are the result of a cruel strategy targeting the people and communities of Ukraine.

But anyone who knows Ukrainians knows that this will never succeed because their determination to hold on to their freedom to protect their families, their nation far exceeds Russia’s ability to take those things away.

And indeed, what we have seen is Ukraine repeatedly, repeatedly, undermine Russia’s military goals, so that despite the huge Russian mobilisation attempts in the last three years, their overall impact on their military goals has been minimal.

In this war that they started, their losses are now 20 times higher than were Soviet losses in Afghanistan.

In this war that they are continuing to pursue, they’re struggling to recruit, and in some areas, their stocks are so low they have resorted to using military equipment from the 1950s.

What is this for? Because, as Ukraine stands firm against Russia, the United Kingdom stands firm with Ukraine. We know that Ukraine’s security is our security, and all of us depend on upholding the UN Charter.

We know that Russia exports interference, disinformation and instability, well beyond Ukraine. From cyber-attacks in Moldova to the deployment of mercenaries in the Sahel, Russia’s actions seek to undermine democracies, fuel conflict and spread instability far beyond Europe’s borders.

And in recent weeks, we’ve seen provocative and reckless violations of NATO airspace in Estonia, Poland and Romania, against which NATO stands firm, and we will be ready to act.

So the UK will continue to stand with Ukraine, providing the support it needs to defend itself now and to rebuild in the future. Rebuilding as a strong, prosperous nation, free to make its own choices.

And so, I say to the representative of the Russian Federation, we will target your ailing economy, your oil and gas revenues that are paying for this war, the defence industry making your munitions and weapons, because we know for Russia, the price of war is piling up and the sanctions are tightening the screws.

Falling energy revenues are squeezing the state budget, and oil revenues are now at a five-year low, but we will go further. Be in no doubt.

And to our Ukrainian friends, I say you have the UK’s unwavering support now and for decades to come.

And to this Council, I simply offer a reminder that 80 years ago, our predecessors came together as United Nations to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war. That mission remains as noble today as it was in 1945.

Each generation is tested anew, and we must rise to this test for Ukraine and for us all. Thank you.

The speech made by Yvette Cooper, the Foreign Secretary, at the United Nations in New York, United States on 22 September 2025.

I am honoured to join you today as the United Kingdom’s new Foreign Secretary.

And to be here too, alongside the UK’s trailblazing Special Envoy for Women and Girls, Baroness Harriet Harman, who gave me one of my first jobs in politics more than 30 years ago, including research on women’s equality, not long before the Beijing Declaration was adopted.

I remember at that time just how significant it felt to see countries coming together, from across the globe, committed to advancing women’s equality and women’s rights.

So it is particularly special to be here three decades on to discuss an issue that has been so close to my heart since, and to be clear that this will be a priority for me now, in this role. 

Supporting women across the globe, on leadership, on representation, on access to education and economic opportunity. 

An agenda set by women, and supported by male allies, who are vital partners for progress. 

But I particularly want to draw attention to the topic of Violence Against Women and Girls.

Because we know that safety and security are the bedrock on which all opportunities in our lives are built. Women’s safety is an essential foundation for women’s equality.

And while individual nations and UN agencies have helped to achieve great strides forward, with FGM and forced marriage less prevalent than they were three decades ago.

The facts should still shame us all.

Across the globe, 1 in 3 women will be beaten or sexually assaulted in their lifetime. 

140 women and girls are killed every day by a partner or close relative. 

And rape and sexual violence continue to be used as a weapon of war. 

My Government has described violence against women and girls in the UK as a national emergency, and we have set out an unprecedented mission to halve it in a decade.

But the truth is that this is an international emergency too.

So today I make two calls for action.

First, that we step up our efforts to eliminate violence against women and girls, because everyone has the right to live in freedom from fear. 

Including challenging new forms of abuse and collaborating against devastating sexual abuse of children online.

And second, we must ensure that the multilateral system remains a powerful force for the rights and equality of women and girls everywhere because we know that by doing so, we also strengthen our families, our communities, our economies and our nations too.