Category: Press Releases

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 27 October 2022.

Ambassador Bush marks eight months since Russia’s illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, which has caused immense suffering, destruction and loss.

Thank you Mr Chair. The start of this week marked eight months of Russia’s illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. Eight months of suffering, destruction and loss, at the hands of Russian Forces and President Putin. Eight months of Russia’s failure to subjugate the Ukrainian people and their democracy. Eight months of Russian government lies and disinformation.

Just this weekend, the Russian government baselessly tried to claim that Ukraine was planning actions to escalate the conflict in Ukraine through the use of a dirty bomb. There is no reason to suggest that Ukraine would use such a device in its own territory, against its own people and Russia has provided no evidence to support its claims.

As Ukraine has reconfirmed in the last few days, it has no nuclear weapons, no dirty bombs and no plans to acquire any. The IAEA has unambiguously stated they have no proliferation concerns and as reiterated today, Ukraine has offered to open its sites for further inspection.

Russia has a history of making false claims to provide a pretext or cover for its own actions. Russia has demonstrated its disregard for global nuclear security through its illegal takeover of the Ukrainian nuclear power plant at Zaporizhzhia, and Russia is the only State which has repeatedly raised the prospect of nuclear weapons use during the course of its illegal invasion.

The Russian government is hoping to distract and de-sensitise the world from what is really happening on the ground in Ukraine – the continued killing and injuring of Ukrainian civilians and the targeting of critical national infrastructure by the Russian military. An adviser to Ukraine’s energy minister has reported that as much as 40% of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure has been seriously damaged, with approximately 1.5 million households left without electricity following more strikes on Saturday.

This is a concerted campaign by Russia to deplete Ukraine’s energy generating capabilities ahead of winter. Families are being forced to cook their evening meals on the side of the street, using open fires; hospitals are dependent on back-up generators, jeopadizing patient safety; parents worry how they will keep their children warm at night; police have even reported that many air raid sirens don’t have the electricity to warn of other potential airstrikes. The devastating impacts are being felt across all areas of civilian life – from education; to sanitation; to communications, through to the meeting of fundamental human needs such as warmth, food and clean water.

The Russian government and the Russian military are knowingly and systematically plunging millions into cold and darkness, weaponising energy in an attempt to crush the courage and strength of the Ukrainian people. Attacks disproportionately killing civilians, and destroying objects indispensable to the survival of civilians, are prohibited under international humanitarian law and may constitute war crimes. It is barbaric.

In Kherson, the Russian government is attempting to forcibly remove and resettle Ukrainian citizens. Mr Chair – this is not an evacuation; it is deportation. Preparing for the oncoming Ukrainian counter-attack, we have heard credible reports of the looting of an entire city by Russian forces – including emergency service vehicles and medical equipment being taken to Crimea. Russian officials and senior military officers, installed to oversee the sham referenda and attempted illegal annexation are now fleeing, leaving newly mobilised and inexperienced Russian servicepersons to their fate.

President Putin is resorting to more cruel, brutal, deadly methods. But as we have seen time and time again in these past eight months, the resilience and strength of the Ukrainian people in the face of such adversity is truly admirable. They are not alone in this struggle. The UK, with our partners, will continue to support Ukraine militarily, financially, with humanitarian assistance and through sanctions, to ensure they can protect their people, defend their country and restore territorial integrity and sovereignty to the whole of Ukraine.

As we approach winter, the unity of the international community, the outrage at Russia’s continued disdain for human life and the standing up for international rules, laws and principles must not and will not fade away. Ukraine is not only defending its right to exist as a sovereign and democratic country; Ukraine is defending the right of all peoples of all States to live in freedom, without fear of aggression from authoritarian regimes. We have so much gratitude. We stand by you now and for as long as it takes.

The press release issued by 26 October 2022.

Statement by Ambassador James Kariuki at the Security Council meeting on Ukraine.

Thank you Mr President and I thank the USG for Legal Affairs for his briefing.

This meeting represents another attempt by Russia to distract from its crimes in Ukraine and Iran and Russia’s failure to abide by their international obligations.

Russia and Iran have been caught red-handed violating resolution 2231.

Russia is now concocting an argument about process because they cannot defend their actions. We have seen them do this many times before. It is sad that this is now standard procedure for them.

Based on the evidence provided by Ukraine and significant amounts of open source reporting, our view is clear: Iran has supplied UAVs to Russia with which Russia is targeting Ukrainian civilians and civilian infrastructure and these UAVs fall under the list in Annex B paragraph 4 of UNSCR 2231.

Given no prior approval was sought or granted by the Security Council, these transfers represent violations of resolution 2231.

Unlike Russia, we are happy for our position to be verified. We have therefore expressed support for an impartial, expert investigation by the UN Secretariat, in line with its mandate under resolution 2231, so the facts can be clearly established.

As Council members are aware and as others have made clear already today, the UN 2231 Secretariat has conducted many such investigations, most recently in UAE and Saudi Arabia. So this is entirely in line with precedent and normal practice.

Russia’s claim we are trying to unduly influence the Secretariat is both absurd and hypocritical. It is Russia, in trying to sustain its disinformation which first attacked the Secretary-General and now the whole Secretariat, just for doing their jobs.

And it is Russia that has threatened to end all cooperation with the UN if the Secretariat does not do as Russia wants.

That is not the behaviour of a country with nothing to hide. It is the behaviour of a bully.

Colleagues, what is Russia trying to do here today?

Russia is trying to make the UN’s ability to monitor implementation of a key non-proliferation resolution subject to a new lock in the Security Council in which Russia itself has a veto.

Russia is again trying to abuse its seat on the Council to shield itself from international scrutiny.

Further open source reporting suggests that Iran intends to transfer yet more UAVs and, potentially, ballistic missiles to Russia. Any such transfers of items could constitute further violations of resolution 2231 and represent a significant escalation.

In using Iranian drones to attack civilians, as part of its invasion of Ukraine, Russia is violating the UN Charter, a Security Council resolution and may be committing war crimes. That is quite the hat-trick. These increasingly desperate attempts to distract us from these facts and undermine the system must be rejected.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 26 October 2022.

Statement by Ambassador James Kariuki at the Security Council session on the Great Lakes.

Thank you President, and I thank Special Envoy Xia for his briefing today, and welcome the participation of countries of the region in this meeting.

President, the United Kingdom remains deeply concerned by the security situation in the Great Lakes region, in particular the resurgence of violence by M23 in the last week. We call for immediate cessation of violence and the withdrawal of M23 from their current positions. All parties must respect national sovereignty and uphold the principle of territorial integrity.

We call upon countries in the region, with the support of the Special Envoy, to continue to work in close coordination with the Government of the DRC and MONUSCO to bring lasting peace to the country.

President, we have said many times that political and diplomatic efforts should have primacy over a military solution. Humanitarian considerations should also have equal priority. Military action alone will not bring peace to the Great Lakes. So we encourage the resumption of the Nairobi and Luanda processes. The UN, including through the offices of the Special Envoy, should actively support these efforts and ensure coordination with existing efforts, such as the DRC’s P-DDRCS process.

President, any military action in Eastern DRC requires careful planning, coordination with MONUSCO, adherence with international law and a clear exit plan. The EAC Force and DRC Armed Forces must substantively engage with MONUSCO on de-confliction of forces, to ensure, primarily, the protection of civilians. We trust Special Envoy Xia will support this coordination.

The United Kingdom remains concerned about the humanitarian situation in the Great Lakes region. The DRC is suffering from the world’s largest food security emergency, with 26 million people in crisis levels of food insecurity. Recent violence is adding to the 5.9 million people already displaced in the DRC. Access to those that need relief is severely limited. Coordination between military and humanitarian operations is vital and we call on all parties to facilitate humanitarian access.

In conclusion, President, we call upon countries in the region to intensify efforts to improve their regional cooperation, address shared security challenges via political and diplomatic means, improve humanitarian access, and bring an end to the violence. Thank you.