Deputy Ambassador Deirdre Brown condemned President Putin’s disastrous invasion and the devastation, death, and suffering that Putin has wrought.
The speech, as given, is presented below, but the original can be found here.
“Thank you, Mr Chair. Welcome Mr Lukashuk, you have our support and admiration. This Tuesday marked the 300th day of Russia’s unprovoked and illegal invasion of Ukraine, supported by the Belarusian regime. Over these past 300 days, President Putin’s so-called ‘Special Military Operation’ has yet to achieve even one of its perverse objectives. This, despite Putin believing his military could take Kyiv in three days, and despite his claims he had no intentions to invade his peaceful neighbour.
Putin’s failed invasion has been a disaster, resulting in the decimation of the Russian military and economy and the loss of tens of thousands of Russian lives. Its impact has also been felt around the world, with Russia’s actions threatening global food and energy security and generating economic instability in countries thousands of miles from Moscow. This, however, pales by comparison to the devastation, death, and suffering that Putin has wrought on the Ukrainian people and their sovereign country.
Since this Council last met, Russia has again resorted to its cowardly tactic of bombing Ukraine’s critical national infrastructure, targeting the basic needs essential for the survival of Ukraine’s population. Last Friday, critical infrastructure across Ukraine, including in the cities of Kyiv, Kharkiv, Kryvyi Rih and Zaporhizhzhia was targeted, once again leaving millions of Ukrainians without heat, electricity and running water in the dead of winter.
Last Friday, Maksym – a seven-year-old boy from Kryvyi Rih – was orphaned when his parents Lyudmila and Oleksandr, along with his 18-month-old brother, Timofey, were killed when a Russian missile directly hit their home. It is hard to argue that an apartment building, the home of two little boys, could be a legitimate military target for Russian missiles. Maksym will be facing this, and every future Christmas season, without his family, his life needlessly ripped apart by Russia’s horrific actions. His heart-breaking story is one of far too many across Ukraine.
Ukrainian children want nothing more than to live their lives in peace and freedom, with their families and friends around them, where they are not afraid of bombs falling from the sky, or forced to grow up in the shadow of a regime that seeks to destroy their very identity. According to UNICEF, Russia’s attacks on civilians and critical infrastructure have left almost every child in Ukraine at risk, facing a cold, dark winter with both their physical and long term mental health endangered.
Those in the temporarily Russia-controlled areas are suffering just as deeply, with the situation in these regions deteriorating daily. Lack of access to basic services, including safe water, and energy supply for heating, light and communication is endangering public health, already under strain from the lack of adequate healthcare. As local economies decline and unemployment rises, many in these areas continue to rely on humanitarian aid for survival – access to which is often hampered by the Russian authorities. Putin falsely claims that these areas are part of Russia – yet, its proxy administrations are not even able to provide basic services; on the contrary there are widespread reports of theft and looting by the Russian forces and those who claim to be in charge.
300 days since the invasion, there are no more lies Putin can hide behind to distract from his failures. The scale of reported atrocities and war crimes committed against the Ukrainian people is horrifying, and evidence continues to mount. The UK, and Ukraine’s partners, will not sit by and do nothing whilst more Ukrainian families suffer. This Monday, whilst meeting with some of Ukraine’s closest friends and allies, my Prime Minister pledged to match or exceed the £2.3bn in aid for Ukraine that we provided this year. He also committed to supply Ukraine with ammunition and equipment to continue its defence, reinforcing our steadfast support into 2023.
As we have stated many, many times – Putin has the ability to end this war. He must immediately cease attacks against civilians and civilian objects and withdraw his troops from Ukraine in adherence with the UN charter. But, until that happens, please know Mr Lukashuk, dear Viktoria, and colleagues here, that the UK and the international community will remain steadfast in our support – for however long it takes – to ensure that the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the independence of Ukraine is fully restored.”
I seriously cannot believe such people are so naive. Russia/Putin do not care about individual rights, the Russian mindset doesn’t work in the same way as the more liberal West – life is cheap and plentiful!
Ever since the Soviets, their method of war and fighting has been total. Which therefore includes not only the military but everything that supports it. The idea being to destroy, disrupt and sow chaos in the enemy’s ability to fight.
These tenants have been shown in the later conflicts Russia fought, from Chechnya, Georgia and then Syria. Unlike Western mentality there is no thought or even legislation for collateral damage. Russia refused to sign and ratify the banning of cluster munitions for example.
We in the West seem horrified by the attacks on civilian infrastructure. But this is all part of how Russia has always fought. Taking out hospitals is particularly heinous. But Russia has a long history of doing so. If you take out the hospitals and their staff, it means there will be less “combatants” fixed up and sent back to fight, brutal but simple.
Looking at Putin himself. He has been in power in one form or another for over 20 years. He has become accustomed to being in charge. Someone who has been in that position for so long won’t accept change easily, as it may influence their grip on power. But to stay in power, especially somewhere like Russia, strength must be seen. So he won’t quit easily, he will need to be pushed. But with such a mindset you have to make sure they don’t get pushed into a corner with no escape. Otherwise they will take desperate measures to lash out.
The speech was as much targeted at the other representatives there and via the media the rest of the civilised world as poo tin and his pack. All part of our effort to lead by example and stiffen our allies backbones. Poo tin needs to be aware that his information campaigns are as much a failure as his military.
You are right he will sacrifice hundreds of thousands of russian lives to achieve his aims and as the utter obliteration of Ukraine as a culture, people and political entity is his basic aim their suffering and death matter not a jot to him but his supporters are aware of the cost they face; a Nazi in their late 90’s was recently gaoled, they know if they are complicit in war crimes or crimes against humanity they will never be free, their nice life in the west is over and regimes change, they may become the sacrificial price of a future regimes reintegration with the rest of the world
While it is possible the russian human cost may yet bring down the regime, it did in Afghanistan, given the leaderships utter disregard for the lives of their own people, the number of dead is not the metric that will slow them down but the destruction of hard or impossible to replace equipment will, though they seem to have deep reserves of old kit it will take a while yet.