Ukraine: call for protection of civilians - OCHA briefing at the Security Council | United Nations

For her part, senior OCHA official Joyce Msuya said that as the war continues, millions of lives are impacted daily, essential services are disrupted and humanitarian needs deepened. She highlighted, “Attacks on healthcare services and health facilities are crippling access to maternal care,” highlighting that pregnant women are now giving birth amid blackouts, medicine shortages and under attack, with a 12 per cent rise in birth complications reported by health workers. “For many expectant mothers, basic, life-saving care is simply no longer available,” Msuya said. The Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator emphasized once again, “Under international humanitarian law, civilians and civilian objects must be protected.” “This means that indiscriminate attacks are strictly prohibited. It also means that parties must take all feasible precautions to avoid civilian harm, whether they are launching attacks or defending against them,” Msuya stressed. The Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator also noted that underfunding is forcing critical programmes to scale down, even as the operational environment becomes more complex and dangerous. “Additional resources are needed now to save lives and sustain assistance,” she concluded. For his part, US Acting Alternate Representative John Kelley said, “Right now, Russia has a great opportunity to achieve adorable peace,” adding that “the burden for ending the war rests with Russia and with Ukraine.” He said, “It is up to the leaders of both these countries to decide whether peace is possible. If both sides are ready to end the war, the United States will fully support their path to a lasting peace.” The US Representative highlighted, “The benefits for Ukraine and Russia accepting the US proposal are immense. Their economies can begin to grow, their cities to rebuild, and their peoples to heal.” Conversely, Kelley said, “the risks that accompany more war are immeasurable. The harm would disproportionately fall on ordinary Ukrainians and Russian families, who overwhelmingly desire peace.” The US Representative urged both Ukraine and Russia to “accept peace, “we ask our fellow council members and all UN member states to support the path to peace,” he said. Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia criticized that today's meeting was “requested by a number of the most stubborn European sponsors of the Kyiv regime.” “This is a reflection of their fear of being sidelined in the context of the new US administration as it seeks to arrive at a long-term solution to the Ukrainian crisis. Hence the desire to thwart this process and to restore for Ukraine Zelensky's image of a victim, which has been tarnished in recent months, in the light of the new facts that have surfaced,” the Russian Ambassador added. Ambassador Nebenzia also said that the Russian and US dialog is ongoing, “there will be discussions of a number of nuances for the future contours of the peace plan from the very start of the conflict,” he said. “We announced that we preferred diplomatic methods for the attainment of the goals of our special military operation. And this is why Russia remains focused on achieving a sustained, long-term solution that would eradicate the root causes of the conflict and to prevent that from occurring,” the Russian Ambassador emphasized. For her part, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Betsa Mariana reiterated, “Russia cannot be allowed to cherry pick the political convenient dates to announce a short lived ceasefire simply for PR purposes, or gain additional tactical advantages.” She said, “Ukraine is ready to support a just, comprehensive and lasting peace. And this is what we are constantly proposing for at least 30 days. And we reconfirm this proposal.” Foreign Minister Mariana stressed her country’s position on peace negotiations is “clear and consistent.” She said, “Ukraine wants peace like no one else. However, we cannot accept peace at any cost. We cannot accept peace at any price. Any future arrangement has to respect Ukraine's redlines.”


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