United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the war in Ukraine remains an “open wound” in the heart of Europe, calling on Russia to abide by the UN Charter.
“Two years later – and a decade since Russia’s attempted illegal annexation of the Ukrainian Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol – the war in Ukraine remains an open wound in the heart of Europe,” Guterres stressed at the UN Security Council session.
He added that it is high time for peace based on the UN Charter, international law and General Assembly resolutions.
“In every war, everyone dies. But the people of Ukraine suffer terribly because of the war that Russia gave them,” said Guterres, recalling that more than 10,000 Ukrainian civilians were killed.
He added that the damage and destruction of hospitals, schools, health facilities and civil infrastructure is “frequent and intensifying”.
“The UN has documented widespread and disturbing brutality. The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine has reported torture of civilians and prisoners and more than two hundred cases of sexual violence, mostly by Russian Federation forces,” Guterres said.
The head of the UN emphasized that “all perpetrators must be held accountable.”
Many Ukrainians are experiencing the “living nightmare of losing their children,” Guterres said, adding that nearly four million Ukrainians are internally displaced, while more than 14.5 million people in the country need humanitarian assistance.
“The war is also harming the people of Russia. Thousands of young Russians are dying on the front lines. Civilians affected by strikes on Russian cities are also suffering. The danger of escalation and spread of the conflict is very real,” Guterres underlined.
The UN Secretary General emphasized that the war deepens geopolitical divisions, inflames regional instability, reducing the space available for solving other pressing global issues.
“The UN will also continue to advocate for the freedom and safety of navigation in the Black Sea, so that much-needed Ukrainian and Russian food and fertilizers reach the world market,” Guterres concluded.
