The session of the UN General Assembly was opened “under rocket explosions and the cries of wounded Ukrainians”: Kislytsia
The Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the UN, Serhii Kyslytsia, emphasized that the 79th session of the UN General Assembly began to the sounds of ballistic missile explosions and the suffering of wounded civilians. He called on the international community to increase pressure on Russia and Iran over Tehran’s supply of missile systems. He stated this at the meeting of the UN Security Council on September 10.
Kyslytsia emphasized that the Ukrainian delegation appealed to the Security Council to hold an urgent meeting due to another wave of missile terror from Russia, directed against the civilian population and critical infrastructure of Ukraine. He noted that such an escalation requires an immediate response to prevent an even greater humanitarian catastrophe.
“It is telling that we are holding a meeting in this hall at the same time as participating in the opening of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly, which is currently underway. This will be the fourth session during the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and it is not opening with the fanfare that usually accompany the beginning of the new annual cycle of the UN General Assembly, and to the explosions of ballistic missiles and the cries of wounded civilians of Ukraine”, – said Kislytsia.
According to the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission, at least 184 civilians were killed in August 2024, and another 856 were injured. This is the second highest civilian death toll this year, second only to July. Kyslytsia noted that these data confirm Russia’s intention to maintain a high level of threat to civilians, considering them as targets.
In addition, he said that the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine is investigating at least 28 cases of extrajudicial executions committed by the Russian military against 73 Ukrainian prisoners of war. Since November 2023, the number of Ukrainian servicemen captured and executed has increased significantly, mainly in the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions.
Kyslytsia stressed that UN member states must remember these atrocities every time Russia tries to twist the history of the joint victory over Nazism in the Second World War, using it to justify its current crimes. He also appealed to the Security Council to consider the facts of executions, ill-treatment and torture of Ukrainian prisoners of war by the Russian military.
Separately, Kyslytsia emphasized the need for Ukraine to be able to destroy Russian means of destruction and destruction even before they reach Ukrainian cities, and called on the international community to contribute to providing such opportunities.
