DEVASTATING IMPACT
Guterres laid out the human toll of the war: more than eight million Ukrainians have fled to other parts of Europe, and another 5.4 million are internally displaced, “a displacement crisis not seen in Europe in decades,” he said.
Half of Ukrainian children have been forced from their homes, and face higher risks of violence, abuse and exploitation, he added.
The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has already documented “dozens” of cases of sexual violence against men, women and girls that is tied to the war, he noted.
Thousands of health care facilities and schools have been damaged or shut, and vital infrastructure like water, energy and heating have been destroyed during a frigid winter.
“Nearly 10 million people, including 7.8 million children, are at risk of acute post-traumatic stress disorder,” Guterres said.
Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba was invited to address the council after Guterres spoke, accusing Russia of genocide and calling for the acceptance of Kyiv’s peace plan, which requires a full Russian withdrawal.
“The goal of the plan is to get Russia out of Ukraine and make the world a safer place,” he said.
In lieu of that, Kuleba warned, “Ukraine will resist as it has done so far.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin “is going to lose much sooner than he thinks.”
Kuleba called for minute of silence “in memory of the victims of the aggression.”
But Nebenzya momentarily delayed the tribute, insisting the remembrance “honor the memory of all the victims of what has happened in Ukraine,” stressing “all”.
The Security Council meeting was mainly symbolic. The UN’s most powerful body has met 40 times over the past year on the Ukraine war but has achieved little binding action due to permanent member Russia’s wielding of its veto power.
Source: CNA
