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Alarmed by Civilian Deaths from Rocket Attacks in Ukraine, Under-Secretary-General, in Security Council Briefing, Calls for Rebels to Reinstate Ceasefire Agreement

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Alarmed by Civilian Deaths from Rocket Attacks in Ukraine, Under-Secretary-General, in Security Council Briefing, Calls for Rebels to Reinstate Ceasefire Agreement 26 January 2015 SC/11753 Alarmed by Civilian Deaths from Rocket Attacks in Ukraine, Under-Secretary-General, in Security Council Briefing, Calls for Rebels to Reinstate Ceasefire Agreement 7368th Meeting (PM) Security Council Meetings Coverage Expressing alarm over the high civilian death toll in Ukraine of recent days, along with the shelling of the city of Mariupol, the top United Nations political affairs official called on the rebels to “recommit to the ceasefire and back down from their offensive” in an emergency Security Council meeting this afternoon. “In just five days since we last met on 21 January, close to 50 civilians have been killed and nearly 150 have been seriously injured,” Jeffrey Feltman, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, said at a meeting requested by Ukraine, less than a week after a full Council briefing on the situation (see Press Release SC/11746). He reiterated that the Minsk ceasefire must be immediately restored, “with the onus particularly on the rebels”. At the same time, he expressed hope that the negotiating mechanism known as the Trilateral Contact Group, consisting of the European Union, the United States, Ukraine and the Russian Federation, could soon renew efforts to implement the broader Minsk accords. Noting that the rebel announcement of withdrawal from the ceasefire on 23 January was accompanied by threats to seize further territory and a boycott of future “consultations” with negotiating mechanisms, he said that it was a violation of their commitments under the Minsk accords signed in September, under which the nominal truce had been declared. He called on them to abide by their commitments. He also urged the leadership of the Russian Federation to use its influence to call on the rebels to cease hostilities immediately. “This will be a critical step in stopping the bloodshed,” he said. While affirming that the Ukrainian leadership had been vocal about their commitment to the Minsk agreements, he, however, appealed for their maximum restraint in light of recently announced emergency measures. Among the worst recent violence, he reported, was the death of dozens of civilians this past Saturday, 24 January, when a “barrage of attacks with multi-launch rocket systems hit the city of Mariupol”. The Special Monitoring Mission of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) determined that the rockets, based on crater analysis, had originated from rebel-controlled territory. As Mariupol lay outside the immediate conflict zone, the conclusion could be drawn that civilians were knowingly targeted. “This would constitute a violation of international law,” he maintained. It was more important now than ever to guarantee humanitarian workers unhindered access in the east in light of the declared state of emergency and the surging violence, he said, adding that bureaucratic hurdles must be eased and humanitarian operations must be free from Ukrainian taxation. All sides must commit to the protection of civilians. Calling for full political re-commitment to a peaceful and lasting solution to the conflict at the highest levels, he pledged the United Nations readiness to support the consolidation of a sustainable and lasting peace as may be required. “Over 5,000 lives have already been lost in this conflict. We must find a way to stop it and we must do so now,” he said. Following that briefing, Council members again expressed heightened alarm over the surging violence in eastern Ukraine, concurring with Mr. Feltman that the implementation of the Minsk agreements was the only way to achieve peace and calling upon the parties to implement them in full. Many stressed the need to hold accountable those responsible for targeting civilians. As in earlier meetings on the situation, the representatives of Lithuania, United Kingdom, United States, New Zealand and others made strongly-worded statements stating a case for rebel responsibility for recent fatalities and the overall violence, and accusing the Russian Federation of supporting those armed groups with troops and heavy weaponry despite the latter’s denials. The representative of the United Kingdom called on all Council members to clearly and directly appeal to the Russian Federation to cease support to the rebels and to influence them to negotiate. “We need to see Russian action to put an end to this widening and increasingly deadly conflict,” he said. The representative of the Russian Federation, in an equally emphatic statement, expressed sympathy with all the civilians who were suffering in eastern Ukraine, but blamed most of it on shelling by the Ukraine armed forces in their efforts to retake populated areas, citing tragedies throughout this month. He called for objective investigations into the attacks, claiming that fact had fallen victim to propaganda. Force alone could not solve a conflict, he said, emphasizing that Kyiv authorities should sit down around the table with the self-defence formations to start an inclusive, direct dialogue. It was, he stressed, the only way to end the tragedies. He called for those with influence on Ukraine to convince them to do so and to “stop egging on the Ukrainian hawks”. Ukraine’s representative said that the civilized world was still waiting for the explanation of why Russian soldiers were massed on his country’s soil. In addition, evidence was building to prove that the Russian-backed separatists had launched the tragic shelling of Mariupol, for which his country was in mourning, he said, adding that all civilian deaths would be ended if the Russians stopped their support for the rebels. He expressed hope that the Russian Federation, after the growing tragedies, would abide by its international responsibilities. “We stand for peace, but we will fight for our homeland as true patriots,” he said. Also speaking today were the representatives of France, Spain, Jordan, China, Chad, Nigeria, Venezuela, Malaysia, Angola and Chile. The representatives of the Russian Federation and Ukraine took the floor for further statements. The meeting began at 1:40 p.m. and ended at 3:15 p.m. Statements RAIMONDA MURMOKAITĖ (Lithuania) stated that as long as the Russian Federation continued on its current course of arming illegal fighters, sending troops and spreading “hate- mongering” propaganda, peace in Ukraine had no chance. The international community must not give in to those obfuscations, she said, asking how illegal militants could, among other things, amass armoured combat vehicles, each costing at least $4 million, and claim to have an air fleet. The Minsk agreements must be implemented by all parties, including the Russian Federation. “The onus is on Russia to put an end to this senseless war,” she stressed, including by ending support to illegal armed groups, accepting international monitoring of the border and reaffirming its respect for Ukraine’s sovereignty. VITALY CHURKIN (Russian Federation) said his delegation was seriously concerned about the current situation, including indiscriminate shelling resulting in hundreds of casualties and destruction in cities in Ukraine. Listing a number of incidents of intense shelling, he said that the media had only focused on two events, including the attack in Mariupol, which had taken place in areas controlled by Kyiv. He called for investigations of all incidents to ensure accurate accounts. Unfortunately, Council discussions had seen the United States and United Kingdom insisting on a statement against the leader of the self-defence formations, while no condemnation of the leaders of Ukraine had been made, he pointed out, citing several recent examples of statements by the Government of Ukraine that were provocative to his Government. Western colleagues, during the whole of the conflict, had accused the self-defence formations of crimes without addressing the Ukrainian Government, which, among other things, had stopped payments to Donbas and had blocked humanitarian aid to the area. The situation could have been different if the Minsk agreements had been followed, with heavy weaponry removed from the area and a return to dialogue. Force alone could not solve a conflict, he said, emphasizing that Kyiv authorities should sit down around the table with the self-defence formations to start an inclusive, direct dialogue. MARK LYALL GRANT (United Kingdom) said the Security Council had recently met over concerns on an escalation of the conflict, with the most recent being an attack on Mariupol that appeared to violate international humanitarian law. Reports had shown that the rockets were fired from separatist-held areas. The Russian Federation had transferred tanks, armoured vehicles and special forces to the separatists, in clear violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, and the arms flow had given the separatists the fire power to escalate the conflict. Since the September Minsk agreements, the separatists had taken an addition 550 km2. Last week, the self-proclaimed separatist leader, Alexander Zakharchenko, had announced the attack on Mariupol. Thus, the Security Council must now make very clear its stance in view of the position that the Russian Federation was taking. The Russian Federation must withdraw its troops, cease support for the separatists and ensure the immediate implementation of the Minsk Protocol. Noting the statement made by the representative of the Russian Federation that his country wanted an end to the conflict, he emphasized that actions, not words, were needed. SAMANTHA POWER (United States) said the Council had already pressed the Russian Federation and the separatists to reaffirm their commitment to the Minsk agreements. Unfortunately, those commitments had been flouted and the Council was once again today discussing the matter in view of fresh attacks over the weekend. Commenting on the Russian Federation representative’s statement made earlier, she said that the capability of launching those attacks had been enabled by Russian deliveries of weapons to the separatists. When the Council had tried to issue a statement on the matter, the Russian Federation had blocked it one day after that country had circulated the separatists’ announcement of new attacks.
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