PC.DEL/941/26 2 October 2026
ENGLISH only
STATEMENT ON THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION’S ONGOING AGGRESSION AGAINST UKRAINE As delivered by Ambassador Ellen Svendsen at the 1579th Permanent Council, Vienna, 1 October 2026
Thank you, Chair. For yet another week, we have witnessed appalling and relentless Russian attacks on civilian infrastructure, civilians and children in Ukraine. The Russian war of aggression continues to have devastating consequences for civilians, including children. The protection of civilians is a fundamental obligation under international humanitarian law. An obligation Russia blatantly disregards. Mr Chair, Russia’s war of aggression denies too many Ukrainian children a future. But it cannot extinguish the determination of generations of young Ukrainians to reclaim a free and prosperous Ukraine. Where Russia seeks to eradicate Ukrainian identity, it grows back tenfold. Where Russia illegally deports Ukrainian children, we redouble our international efforts to bring them back. As we did earlier this week, at the Pathways to Peace Conference in Toronto, which Norway co-hosted with Canada and Ukraine. Where Russia shatters homes across Ukraine, vibrant communities rise from the ashes. Because no number of bombs can destroy a nation’s identity. Mr Chair, It is not up to the OSCE to end this illegal war; it is Russia that can end it, yet it chooses not to. But we can, and we do, hold Russia to account for its repeated violations of the commitments it has agreed to. And we can, individually, and through the OSCE support programme, continue to support Ukraine’s rehabilitation and reconstruction, facilitate the return of deported Ukrainian children, [support veterans and their families], and contribute to the restoration of critical infrastructure. We continue to call on Russia for the immediate release of our three unlawfully detained OSCE colleagues Vadym Golda, Maxim Petrov, and Dmytro Shabanov.
Thank you.
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