Maintenance of peace and security of Ukraine - Security Council, 9867th meeting

Noting Ukraine’s people have endured three years of relentless death, destruction, displacement, senior official tells Security Council ‘It is high time for peace’.

• Categories: Meetings & Events / Security Council
• Video Length: 02:01:55
• Production Date: 24 February 2025
• Asset Language: Arabic; English; French; Russian; Spanish; Chinese; Original
• Personal Subject: ROSEMARY A. DICARLO; DOROTHY SHEA; VASSILY A. NEBENZIA; MARIANA BETSA
• Corporate Name: SECURITY COUNCIL; DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL AND PEACEBUILDING AFFAIRS - DPPA
• Subject Topical: PEACEBUILDING; DISPLACED PERSONS; CONFLICT; AGGRESSION; SOVEREIGNTY; TORTURE AND OTHER CRUEL TREATMENT; CIVILIANS
• Geographic Subject: UKRAINE; RUSSIAN FEDERATION
• MAMS Id: 3342998
• Parent Id: 3340843, 3342850

Description

“It is high time for peace in Ukraine,” a senior United Nations official told the Security Council today, as Member States echoed that call and outlined contrasting visions of ending the three-year conflict. 

“For three long years, the people of Ukraine have endured relentless death, destruction and displacement,” said Rosemary DiCarlo, Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, adding that the resolution the Council adopted earlier on 24 February urges a swift end to the conflict. The Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR) has verified that, since 24 February 2022, at least 12,654 Ukrainian civilians — including 673 children — have been killed and 29,392 — including 1,865 children — have been injured. 

The war has created the largest displacement crisis in Europe since the Second World War, she observed, adding that over 10 million Ukrainians remain uprooted — 3.6 million displaced within Ukraine and 6.9 million seeking refuge abroad. Furthermore, the massive destruction of civilian infrastructure impacts millions. For three consecutive winters, repeated strikes on the energy grid have left communities without power, heating or other essential services. At least 790 attacks have damaged or destroyed medical facilities, putting the lives of countless patients at risk. In 2024 alone, attacks on medical facilities tripled compared to 2023. The education system has also been decimated, preventing 600,000 children from attending in-person classes. 

Over the past three years, the conflict has expanded into parts of the Russian Federation, she said, pointing to reports of increased civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure in the Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk regions due to alleged Ukrainian attacks. The war’s impact is also felt globally, destabilizing economies, disrupting food security and threatening international peace. The further internationalization of the conflict is deeply alarming, particularly with the reported deployment of troops from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea into the conflict zone. Moreover, she cautioned that the risk of a nuclear incident remains “unacceptably high”. 

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S/PV.9867