Continued Military Assistance to Ukraine, Weapons, Ammunition Transfers to Russian Federation Risks Conflict’s Escalation, Senior Official Warns Security Council
Amid the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation, defensive military assistance to Kyiv has continued while weapons and ammunition have been reportedly transferred to the Russian Federation Armed Forces, a top United Nations disarmament official told the Security Council today, stressing that such actions risk escalating the conflict.
“The supply of weapons and ammunition into any armed conflict raises significant concerns about the potential escalation of violence,” said Izumi Nakamitsu, High Representative for Disarmament Affairs. Warning against risks of weaponry falling into wrong hands, she called for measures, comprehensive pre-transfer diversion risk assessments, end-user certificates and post-shipment verifications, among others.
She also urged all Member States to participate in the UN Register of Conventional Arms, which captures around 90 per cent of global arms flows and can help in tracking the influx of weapons in conflict zones while drawing attention to the established arms-control instruments — such as the Arms Trade Treaty. “The world cannot afford for this senseless war to continue,” she stressed, appealing to all Member States to “make every effort for peace”.
George Szamuely, a journalist, also briefed the Council, stressing that the ongoing war would not have happened if the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) had embraced the Kremlin’s draft proposals on 17 December 2021 outlining a new security architecture for Europe. “At the heart of Russia’s proposals was a commitment by NATO to no further expansion, and in particular to no NATO membership for Ukraine,” he said. “There was nothing at all unreasonable about these demands, nothing there that could not have been addressed with a little deft diplomacy.”
He went on to say that, following the illegal and violent overthrow of the elected Government in Kyiv on 22 February 2014, NATO supported the new rulers, providing weaponry and training to Ukraine’s armed forces. Moreover, since February 2022, NATO countries have continued pouring weaponry into Ukraine, including, among others, shoulder-fired man-portable air defence systems, anti-ship missiles, armoured personnel carriers, long-range cruise missiles and cluster munitions.
In the ensuing debate, many speakers called on the Kremlin to end its invasion. Some underscored the right of self-defence enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations while others called for a peaceful settlement of the conflict through diplomacy. Several delegations pointed to the futility of having repeated meetings on “the arms supply by the West”, requested by the Russian Federation.
On that, the United Kingdom’s representative said that Moscow is again misusing this Council to obfuscate its responsibility for atrocities in Ukraine, pin blame on the West and hide its own failures. “Let us call this meeting out for the farce that it is,” she declared.
Echoing that, the delegate of the United States added that this is the fifth meeting requested by Moscow on this topic in six months. “The Russian Federation should disabuse itself from the illusion that we will be distracted from the darker reality we face. We won’t be,” he said.
As well, Albania’s representative, Council President for September, stressed in her national capacity that, despite today’s topic, the core issue remains that the Russian Federation initiated an unprovoked, unjustified military aggression against Ukraine, also highlighting that the General Assembly, the International Court of Justice and other international bodies have condemned this aggression.
However, the Russian Federation’s representative pointed out that Ukraine has already received military and other assistance worth more than $100 billion from the United States and its allies. Leading experts are already warning that pumping up the Kyiv regime with new weapons — despite their logistics and equipment issues — makes no sense. Washington, D.C., has no desire to end this war. “Greed runs through the veins [of our American colleagues],” he said, pointing to corruption and volumes of support provided by the West, and spotlighting that Kyiv is basing its policy on Nazi ideology.
Refuting that stance, Ukraine’s speaker recalled the tragedy of Mariupol as an example of the fate the Russian Federation has for her country. As long as the Council remains immobilized, “let us and the responsible nations […] complete this task”, including by supplying necessary weapons and strengthening the defensive capabilities of the victim, she said. Expressing her country’s resolve to continue de-occupying its sovereign territory to save as many lives of Ukraine’s soldiers as possible, she insisted that, following its defeat in the war, the Russian Federation should be demilitarized and de-nuclearized to prevent the threat of repeated aggression.
Nonetheless, China’s representative underscored that “military confrontation is not the way out of Ukraine’s crisis”, stressing that dialogue and negotiations are the fundamental way to restore peace. Recalling the joint statement of the recently concluded Group of 20 Summit, he pointed to its unanimous message on Ukraine. “This is an outcome of a joint effort and compromise by all parties,” he added.
As well, Gabon’s delegate warned that increasing arms deliveries and new military alliances amplify the risk of violence escalation. Moreover, the massive rearmament of belligerents in Ukraine undermines disarmament efforts and the non-proliferation of weapons. Emphasizing that the most effective way to limit the circulation of weapons is to put an end to the war, he stressed: “It is an illusion by either side to strive for peace by banking on a military victory.”
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https://press.un.org/en/2023/sc15406.doc.htm
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