European Council President António Costa told the UN Security Council that Russia’s war in Ukraine is killing thousands of people each month and has led to the destruction of homes, schools, hospitals, and energy and water infrastructure.
Speaking during a debate chaired by France, Costa said the human cost of the war had become “even more devastating” since he last addressed the Security Council a year ago, according to his remarks released by the Council on Wednesday night.
He said Ukraine exported enough food before the war to feed 400 million people each year worldwide, and claimed Russian strikes on the port of Odesa had triggered a food security crisis and contributed to global inflation, with particularly severe consequences across Africa.
Costa also emphasised that Russia had repeatedly threatened the security of European Union member states over the past 12 months, calling it a “dangerous escalation.”
Call for diplomacy and a ceasefire
It was “time for this war to end” and the only way forward was diplomacy and an “immediate ceasefire”, Costa said.
He declared peace efforts had not produced a breakthrough so far, but that attempts to end the war should continue, adding that the European Union supported efforts to stop the conflict.
Any peace would need to respect Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and its right to “choose its own future”, and must be consistent with the UN Charter — the founding treaty of the United Nations setting out principles such as state sovereignty and the prohibition on the use of force — he said.
Costa called on the international community to use its influence on Russia so that, by the time the Security Council meets again next year, there is “a just and lasting peace” in Ukraine and Europe.
