More than 50 UN member states urge Russia to accept full ceasefire in Ukraine

A joint statement, read by Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, was presented ahead of the UN Security Council meeting on Monday, according to Ukrinform's correspondent from New York. The statement commemorated Ukraine's 35th year of independence, following its declaration from the Soviet Union in 1991. However, the statement emphasized that today also marks four and a half years since Russia's unlawful full-scale military invasion of Ukraine, violating the UN Charter and international law.

The statement highlighted the invasion's challenge to the rules-based international order and its impact on regional and global peace and security.

Signatories expressed concern over the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives, both military personnel and civilians, due to Russian aggression. Civilian casualties surged in recent months, with at least 437 Ukrainian civilians killed or injured in a single month alone. The statement underscored the war's repercussions beyond Ukraine's borders, including violations of European airspace and drone incidents in European nations.

It condemned Russian attacks on Ukrainian shipping and port infrastructure in the Black Sea, which pose serious implications for global food security.

The countries urged Russia to accept the unconditional ceasefire demanded by Ukraine and the international community for over a year and a half. They called for Russia to engage in talks for a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in Ukraine, in line with international law and the UN Charter. All EU member states, as well as various European countries, Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, Georgia, Honduras, Iceland, Japan, New Zealand, Panama, and South Korea, supported the statement.

European members of the UN Security Council also condemned Russia's occupation of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, calling for the withdrawal of Russian forces from Georgian territory.