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Statement to the media by António Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General, on the situation in Ukraine.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres said the “military offensive” by Russia on Ukraine is “wrong. It is against the Charter. It is unacceptable. But it is not irreversible.”

In a statement to reporters on Tuesday (24 Feb), Guterres said the Russian military operations inside the sovereign territory of Ukraine is on a “scale that Europe has not seen in decades.”
He reiterated that such unilateral measures conflict directly with the United Nations Charter, adding that use of force by one country against another is “the repudiation of the principles that every country has committed to uphold.”

The UN chief repeated his appeal to Russian President Vladmir Putin: “Stop the military operation. Bring the troops back to Russia.”

Guterres said, “We know the toll of war. With deaths rising, we are seeing images of fear, anguish and terror in every corner of Ukraine. People – everyday innocent people – always pay the highest price.”

He said the UN is scaling up its humanitarian operations in and around Ukraine and announced an immediate allocation of 20 million USD from the Central Emergency Response Fund to meet urgent needs.

The UN chief said, “We and our humanitarian partners are committed to staying and delivering, to support people in Ukraine in their time of need. United Nations staff are working on both sides of the contact line, always guided by the humanitarian principles of neutrality, impartiality, humanity and independence. We are providing lifesaving humanitarian relief to people in need, regardless of who or where they are. The protection of civilians must be priority number one.”

Guterres stressed that international humanitarian and human rights law must be upheld. He added, “The decisions of the coming days will shape our world and directly affect the lives of millions upon millions of people. In line with the Charter, it’s not too late to save this generation from the scourge of war. We need peace.”