A just and lasting peace requires continued pressure on Russia: UK statement to the OSCE
Ambassador Holland condemned Russia’s continued attacks on Ukraine’s civilian and energy infrastructure. He called for sustained support for Ukraine and increased economic pressure on Russia to secure serious negotiations and a just and lasting peace.
Thank you, Mr Chair.
The United Kingdom wants this war to end. But ending the fighting in a way that merely postpones the next crisis is not enough. The only route to long-term stability and prosperity is a just and lasting peace. Anything less risks storing up greater insecurity for all of us.
Ukraine has demonstrated that it wants peace. It agreed to a full, immediate and unconditional ceasefire when the US proposed one back in 2025. And when President Trump proposed a reciprocal ceasefire on attacks against energy infrastructure this weekend, President Zelenskyy again responded constructively, confirming Ukraine was ready to implement it. Russia has not.
Instead, Russia has continued striking Ukrainian energy infrastructure. Ukraine reported further attacks on its energy facilities on 12 and 13 October, after the US announcement. This follows months in which Russia has intensified attacks on the infrastructure that sustains civilian life, while Russian officials have publicly threatened systematic strikes against Ukraine’s energy system.
The human consequences are appalling. On 8 October, a Russian glide bomb struck two buses, killing 33 civilians. Two days earlier, a missile levelled a residential building in Pryluky, Chernihiv region, killing 22 people, including five children. In total Russian air attacks killed over 150 Ukrainian civilians last week alone, likely marking one of the deadliest weeks since 2022.
There should be no false equivalence here. Ukraine is defending itself against an illegal invasion. Its operations seek to degrade the military and economic infrastructure enabling that invasion. Yet Ukraine has shown that it is prepared to exercise reciprocal restraint in the interests of peace.
We have not seen the same good faith from Moscow. It continues to attack Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and has said that Ukraine deserves no respite. That behaviour and attitude are consistent with a long-established pattern of ignoring commitments it has made or taking advantage of ambiguity.
So our task is to change Moscow’s calculation. Engaging seriously in negotiations must become more attractive to the Kremlin than continuing its aggression. And that means giving Ukraine the means to defend itself. And it means reducing Russia’s ability to finance and sustain its war. The United Kingdom will therefore continue supporting Ukraine and increasing economic pressure on Russia. My Prime Minister reiterated at the weekend that the UK would strengthen sanctions and take further action to constrain Russia’s war machine.
Mr Chair, our words in this Council give voice to our actions. We support Ukraine. We constrain Russia’s war machine. And here, in the OSCE, we explain why: because sovereignty, territorial integrity, the inviolability of frontiers and the peaceful settlement of disputes are the foundations of the European security order we all agreed in the Helsinki Final Act.
Our actions, and our statements, defend those principles. A just and lasting peace means restoring them.
Thank you, Mr Chair.