♪ >> [speaking russian]

>> the provisional agenda for this meeting is d did february 28, 2014 from the perez amendment -- the permanent representative of ukraine to the resident of the security council. the agenda is adopted. in accordance with rule 37 of the council provisional rules of procedure i invite the representatives of germany and ukraine to participate in this meeting. it is so decided. in accordance, i also welcome to this meeting the united nations secretary-general antonio could there's -- the united nations secretary-general. in accordance with rule 39 of the council provisional rules of procedure i invite rosemary and

the secretary-general to participate in the meeting. the security council will begin its consideration of item two of the agenda. i wish to warmly welcome the secretary-general and give him the floor. >> thank you very much, mr. president. mr. president, excellencies, i want to reaffirm what i expressed this morning in the meeting at the general assembly. of course it wouldn't make any sense to bother you reading again the same text that i'm sure you are all aware of. in between meetings today, a number of events took place and with your permission, mr. president, i would like to ask

ms. rosemary dicarlo to brief you on the events. simultaneously, today was full of rumors and indications that an offensive against ukraine was imminent. in the recent past, there were several situations with similar dedications, similar rumors. and i never believed in them, convinced that nothing serious would happen. i was wrong. and i would like not to be wrong again today. so if indeed and operation is being prepared, i have one thing

to say from the bottom of my heart. president putin, stop your troops from attacking ukraine. give peace a chance. too many people have already died. thank you, mr. president. >> i think the secretary-general for his introductory remarks. i know give the floor to ms. rosemary dicarlo. >> thank you, mr. president. earlier today, the so-called authorities of the the next -- donetsk military assistance from the russian federation. today the ukrainian authorities declared a nationwide state of emergency and announced other related defense and security measures, including the mobilization of reservists.

throughout the day, we have seen disturbing reports of continued heavy shelling across the contact line and civilian and military casualties. there are also reports of the repeated targeting of civilian infrastructure. this evening, different media are carrying reports of an ongoing, large-scale military buildup and military columns moving towards ukraine. the russian federation has also reportedly had air space with civilian aircraft near the border of ukraine. the united nations can't verify any of these reports, but these developments were confirmed, they would aggravate an already dangerous situation. the ukrainian authorities are also reporting a new large-scale cyberattack targeting several state and financial

institutions. mr. president, president zelensky this evening called for continued diplomacy. separately, president putin also spoke about his continued readiness to engage in dialogue. we encourage such efforts, even at this late hour. u.n. staff remain on the ground to provide humanitarian assistance to the people of ukraine. we are committed to staying and delivering. all parties must ensure their safety and security. respect for international humanitarian law and international human rights law is also paramount. we cannot predict exactly what will happen in the coming hours and days in ukraine. what is clear is the unacceptably high cost in human suffering and destruction of an

escalation. the people of ukraine want peace . and i'm certain the people of russia want peace. we must do everything in our power to ensure that peace prevails. thank you, mr. president. >> i think ms. dicarlo and i give the floor to those council members who wish to make statements. i give the floor first to the representative of albania. >> thank you, mr. president. dear colleagues, this is the first time the council is meeting on ukraine in a matter of weeks. every time we need, reality on the ground confirms it by bit what some of us have been anticipating. russia has been saying one thing and doing its contrary. we were told troops would shrink but they have increased.

remember, they are invading a neighbor unprovoked. this -- everything unfolding confirms test and to the world -- to assent to the world that this has nothing to do with russia's security. that this issue is a confrontation between russia and the west. this is a confrontation between russia and the u.n. charter it has deliberately chosen to ignore. a confrontation between a hegemonistic vision and the rules-based world order. the -- dear colleagues, it is not about russia's concern, it is about russia's appetite. the ukrainians are facing another aggression because they dare to exist, because they have chosen to be independent,

because they have opted for democracy. dear colleagues, this is a dark out, not only for ukraine but for the entire international community as we witness the progression of a pure act of aggression, carefully planned and cold-bloodily executed. we call for a backdown of the russian federation from this sensitive, destructive and self-destructive action. we repeat the same call for russia to stop and reflect, to reverse its illegal decisions, to withdraw and de-escalate, not to push to its precipice. mechanisms are in place and proposals have been made including by president zelensky, whose calls remain unanswered. hope dies lost. for it to work it must be seized

. as the secretary-general just called for. we call on fellow members of the security council to rally support of ukraine's sovereignty and integrity. russia has been warned repeatedly that they will be alone in this foolishness, that they will be responsible for the innocent lives lost, including russians maybe, and for the destruction in the heart of europe in the 21st century. if they choose to continue to execute their plans as everything indicates, they will bear not only the consequences of the war, but also the historic laymen shame of invading a neighboring country when its responsibility as a big country, as a permanent member of the security council, is to help preserve peace and security , not to torpedo it. we support sovereignty and integrity. in concluding, i welcome the

president -- the permanent represent to have -- representative of ukraine. i would like to convey that at this critical moment in their history, they are not alone and we stand firm in solidarity with them for their right to be free and choose who they want to be. thank you. >> i think the representative of albania for his statement. i give the floor to the representative of the united states. >> thank you, mr. president. thank you secretary-general. thank you for your strong stance and your powerful remarks today at the general assembly, and for your remarks tonight. colleagues, a few moments ago i spoke to president biden, who asked me to convey in the strongest possible terms his and our steadfast support for ukraine, and support for the

urgent meeting this council has convened tonight. furthermore, he asked me to share that the united states and our allies and partners will continue to respond to russia's actions with unity, with clarity, and with conviction. we are here tonight because we believe, along with ukraine, that a full-scale further invasion into ukraine by russia is imminent. tonight, we are seeing the russians close airspace, move troops into areas, and move forces into combat ready positions. this is a perilous moment, and we are here for one reason and one reason only. ask russia to stop, return to your borders, send your troops and your tanks and airplanes

back to their barracks and hangers. send your diplomats to the negotiating table. back away from the brink before it is too late. last week, the united states informed this council and the world about what we expected to see unfold. we said that russia would manufacture a pretext for an attack. we have since seen numerous false flag events, staged along the lines of contact. we said russia would theatrically convene emergency meetings at the highest levels of the russian government. we all saw this on monday with the state televised security council meeting held by president putin and an orchestrated moment in which the rawson -- russian government decided to recognize, i quote, independent states, unquote,

sovereign territory of ukraine controlled by russia's proxies since 2014. they literally violated ukraine's territory and integrity on live territory -- live television before the world. false proclamations would come, declaring russia would need to defend russian speakers in ukraine. we got that and much more from president putin's speech on monday. during the speech, the russian ambassador in the general assembly today. no one could have predicted how dangerous, inciting and far reaching president putin's speech would be. with putin arguing to take the world back in time to an era of empires and colonies. we said the attack would come next. that we could expect communications to be jammed,

cyber attacks to shut down key ukrainian institutions. last week we attributed to russia denial of service attacks against ukrainian banks, and we saw similar activity this morning targeting government sites as well. and in the last few hours, we have received very concerning reports of destructive malware placed on hundreds of computers and executed on at least some. after that, we said, would come the bombs and missiles, the soldiers and the tanks. already, soldiers have been deployed to the occupied region of ukraine. ladies and gentlemen, we are here tonight because we believe the rest is imminent. now, over the past few weeks, russia has called our predictions hysterical. russia said we were lying.

russia said we were supplying the world with misinformation. russia diplomats even laughed in the face of the human suffering we were sounding the alarm about. but what we said would happen, has come to pass for all the world to see. so let us be clear. all parties are not culpable here. there is no middle ground. calling for both sides to de-escalate only gives russia a pass. russia is the aggressor russia's attack on ukraine is tantamount to an attack on the u.n. and every member state in the chamber tonight. the security council is charged with adjudicating threats to peace and security.