During the UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine on September 24th, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock condemned Vladimir Putin for using kidnapped teenage girls as pawns and called for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine. She emphasised the need for guarantees of the country’s continued existence as an independent state and security assurances for Ukraine and the entire region. Minister Baerbock also highlighted the issue of the human and infrastructural damages caused by the Kremlin.
“943 days ago, Russia launched its full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine. 943 days of suffering. 943 days during which women were raped in Bucha, 943 days of people being tortured in eastern Ukraine. 943 days of children being deported. And, as we have heard here today, there is no denying this,” she said.
She said that according to estimations, more than 20,000 children have been deported.
“The Russian Ambassador here didn’t even say it wasn’t true. He said it’s better for the children,” highlighted Baerbock.
Then, turning to the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation, she said: “And to the Russian Federation’s Ambassador, who always leaves after he has spoken here: you can fool yourself. The strongest man in your country can hide behind teenage girls who he kidnapped. But you cannot fool the world”.
And we won’t rest until these children come back to their families, she pointed out.
The German Minister mentioned that Vladimir Putin responded to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy‘s invitation to the negotiating table in the summer with increased aggression. In June, Baerbock added, Ukraine invited Russia to a second international peace conference. Putin responded by bombing a children’s hospital in Kyiv.
“And this is why we believe we have to send further air defence to Ukraine. To protect children’s hospitals,” she said.
Minister Baerbock expressed her gratitude for the increasing number of Germany’s global partners considering how to end the war. “We need this. We need an end to this war,” she emphasised.
The German Minister stated that peace must be just and lasting. She added that peace means Ukraine must be assured that the end of the fighting does not lead to further aggression from Russia. She also emphasised the importance of securing Moldova and Poland.
Minister Baerbock highlighted that a just and lasting peace requires guarantees for Ukraine’s existence as a free and independent country.
Germany cannot abandon Ukraine, the Minister said, “because my country’s pledge is that we will always stand up for the principles of the United Nations”.
