Ambassador Neil Holland says that Russia’s attacks on Odesa’s cathedral, city centre, and grain facilities are inexcusable and must cease.
Thank you, Mr Chair. At last week’s Permanent Council, I spoke of the depressing predictability of attacks on Ukraine’s grain infrastructure almost the moment Russia had withdrawn from the Black Sea Grain Initiative (BSGI). Since then, the Russian Federation has added an appalling list of civilian, cultural and religious sites to the list targeted by days of sustained missile attacks in Odesa. On Sunday, Russia struck Odesa’s Transfiguration Cathedral, as well as the surrounding UNESCO-listed town centre. This is in violation of the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict. The cathedral offered its congregation a place to worship, pray, and come together. By attacking it, Russia has attacked the heart of a civilian community. This is an act of cultural and religious vandalism.
Russia’s attacks on Odesa are part of its systematic efforts to deliberately prevent Ukrainian grain exports and threaten the world’s food supply. The people of Odesa are killed, wounded, and traumatised by Russian aggression. Grain and shipping facilities are destroyed. Exports cannot leave port. The world’s most vulnerable are directly harmed by Russia’s illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. By unilaterally forcing the collapse of the BSGI and then attacking grain infrastructure, Russia has used food as a weapon. It is knowingly preventing grain reaching those in Africa and Asia who need it most.
There are reports that Russia is now offering to supply grain to vulnerable countries in Africa. We should be under no illusion that this is somehow a generous or humanitarian gesture by Russia. If that were the case, Russia would not be ruining Ukraine’s ability to export grain. Grain which accounts for much of the World Food Programme’s global wheat supply, and which is sent to countries around the world who are in great need of it, particularly in Africa. By withdrawing from the BSGI, up to 24 million tonnes of grain and other foodstuffs from Ukraine’s upcoming harvest may now not reach global markets. If Russia was truly serious about global food security, it would withdraw its forces from Ukraine and end its illegal war.
Mr Chair, history teaches us that these inhumane attacks on Odesa will not succeed in breaking the spirit of the Ukrainian people. In 1936, the Transfiguration Cathedral was destroyed on Stalin’s orders. But it was rebuilt by Ukraine and stood again. Despite the damage and terror caused by Russia’s latest missile strikes, the people of Odesa are already uniting in the recovery effort. A neighbouring congregation has helped to clear the wreckage inside the cathedral. Others cleared the shattered glass from the grass and flowers around the cathedral. This selfless bravery and unity have characterised how the Ukrainian people have stood firm in the face of Russia’s destruction. Ukraine will win this war, and we will stand by it for as long as it takes. Thank you.
