Ukraine: High-Level Briefing
Tomorrow afternoon (24 February), the Security Council is scheduled to hold a high-level briefing on Ukraine. The meeting was requested by Ukraine, with support from the Council’s European members (Denmark, France, Greece, Latvia, and the UK), to mark the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion of the country on 24 February 2022. The UK’s Minister of State for Europe, North America and Overseas Territories, Stephen Doughty, is expected to chair the meeting, at which Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo will brief. Ukraine and several regional countries are expected to participate under rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure. Several Council members and other member states participating in tomorrow’s briefing had indicated their intention to attend at the ministerial level. However, these arrangements may be subject to change owing to weather conditions in New York. Ukraine is expected to be represented by its Deputy Foreign Minister, Mariana Betsa.
Ukraine will deliver a statement at the press stakeout prior to the meeting and has invited a regionally diverse range of member states to join. The statement is expected to underscore that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine constitutes a clear violation of the UN Charter, reaffirm solidarity with Ukraine, welcome ongoing diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the conflict, and express a commitment to achieving a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in accordance with the Charter.
DiCarlo, several Council members, and other member states are expected to use the occasion of the anniversary to reflect on the human cost of four years of hostilities in Ukraine. According to the most recent protection of civilians (PoC) report by the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU), which was issued on 13 February, a total of 56,550 civilian casualties were documented by the UN, including at least 15,172 deaths, while noting that actual figures are likely to be considerably higher. Among them, at least 766 children have been killed and 2,450 injured. The HRMMU further reported a marked increase in civilian harm in 2025 compared with previous years. At least 2,526 civilians were killed and 12,162 injured in 2025 alone. The report attributes a significant proportion of casualties to the use of long-range weapons, while indicating that short-range drone strikes contributed to sharp increases in harm in frontline areas.
Many speakers are also likely to express concern regarding the devastating impact of Russia’s aerial campaign on the civilian population. The PoC report notes that, in January, Russian armed forces conducted near-daily attacks that affected Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, including five large-scale attacks during which multiple regions were targeted simultaneously. According to the report, these attacks damaged key components of the energy system, including power-generation facilities, substations connecting nuclear power plants to the electricity grid, main high-voltage substations, and other electricity generation, transmission, and distribution facilities, as well as high-voltage transmission lines. Energy infrastructure in at least 17 regions of Ukraine and in the capital Kyiv, was reported to have been damaged or destroyed. The report indicates that these attacks resulted in prolonged and severe electricity outages across the country. In many areas, electricity was reportedly available for only a few hours per day, and at times not at all, affecting access to heating and running water.
Russia, for its part, is likely to contend at tomorrow’s meeting that its strikes are directed at military objectives and related infrastructure, while noting that its territory is also being targeted by Ukrainian aerial assaults. Ukraine has increased its long-range assaults in recent months, targeting oil depots and Russia’s power grid, among other targets. Today (23 February), Ukrainian long-range drones reportedly struck the Kaleykino oil pumping station in Russia’s Republic of Tatarstan, a facility that serves as a key node feeding crude into the Druzhba oil pipeline, which transports Russian oil towards eastern and central Europe.
DiCarlo may situate the conflict within the framework of the UN Charter and reiterate the UN’s longstanding positions regarding the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by force and the imperative of bringing the conflict to an end. In remarks delivered to the Human Rights Council (HRC) on 23 February, UN Secretary-General António Guterres highlighted the scale of civilian deaths and underscored the urgency of ending the war. Consistent with this statement and other previous statements, DiCarlo is also likely to encourage meaningful diplomacy and reiterate the Secretary-General’s call for an immediate ceasefire and for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.
The use of the diplomatic track is expected to feature prominently at tomorrow’s meeting, although statements are likely to reflect differing perspectives. In recent months, several rounds of trilateral talks have taken place between Russia and Ukraine, mediated by the US. Two rounds of discussions were held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), on 23–24 January and 4–5 February. According to media reports, the parties addressed territorial issues, management of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, as well as broader parameters for ending the war. While no breakthrough was announced, the parties agreed to the exchange of 314 prisoners of war (PoWs).
A third round of trilateral talks took place in Geneva, Switzerland, on 17–18 February, during which the sides reportedly discussed technical modalities for monitoring a potential ceasefire. Following the meeting, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reportedly stated that the parties had agreed on a role for the US in overseeing a possible ceasefire, indicating that it would assume primary responsibility for monitoring. Further details regarding the modalities of such an arrangement have not been made public. Notwithstanding reported progress on certain technical and procedural matters, core political issues, including questions related to territorial control and security guarantees, remain unresolved.
Tomorrow, speakers are expected to convey differing perspectives on the primary obstacles to peace in Ukraine. Several European countries, including those that requested the meeting, are likely to welcome recent diplomatic efforts led by the US and argue that Russia has not demonstrated a genuine commitment to peace, citing its continued strikes on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine. These members may underscore that such attacks signal a lack of good faith in the negotiation process. In this context, they may call on Russia to agree to an immediate, unconditional, and comprehensive ceasefire. They are also expected to reiterate that any political settlement should respect Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and include appropriate security guarantees.
Other members, including China and Pakistan, are likely to adopt a less critical stance towards Russia, emphasising the importance of dialogue, diplomacy, and restraint. Some may voice concern about the protracted nature of the conflict and the risk of further regional spillover, while stressing the need to maintain channels for negotiation and humanitarian arrangements.
Russia may contend that the primary impediment to a political settlement is the financial, military, and political support provided to Ukraine by its European allies. At a 12 February press briefing, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova stated that the European Union (EU) “is preventing Kiev from making compromises by promising to supply it with everything it may need to continue fighting”.
The US is likely to urge both sides to pursue peace seriously, highlighting its mediation efforts and calling for prioritisation of de-escalation. It may also stress the need to implement the provisions of Security Council resolution 2774, adopted a year ago at its initiative, which called for a swift end to the conflict in Ukraine.
The Security Council is not expected to consider a resolution in connection with this year’s meeting marking the anniversary of the invasion. However, Ukraine has requested the resumption of the 11th Emergency Special Session (ESS) of the General Assembly to take action on a draft resolution titled “Support for lasting peace in Ukraine”. The draft resolution, among other provisions, reaffirms the General Assembly’s commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence, unity, and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders. It expresses concern over continued attacks affecting civilians and critical energy infrastructure and welcomes diplomatic efforts by the US, European countries, and other member states aimed at ending the conflict. The text also calls for an immediate, full, and unconditional ceasefire, reiterates support for a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in accordance with international law, and includes measures to promote confidence-building, such as the exchange of PoWs, the release of unlawfully detained persons, and the safe return of internees and civilians who have been forcibly transferred or deported, including children.
