Published on: 2026-09-01
Source: United Nations – United Nations –
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September 1, 2026 Peace and Security
The UN General Assembly held its regular session on Tuesday under the agenda item “Situation in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.” The President of the General Assembly, Annalena Baerbock, reminded that four and a half years have passed since the full-scale invasion by the Russian Federation, and 12 years since the “illegal annexation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol.”
Baerbock noted that the number of victims continues to rise: in the first half of 2026, the scale of deaths and injuries among the civilian population of Ukraine was 114 percent higher than in the same period of 2024.
“These statistics often conceal the true meaning of what is happening, and behind every number there is a human life,” declared the President of the General Assembly.
Baerbock also noted reports of civilian casualties on Russian territory.
The President of the General Assembly once again called for an immediate and complete ceasefire and for the withdrawal of Russian armed forces from the territory of Ukraine.
“Ukraine does not plan to surrender”
Speaking at the same meeting, Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Maryana Betsa stated that on September 1, the first day of the school year in the country, eight people died as a result of a massive strike involving unmanned aerial vehicles, four of them in the Kyiv region. Among the deceased, according to her, was an Indian citizen. Betsa recalled the statement made the day before by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the need to end the war and once again called on the international community to increase pressure on Russia to achieve a complete and sustainable ceasefire.
“Ukraine does not plan to surrender, we do not plan to capitulate,” the deputy minister stated.
According to her, a million Ukrainians “are still under Russian occupation” in the Crimean Peninsula and Sevastopol, as well as in the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, and other regions.
The Deputy Minister also reminded about the resolution adopted by the General Assembly last year on the return of Ukrainian children. According to her, 1.6 million Ukrainian children live in the occupied territories, and over 20,000 children have been taken to Russia.
“Russia’s goals are not only control over territories, but also their transformation, as well as the destruction of Ukrainian identity, language, and culture,” Betza stated.
She called on states and international organizations not to recognize the voting results conducted by Russia in the occupied territories.
“Ukraine wants peace more than anyone else. A peace that will be just and ensure the country’s territorial integrity within internationally recognized borders,” emphasized the representative of Ukraine.
Russia will continue to pursue the set goals
In turn, the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, stated that “the General Assembly has been forced for the eighth consecutive session to discuss the situation in the so-called temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine,” calling it a politicized issue and a tool of the “anti-Russian campaign.”
“The question of the status of Crimea and Sevastopol, the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions is closed for us and not subject to discussion. Their residents have made their conscious choice and tied their future to Russia,” he said.
He described the referendums held in these territories as the exercise of peoples’ right to self-determination, referring to the UN Charter and several international treaties.
Nebenzya stated that Crimea and other territories under Russian control are undergoing large-scale restoration and development. He also accused the UN Secretariat of failing to respond to the actions of the Ukrainian side while simultaneously making accusations against Russia.
“Only in one week, from August 17 to 23, as a result of attacks by the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, the Republic of Crimea, and Sevastopol, at least 30 civilians were killed, and almost 200 more were injured and wounded, including children,” he noted.
“In conclusion, we would like to emphasize that without acknowledging the realities on the ground, there will be no peaceful resolution of the conflict in Ukraine. As long as Kyiv continues to cling to illusions, rejects the choice of millions of people, and refuses to address the root causes of the crisis, Russia will consistently pursue the objectives of the special military operation by military means,” the Russian diplomat concluded.
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