Amid the escalation of large-scale Russian attacks on Ukraine, Pakistan has called for an end to the conflict, now in its fourth year, through dialogue and a negotiated settlement.
“We note with deep dismay the continuation in fighting, resulting in the loss of innocent civilian lives, including children,” Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, permanent representative of Pakistan to the United Nations, said at an emergency meeting of the Security Council convened by Ukraine.
Russia hit Ukraine with deadly missiles and drone strikes early on Thursday in a sweeping attack that the U.S. special envoy on Ukraine said undermined President Donald Trump’s peace efforts.
At least 23 people were killed in the capital, Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, said in a statement.
Pakistan, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad said, had repeatedly voiced its concerns on the continuing hostilities and devastating consequences of this conflict, particularly its humanitarian toll.
He welcomed the recent diplomatic efforts spearheaded by U.S. President Donald Trump to bring an end to this conflict, noting the leadership-level contacts between the U.S. and Russia, as well as summit-level interactions between the US and Ukraine and a group of European leaders.
“We remain hopeful that the diplomatic groundwork laid down at the start of the year, including Security Council Resolution 2774, multiple rounds of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, and the recent high-level interactions, would lead to a meaningful outcome, an early end to hostilities and an enduring peace in the region,” the Pakistani envoy said.
“These efforts must not stop and should in fact be continued earnestly and followed up with more diplomacy, deeper engagement and structured and sustained talks,” he added.
“Only a sincere and meaningful dialogue which addresses the security concerns of all sides, which is anchored in the principles of the UN Charter and international law, and respects the relevant multilateral agreements, can help secure peace, which is both just and enduring”.
Briefing the 15-member Council, Miroslav Jenca, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas at the Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, said that Russia’s large-scale escalation of attacks against civilians persists, killing children, setting grim casualty records and jeopardizing fragile diplomatic momentum.
“Yesterday’s strikes are only the latest in the brutal escalation of country-wide aerial attacks,” he said.
Jenca highlighted the expanding scope of violence, saying these strikes targeted regions far from the front lines.
“In July, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) recorded rising civilian casualties across 18 regions of Ukraine,” he said, with July setting a record of 1,674 casualties — the highest since May 2022.
United States Envoy John Kelley said that the deadly missile and drone strikes on Ukraine “cast doubt on the seriousness of Russia’s desire for peace, warning that Washington could punish Moscow with economic measures if it continues the war.
“The United States calls on the Russian Federation to avoid these consequences by stopping the violence and engaging constructively to end the war,” he said.
“Russia must decide now to move toward peace. The leaders of Russia and Ukraine must agree to meet bilaterally,” the US envoy said.
The strikes on Kyiv “cast doubt on the seriousness of Russia’s desire for peace. These strikes on civilian areas must stop immediately,” Kelley said.
Diplomatic efforts to end Russia’s full-scale invasion have so far not made much headway, even after President Trump met separately with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders earlier this month.
“Russia continues to choose killing over ending the war,” Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko told the Security Council. “We should take this into account in our efforts aimed at a peaceful resolution and establishment of reliable security guarantees. These guarantees shall protect both Ukrainian sovereignty and the lives of the Ukrainian people, especially children.”
Russia’s Deputy U.N. Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy said Moscow was prepared to consider a summit with Ukraine “provided that there is thorough prior preparation for such a meeting and the substantive content of it, otherwise, it would simply not have any meaning.”
He said the United States was “more and more understanding of the need to address the root causes of the conflict, without which it won’t be possible to resolve it.”
The Russian envoy dismissed Western accusations as a “fairly primitive template” over its 28 August strikes, insisting its attacks targeted Ukraine’s “military-industrial complex”, including arms depots, airfields and UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) factories, not civilians.
Rather, civilian deaths resulted from Ukrainian air defences placed in residential areas, he said, accusing Kyiv of “shamelessly and criminally” using Ukrainians as “human shields”.
The tragedies are being “intentionally whipped up to blame the deaths of Ukrainian civilians on Russia” to secure more Western arms and sanctions, Polyanskiy said. Moscow also accused the West of hypocrisy, ignoring Ukrainian drone and missile attacks on Russian cities that killed and wounded scores of civilians in late August.