LONDON, 11 March 2022, (TON): UK Minister Lord Ahmad calls out President Putin’s unprovoked, premeditated and illegal invasion of Ukraine and speaks about the war’s humanitarian impact.

Thank you Mr Chairman. Your Excellencies, I am grateful for the opportunity to speak on behalf of the United Kingdom today.

And in doing so talk about Russia’s flagrant disregard for their commitments to the OSCE and its principles.

The unprovoked, premeditated and illegal invasion of Ukraine is, simply put, a disgrace.

In particular, I would like to focus on the people affected by President Putin’s war. His war of choice.

Mr Chairman, we have been following, all of us, with growing horror, the news from Mariupol. The airstrike by Russia on a maternity hospital was abhorrent. It was reckless.

It was appalling. It underscores the terrible toll this war is exacting on Ukrainian families. While Russia’s representatives spout fiction about threats from Ukraine, it is UNICEF that has reported that at least 37 children have been killed 50 injured.