LONDON, 01 April 2022, (TON): UK Ambassador Neil Bush pays tribute to Ukrainian civil society organisations for their work in shining a light on Russian atrocities so Russia can be held accountable for its actions.

Thank you Mr Chair. This week at the Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting, we heard harrowing stories from Ukrainian civil society organisations about the human impact that President Putin’s premeditated and unjustified war on Ukraine has created.

Our colleagues from civil society described how they took shelter in basements during the Russian shelling that has rained down on villages, towns and cities across Ukraine.

Every day the human cost of Russia’s indiscriminate attacks on civilian areas continues to grow. Tragically, according to the UN over 100 children have already been killed.

I am grateful also to Governor Kim for joining us today and sharing the appalling impact of Russia’s invasion on his region, including the recent attack on the regional administrative building.

I offer the UK’s condolences to all the victims and their families.