Statement by Chargé d'Affaires a.i. Dmitry Polyanskiy at a UNSC Arria-Formula Meeting on The Armed Forces' of Ukraine Military Debacle in the Kursk Region: Preliminary Assessment
Opening remarks
Dear colleagues,
Our Arria-formula meeting is dedicated to marking the first anniversary of the Armed Forces of Ukraine's ill-fated and reckless military venture in the Kursk region. This discussion continues our ongoing examination of related issues, previously addressed in our Arria-formula meetings: “Crimes of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the Nationalist Battalions” in August 2024, and “Systematic Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed by the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the Territory of the Russian Federation” in October 2024. You can access video recordings of those sessions through the QR codes displayed on the screen and provided on your tables. I encourage you to view them.
On the night of August 6, 2024, the Zelensky regime launched a reckless incursion into Russia’s Kursk region, which borders Ukraine. This ill-conceived action immediately undermined all claims by the Kiev authorities of a sincere commitment to peacefully resolving the Ukrainian crisis, rendering such assertions irrelevant. It was a clear signal of Zelensky’s preference for escalation and armed confrontation. Many military observers at the time predicted that this impulsive move - undertaken by a leader whose mandate had long ago since expired - would be deeply regretted by him and his associates. In the months that followed, the unfolding events confirmed the accuracy of these forecasts.
After achieving only modest territorial gains - far short of their original ambitions and secured at a staggering human cost - Ukrainian forces began steadily losing ground and manpower on the battlefield. By late April 2025, Zelensky's ill-fated strategic blunder had run its course: Russian troops repelled the incursion, driving nationalist formations from Russian territory and restoring control over the border. Ultimately, the Ukrainian military leadership failed to accomplish any of their objectives. Their hopes of leveraging captured territories, including the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant, as bargaining chips in future peace negotiations were dashed. The loss of their most experienced and highly trained reserves was severe, and a significant portion of Western-supplied military equipment was squandered. Moreover, their attempt to divert Russian army reserves from Donbass only enabled the Russian Armed Forces to make remarkable advances on the eastern and southern fronts, seizing several crucial, heavily fortified positions that the Ukrainian army had painstakingly prepared as key strongholds since 2014. The overall territorial loss was comparable in scale of that of a small European state.
The gravest setback was not merely the loss of territory; for Zelensky, the most devastating blow was the world bearing witness to Ukrainians acting as reckless aggressors, perpetrators of looting, raping and assault, and flagrant violations of international humanitarian law. Even the staunchest supporters of the Kiev regime could no longer ignore these undeniable realities.
Ordinarily, we do not highlight Western media coverage, but today I strongly encourage you to read the article by Nanna Heitman published in The New York Times on July 14, entitled "A Landscape of Death: What’s Left Where Ukraine Invaded Russia." This report from the Kursk region subjected the journalist to harsh criticism from Ukrainian officials, with Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry accusing her of aiding “Russian propaganda” in deceiving the public. In truth, her only offensive was to document the Ukrainian incursion into Kursk and bear witness to the devastation inflicted on local communities. Even though her publication was a modest and impartial attempt to shed light on just the tip of the iceberg, it struck a nerve with Zelensky. He is accustomed to the Western “bubble of lies,” where the Kiev regime is portrayed favorably - or not mentioned at all.
It is impossible to obscure the truth, which is why we have convened this meeting today. Our focus is the humanitarian dimension of the Kursk incursion - specifically, the widespread violations of international humanitarian law committed by the Armed Forces of Ukraine against the civilian population in Russia’s border regions.
Displayed on the screen are the appalling repercussions of the Ukrainian assault. The victims are residents of small rural villages, devoid of military installations or strategic infrastructure. As previously demonstrated and as we will continue to illustrate today, Ukrainian forces were not targeting military objects; their aim was to inflict maximum suffering on civilians and to flaunt Russia's perceived vulnerability. They likely anticipated that such widespread atrocities and the portrayal of lawlessness and impunity would destabilize Russia, inciting a revolt against the authorities. However, the nation responded with unified outrage and supported all measures taken to repel the abhorrent Ukrainian attack. According to the Russian Ministry of Health, at least 1,241 civilians have been injured, with 36 children sustaining injuries of varying severity. The deaths of 331 individuals have been confirmed.
The ruthless invasion of the Kursk region by the Kiev regime inflicted immense suffering on civilians. In villages like Russkoe Porechnoe in the Sudzhansky district, no residents survived the occupation. The Armed Forces of Ukraine decimated nearly all men in the Kursk village of Nikolayevo-Daryino, with only one managing a miraculous escape. The militants callously used civilians as human shields, subjecting them to degradation, beatings, and heinous acts of sexual violence against women. The Ukrainian neo-Nazis extensively mined the area, further endangering survivors. They indiscriminately planted explosives throughout the region, concealing them in everyday items like kettles, clocks, chocolate bars, and even plush toys to lure and harm children.
In the forthcoming video, you will hear the harrowing testimonies of those who survived the horrors in various Kursk region villages. I implore you to listen attentively to these poignant confessions, observing the faces of the elderly and women. As you watch, remember the outrageous statement made by top EU diplomat Kaja Kallas during the Munich Security Conference in February, when she callously asserted that "Russian children and women are not dying."
As you heard, at the conclusion of the video, the woman recounts how the Ukrainian neo-Banderites prevented the residents of Kazachya Loknya from burying their executed family members and neighbors. The bodies were callously left in the streets to decay until news of Western journalists visiting the village prompted their hasty removal. It is evident that the Kiev regime has a story of shamelessly exploiting deceased individuals for propaganda purposes, exemplified by the notorious Bucha hoax where bodies were strategically placed for the foreign press to create the false narrative.
During our Security Council briefings, we highlighted the Kiev regime's deceitful practice of kidnapping civilians under the guise of evacuation. This footage, captured by the Ukrainian nationalists themselves, vividly illustrates the true nature of these so-called "evacuations."
As depicted in the video, individuals were forcibly taken from their homes, loaded onto trucks, beaten, and essentially held hostage. We have managed to secure the release of 132 traumatized individuals thus far, but approximately 30 victims remain captive, held as hostages by the Kiev regime. These individuals' condition and whereabouts remain unknown.
Colleagues,
Later today, during a separate meeting of the Security Council, we will delve into another crisis involving individuals being held hostage. While I refrain from drawing direct comparisons between these situations, both share the commonality of innocent people being used as leverage to achieve certain objectives. I question whether our Western colleagues will address the plight of the Russian hostages in Ukraine and advocate for their release, or if there are limits to their humanity when it concerns the lives of Russian citizens.
Russian law enforcement agencies are diligently investigating all crimes committed in the Kursk region by the Ukrainian Armed Forces' militants and foreign mercenaries. Those responsible will be identified and held criminally accountable. To date, 611 criminal cases have been initiated based on incidents of death, injury, and property damage. Over 180 cases have been brought before the courts, with more than 80 already processed. Verdicts have been reached for 162 individuals.
To underscore the gravity of these efforts, I invite you to view a brief video featuring Ukrainian militants openly confessing to their crimes without displaying remorse. This not only illustrates the severity of their actions but also highlights the imperative of accountability. Justice must prevail, not only to honor the victims but also to convey a resolute message that such atrocities will not go unpunished.
I would like to draw your attention to the fact that all materials presented today by the briefers and our mission are available via the QR code that you now see on the screen.
Closing remarks
This whole meeting was about the true colors of the Kiev regime that we ourselves knew since 2014, as Maxim Grigoriev rightfully stated. And it is very misleading to equalize civilian casualties who perished as a result of the debris of drones and missiles hit by Ukrainian air defense or by stray air defense missiles themselves, with civilians deliberately targeted, hunted and prosecuted by nationalist formations accompanied with looting, rape and executions at gunpoint. As we repeatedly stated, our strikes are targeting exclusively military infrastructure, and if the Kiev regime stops placing its air defense in civilian areas in breach of international humanitarian law, there will be no civilian casualties after our strikes. And the way we treat the civilian population in Ukraine is clear from the accounts that are abundant on social media where local residents thank our troops and share humiliation that they faced from ultra-nationalist battalions.
Colleagues,
Some of you made allusion to the fact that were it not for the decision of Russia to start the special military operation, there would not be civilian casualties on Russian soil. If you sincerely think so, then you totally miss the point. As we all know, even wars have laws, and they were blatantly violated during the Kursk incursion by the Ukrainian nationalists. And today you saw absolutely blatant examples of this and the accounts of those who faced this cruel treatment from Ukrainian forces.
Another important point: you are knowingly or unintentionally committing a big mistake. As Maxim also pointed out, 24 February 2022 was preceded by a long history of harassment, prosecutions and torture of Russian speakers in Ukraine since the unconstitutional nationalist coup d’état of 2014. There are tens of thousands of accounts similar to what we heard today from the three residents of the Kursk region. It is enough to recall the attack of nationalists at the Odessa House of Trade Unions in May 2014, where dozens of people were burnt alive by a nationalist crowd only because they were Russians and wanted to keep their identity in the new Ukraine. The common denominator for what happened in 2014 in the east and south of Ukraine and in 2024 in Kursk is hatred to anything Russian. And this is one of the key root causes of the Ukrainian crisis that has to be addressed by any peace efforts that are being deployed.
We cannot tolerate when our neighboring country proclaims crusade against everything Russian and is ready to kill everyone, including women, children and elderly to achieve this aim. Neither would any of your countries if it were put against such a choice by a coup in your neighboring country. So, make no mistake here. And if you sincerely want to contribute to the establishment of a long-lasting and sustainable peace in Ukraine, do not play the game of the ostrich and face this problem which needs to be tackled.
Thank you.
