UN Security Council to convene on fourth anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine
Photo: UK says Russia is obstructing peace (Getty Images)
The UN Security Council will hold a meeting on February 24 ahead of the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The session will discuss the consequences of the war.
This was announced by the Security Council president and acting UK ambassador to the UN, James Kariuki, according to Ukrinform.
During a press briefing on the UK’s Security Council presidency, James Kariuki, the Security Council president and acting UK ambassador to the UN, stated that Ukraine would be one of the UK’s top priorities. He explained that the UK’s focus would be on three conflicts posing the most serious threats to international peace and security across three continents: Ukraine, Sudan, and Gaza.
Kariuki added that the UK supports Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump in their efforts to achieve a just peace for Ukraine, while noting that Russia continues to block the peace process. He emphasized that the UK, together with the US, European partners, and Ukraine, considers it important to pressure Russia to join peace efforts, and he characterized Ukraine as a party seeking peace, contrasting this with Russia, which he said continued to block progress and terrorize the Ukrainian population.
He also condemned Russian attacks on energy infrastructure in Kyiv and other cities, noting that such strikes leave Ukrainians without heat during winter, while President Vladimir Putin was delaying serious negotiations on peace. Kariuki further stated that the UK is committed to accelerating support for Ukraine and maximizing economic pressure on Russia to ensure Moscow comes to the negotiating table and cannot repeat its aggression, and that London would continue assisting peace efforts.
Kariuki announced that the UN Security Council would hold a meeting on February 24, coinciding with the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. He said that entering the fifth year of the war, the UK would reaffirm its commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and the importance of achieving a just and lasting peace.
He added that the UK would continue providing Ukraine with economic, financial, and military support necessary for self-defense and that a just peace acceptable to Ukrainians, along with robust security guarantees to prevent further Russian attacks on Ukraine or its neighbors, remained essential.
Peace talks
Regarding peace negotiations, Kariuki noted that the US, under President Trump, had been working for a year to end the war, but a resolution had not yet been reached. He recalled that in November 2025 the US had presented a new plan to end the conflict, which was refined over subsequent months, and that the first trilateral meeting between Ukraine, the US, and Russia had taken place in Abu Dhabi on January 23–24, 2026, with a second round expected on February 4–5.
Finally, he cited President Zelensky as saying that his team had agreed on the framework and specific objectives for the talks and that resolving territorial issues without a personal meeting with Putin would not be possible.
