Overview
- Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen told the Security Council that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine breaches every principle of the 1975 Helsinki Final Act and constitutes the largest and longest war in Europe since World War II.
- Valtonen and several Council members pressed for documenting abuses and pursuing accountability, citing OSCE Moscow Mechanism findings on grave human rights and humanitarian law violations.
- Officials highlighted plans to modernize and reinforce the OSCE’s operations, including the new Helsinki+50 Fund and closer UN–OSCE cooperation under Chapter VIII of the UN Charter.
- The United Kingdom reaffirmed support for the OSCE and noted recent sanctions on the GRU and named individuals following the Dawn Sturgess Inquiry into state-sponsored hostile acts in Europe.
- Russia rejected the OSCE’s framing at the Council, accusing the Chair of focusing the agenda on Ukraine, while other speakers also underscored the organization’s ongoing regional fieldwork beyond Ukraine.