Following are excerpts from a statement by President Petro Poroshenko of Ukraine at the United Nations General Assembly debate on agenda item 67, “The situation in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine,” on February 20. Source: Presidential Administration of Ukraine.
…Today marks the fifth anniversary of the start of the foreign military aggression against my country, Ukraine. …Five years ago 100 innocent lives, not only Ukrainians, but also Belarusians, Armenians, Jews and many others were lost in the name of Ukraine’s independence, dignity and freedom.
When after the loss of the Heavenly Hundred in Kyiv the U.N. General Assembly adopted the resolution on territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine with 100 votes in favor, it was not only symbolic – it was the right thing to do.
…the General Assembly, without any loss of time, adopted a resolution in March 2014 reiterating Ukraine’s sovereignty within internationally recognized borders. It was a timely reaction to Russia’s illegal attempts to redraw the borders in Europe with the illegal annexation of Crimea.
…now for a third year in a row – the General Assembly adopts the resolution on the human rights in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol. Unbelievable for many, but this resolution recognizes Russia, a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, as an occupying power.
… just a few months ago the General Assembly supported Ukraine’s request and adopted a resolution condemning the militarization of Crimea, the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.
I am grateful for maintaining such close attention of the Assembly to Ukraine and our region, where Russia is getting extremely aggressive – both on the land and on the sea. …
Today’s consideration by the U.N. General Assembly of a new agenda item ”Situation in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine” is a clear testimony of the Assembly’s readiness to address pressing issues.…
On this very day in 2014, Russia started its covert military invasion in Ukraine in clear violation of norms and principles of the U.N. Charter. On March 3 this war claimed its first victim: Reshat Ametov – a Crimean Tatar. He went on a peaceful one-man protest against aggression. Russians detained him, tortured and murdered him.…
This was just the beginning of the horror in Russian-occupied Crimea. Just think about the fact that for five years the Ukrainian people have been living amid the longest hot conflict in Europe in modern history. …
First, Russia grabbed Crimea, then it turned Donbas into a battlefield, and then it continued its aggression in the Sea of Azov, the Black Sea and the Kerch Strait.
As a result, 44,000 square km, or 7 percent of Ukraine’s territory, including Crimea and eastern parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, are currently under occupation.
The Russian aggression has left 13,000 people killed and more than 28,000 wounded. This number also includes 298 passengers of flight MH17, shot down in July 2014 by the Russian military from a BUK missile system. More than 1.8 million residents of Crimea and Donbas had to leave their homes due to Russia’s aggression and occupation.…
As in any war, the first casualty of Moscow’s aggression was the truth. The occupation started with infamous “little green men” and Kremlin’s outright and shameful denial of its military involvement in the takeover of the Ukrainian Crimea. Instead, the world and the public were fed with lies about “mythical local self-defense units,” which somehow overnight became equipped with the latest Russian weaponry. Only later, the Russian President publicly admitted that it had indeed been the operation by the Russian military.
Putin’s confession makes the Russian narrative regarding the so-called “local referendum” a surreal one. The vote was held at gunpoint, and it was nothing but part of the Russia’s aggressive plan. Let me repeat: the referendum in March 2014 was a fake. …It has absolutely nothing to do with democracy, nor with the free will of people.
…On April 13, 2014, this war claimed its first victim in Donbas. His name was Hennadiy Bilichenko. He was a Ukrainian officer, a part of the group that had strict orders “not to respond to provocations.” Back then we had an illusion that the war was still avoidable. …
The Kremlin continues to deny any involvement of the Russian military in the war in Donbas, despite the overwhelming evidence proving the opposite. …Five years onwards, Moscow continues to send its regular military forces and proxies to Donbas.
Last November the Russian naval forces committed a direct, brutal and unprovoked attack on Ukrainian warships in the international waters of the Black Sea. Russia’s actions fall exactly under the definition of aggression according to UN General Assembly Resolution of 1974. As a result, the vessels were damaged and seized, 24 crew members, including three wounded, were captured and are now in illegal detention in Russia. I want to stress that they are not criminals; they must be treated as prisoners of war under Geneva Conventions.
But Russia turns a deaf ear to numerous calls for their immediate and unconditional release, including those contained in the resolution adopted by this General Assembly last December.
Today I brought with myself an appeal to the Secretary General to press on Moscow to release the Ukrainian crewmembers. It was signed by thousands of Ukrainians over the last few days. And I speak on behalf of all of them. We sincerely count on your support.…
Moscow’s hybrid war also includes covert operations and hacker attacks against Ukrainian institutions and critical civilian infrastructure. This kind of Russian activity is by now well-known far beyond Ukraine’s borders. In addition, Russia wages unprecedented propaganda war against Ukraine – a war that has actually started before the first victims died on Kyiv’s Maidan square.
Every day, with no pause or consideration for holidays and weekends, all of Russia’s major TV channels broadcast torrents of lies and fake news about Ukraine. These lies especially target the population of occupied territories, where the Ukrainian TV and radio channels are being blocked. It’s a virtual state-run hate machine working 24/7.…
Five years ago, this war began under the pretext of defending Russian-speakers in Ukraine. It goes on now under the pretext of defending the Orthodox believers. President Putin publicly confirmed his readiness to use military force for this purpose in response to Ukraine creating its own independent Orthodox Church.
While continuing its undeclared war against my country the Kremlin desperately keeps trying to convince the international community that it is not a party to the conflict. It says it is Ukraine’s internal conflict, where Russia is only an objective and impartial mediator. It is a truly twisted reality that the Russian Federation tries to spread. Some may be tempted to go along with the Russian narrative for the sake of political convenience. I stand here today to let you know that we will not let the lies prevail. …
Let’s set the record straight once and for all. There is no so-called “crisis in Ukraine” nor “internal conflict in Ukraine”, but an ongoing military occupation and armed aggression by Russia against Ukraine. …
The Ukrainian people are not going to give up on their hard-won independence and bend the knee before the aggressor.
The Russian aggression will be over once the Kremlin leadership decides to stop it and to withdraw its troops from Ukraine’s territory and to return the control of Ukraine-Russia state border to where it belongs.
I would like to remind everyone: when you call on Russia to stop fighting, you call for ending the war, and when you call on Ukraine to stop fighting for defending itself, you call for giving up Ukraine’s sovereignty.…