In 2014, Moscow saw an opportunity to exploit a period of significant political change in Ukraine and launched a campaign to undermine the diplomatic processes, governance and territorial integrity of its sovereign neighbor, Ukraine. For more than six years, the Russian government has fueled the conflict in eastern Ukraine, threatening the lives of local civilians and degrading critical infrastructure on which millions depend for electricity and water. Despite the impact of COVID-19 throughout the region, Russia’s aggression continues unabated.
Make no mistake – the conflict in eastern Ukraine is not “internal.” Ukrainians fought for their freedom in Kyiv’s central square through the hardest winter months of 2013 and 2014, demanding an accountable government. In an effort to undermine Ukraine’s embrace of democratic values and a path toward greater integration with Europe, the Russian government initiated this conflict – in an attempt – to bring Ukraine back under the influence of the Kremlin.
You know, there was a time in the 1990s when the Russian people looked to the future, themselves embracing democratic values and a European path. Today an authoritarian Russia again seeks to dominate its neighbors. If the Kremlin ceased this harmful conduct, it would find the hand of friendship almost everywhere. Instead, the Russian government has its nation on a road that make it no friends.
The fact is the so-called proxy “authorities” in Russia-controlled eastern Ukraine would not exist without direct support from Moscow. These forces rely on Russian equipment and weaponry that has never been in service in the Ukrainian military. Multiple media and non-governmental organizations have documented the presence of high-tech electronic warfare systems, tanks and anti-air missile batteries in Ukraine, all of which could only have come from Russia. As we saw during last week’s [OSCE] Permanent Council meeting, Russia will go to great lengths to shift the blame for this conflict onto Ukraine and other participating states.
The full weight and responsibility for this conflict falls on the Kremlin. Neither the United States nor Ukraine nor any other member of this Permanent Council is responsible for the conflict in eastern Ukraine or the occupation and purported annexation of Crimea. …
Today we would like to call attention to the Russian government’s continuing conscription of individuals in Crimea into Russian armed forces, compelling persons protected by the Fourth Geneva Convention to serve the forces of a hostile power is a grave breach of that convention.
…It is time for Russia to drop the charade, return full control of Crimea to Ukraine, and withdraw its forces and materiel from eastern Ukraine. Only then can it reclaim its place as a respected member of the society of nations, a goal it should want for a better future for its own citizens. …
– U.S. Ambassador James S. Gilmore III, addressing the Permanent Council of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe on May 28 in Vienna.