OTTAWA – The Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC) has strongly condemned the flagrant violations of the Minsk agreements by the Russian Federation and Russian-led, -staffed, -funded and -controlled terrorist organizations in the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts.
In a statement released on February 21, the UCC said:
“Despite agreement on a ceasefire that was to begin on 15 February, Kremlin-backed terrorists and Russian soldiers continued a brutal offensive against Ukrainian positions near Debaltseve. While withdrawing from Debaltseve, Ukrainian forces were shelled by Russian artillery, resulting in the death of more than 10 Ukrainian soldiers and over 100 wounded. Over 80 Ukrainian soldiers are missing in action. The Russian Federation and its proxies in Ukraine have consistently disregarded and violated all agreements they have pledged to uphold.
“The list of crimes committed by the Russian Federation and the terrorists it supports in Ukraine is long and growing daily. The illegal invasion and occupation of Crimea; the invasion of Donetsk and Luhansk; the downing of Flight MH 17; the indiscriminate shelling of civilians in Mariupol, Kramatorsk and many other cities in eastern Ukraine; the torture and mistreatment of Ukrainian soldiers taken prisoner; the continuing illegal detention of Lt. Nadiya Savchenko and other Ukrainian citizens clearly demonstrate the Putin regime’s blatant disregard for international law, binding obligations and principles of the inviolability of state borders. The ongoing violations of the Minsk agreements of September 5 and 19, 2014, and February 12, 2015, are simply the latest iteration of the Kremlin’s brutality and aggression.”
UCC President Paul Grod added: “The brutal Russian offensive against Debaltseve has once again demonstrated Putin’s duplicity and strategy to subjugate Ukraine. In dealing with Putin, Western leaders would do well to remember the disastrous results of the appeasement of Adolf Hitler.”
“If peace is to be restored, Ukraine’s army must be given the means with which to defend their country, and the costs to Russia of continuing its aggression must be significantly increased,” Mr. Grod said. “Thousands of lives would have been saved and the world would not be contending with a new European war, if the guarantors of Ukraine’s security and territorial integrity would have provided the defensive military equipment that Ukraine requested many months ago.”
The UCC called on Canada, the United States and their NATO allies to:
1. Provide Ukraine with the defensive weapons, equipment and training it needs to defend its territorial integrity and the lives of the civilian population that is subjected to continuous terrorist shelling.
2. Significantly increase the provision of communications and intelligence capabilities to Ukraine’s armed forces, including counter-artillery radar systems.
3. Dramatically increase sectoral sanctions against the Russian Federation’s defense, energy and financial services – in particular banning Russia from the SWIFT banking system.
The UCC underlined its complete solidarity with the people of Ukraine as they bravely battle Russia’s aggression against their country.