Below is the text of an appeal to the international community that was released by the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America on November 19.
The Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA), the representative organization of the over 1 million Americans of Ukrainian descent, strongly condemns the recent surge in the shelling of the Ukrainian army positions by the Russian-backed terrorists in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. According to Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Russian terrorist forces have carried out over 350 shellings and provocations since November 1, resulting in the death of seven Ukrainian servicemen.
Such actions by the Russian-backed terrorists are in gross violation of the Minsk agreement.
The UCCA calls upon the United States and the international community to immediately increase pressure on Russia in order to prevent the renewal of full-scale hostilities in the Donbas, and renews its calls to the United States to immediately supply Ukraine with defensive weapons to help the country defend its borders. The UCCA also urges the international community to strengthen targeted economic sanctions against the Russian Federation until it fully complies with its international obligations, including the Minsk agreements.
The UCCA expresses its sincerest condolences to the families of the Ukrainian servicemen whose lives were lost as a result of terrorist attacks by Russian-backed forces in the Donbas.