The Ukrainian World Congress on February 19 issued the following release on the fifth anniversary of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and murder of the Heavenly Hundred.
Today, Russia continues to wage a bloody war against the Ukrainian people. The Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) calls upon the international community to join the International Action “Stop Russia’s war against Ukraine!” on the fifth anniversary of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. The goal is to mobilize international support for Ukraine in the defense of its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
In 2014 the people of Ukraine stood up against the Russian-controlled authoritarian regime of Viktor Yanukovych in a Revolution of Dignity which ended in the mass shooting and death of 100 peaceful Ukrainian protesters on February 20, 2014, in Kyiv. This murder is clearly traceable to Vladimir Putin and his henchmen including Ukraine’s past-President Viktor Yanukovych who fled Ukraine and continues to hide in Russia under Putin’s protection.
Immediately following the Revolution of Dignity, the Russian Federation invaded and illegally occupied Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula and launched a war against Ukraine on its eastern territories. This invasion is the most blatant violation of international borders since the second world war and a violation of the Charter of the United Nations, the 1975 Helsinki Accords and the 2004 Budapest Memorandum, among others.
Since 2014, the Russian Federation has committed numerous war crimes and crimes against humanity on the territory of Ukraine, including the shooting down of passenger flight MH17, which resulted in the murder of 298 people onboard; 11,000 people killed as a result of the war; oppression of religious and ethnic communities; 1.5 million internally displaced people; the November 2018 attack and capture of Ukrainian naval vessels and their crew in international waters; and the persecution of 70 Ukrainian political prisoners in Russian jails, including acclaimed filmmaker Oleh Sentsov, who while in prison was awarded the 2018 European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize.
Today, the Russian Federation continues to flagrantly disregard international law by waging a hybrid war and disinformation campaign against Ukraine intended to sow discord among its people ahead of the presidential and parliamentary elections.
“On the fifth anniversary of Russian aggression, I ask all peace-loving people to join the UWC International Action ‘Stop Russia’s war against Ukraine!’ We must actively support Ukraine, and honor the memory of the Heroes of Heavenly Hundred (Nebesna Sotnia), all of the fallen defenders of Ukraine in this war and its peaceful residents,” stated UWC President Paul Grod.
The UWC calls on all Ukrainians and our supporters to organize events, including rallies, commemorative initiatives and social media campaigns with the goal of raising awareness and urging governments around the world to:
• increase pressure on Russia and its supporters by increasing sanctions and excluding it from international forums for its ongoing violations;
• provide defense and security assistance to Ukraine, including defensive weapons and military support;
• launch a United Nations peacekeeping mission to the Russia-Ukraine border and an OSCE monitoring mission to Crimea;
• advocate for the release by the Russian Federation of all prisoners of war, hostages and political prisoners; and
• terminate the development of the Nord Stream 2 Russian gas pipeline which will threaten European unity and security.