This day marks 6 years from the beginning of armed aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine.

On 20 February 2014, Russian armed forces started occupying the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, thus undermining peace and security on the continent.

With its illegal acts Russia has violated the basic principles of international law, which are fundamental to international relations in the modern world and which lie at the core of maintaining peace and security – the principles of refraining from the threat or use of force, respect for the territorial integrity of independent states, as well as the inviolability of borders. 

Thanks to the unity of all Ukrainian citizens, our soldiers’ courage and international support, Ukraine has maintained its independence, stopping the enemy’s offence in Donbas. The international community has condemned the crime of aggression and has not recognized the attempted annexation of Crimea.

The results of Russia’s international crime are dramatic: parts of Ukraine’s territory are occupied, tens of thousands have been killed and wounded, 1,5 million people displaced, and millions of Ukrainian citizens forced to live on the temporarily occupied territories amidst terror and systemic violations of human rights.

Morever, Russia ignores its international obligations as the occupying power. A merest display of Ukrainian identity is a serious crime in the eyes of the invaders. Crimean Tatars, the indigenous people of Crimea, are subjected to repression. Politically motivated prosecution based on fabricated charges has become common practice for the Russian occupation authorities. The invaders’ crimes include illegal conscription to the Russian armed forces, a systematic resettlement policy of the Russian citizens to the temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories aimed at altering its demographics, forced passportization of Ukrainian citizens, and accelerated militarization of the occupied territories. 

We demand that Russia start unconditional fulfilment of its obligations as a party to an international armed conflict, immediately cease fire, and begin the settlement in Donbas based on the agreements reached within the international negotiation formats.

Also, we are grateful to our international partners for their political and hands-on support in protecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.

We call on the international community to further intensify its political, diplomatic, and economic pressure on the Russian Federation to make Russia stop its armed aggression against Ukraine, release the illegally detained citizens of Ukraine, implement the relevant decisions of the international organisations and international courts, deoccupy the temporarily occupied territories, and put Russia back into the international legal boundaries.

We believe that by combining the efforts of the civilized world we can restore peace and stability in Europe as well as respect for the fundamental norms of the modern international order.