Let me be very clear: Russia must withdraw from every square meter of Ukrainian territory. There can be no misunderstanding about what the word withdrawn means.Kuleba said in a video intervention at a debate forum on “Peace in Ukraine” held as part of the 2nd Summit of World Democracies, an initiative of US President Joe Biden, which began today in Washington and in the Costa Rican , South Korean, Zambian and Dutch capitals.
“In this war, we are defending the democratic world as a whole,” continued the head of Ukrainian diplomacy, underlining, “No other country wants peace more than Ukraine. But peace at any cost is an illusion.”
The US State Department had announced that it would be Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to participate via video in this forum on Ukraine at the 2nd Summit of World Democracies, but he apologized for his absence and was replaced by his minister of Foreign Affairs.
China has recently made proposals to end the war in Ukraine, which have been received coolly by the West, which insists on Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
For his part, the host of the virtual meeting, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, warned of “the cynical trap” represented by certain peace initiatives, which he did not name.
“I think (…) it is necessary to be suspicious of what at first glance looks like reconciliation, but in fact may turn out to be a cynical trap,” Blinken stated, referring to a possible ceasefire that enough would be nothing more than to “freeze the conflict” and allow Russia to “consolidate and reorganize its gains”.
French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, for her part, insisted that “justice must prevail” and, by the way, stressed that the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin represents “a big step” in the fight against impunity.
Colonna also urged European countries to fulfill their obligations in this area and to extradite the Russian president to the ICC if he enters the European Union (EU), after Hungary indicated that it would not extradite Putin.
The military offensive launched by Russia in Ukraine on February 24, 2022 has so far led to the flight of more than 14.6 million people – 6.5 million internally displaced persons and more than 8.1 million to European countries – according to the latest data from the UN, which classifies this refugee crisis as the worst in Europe since World War II (1939-1945).
At the moment, at least 18 million Ukrainians need humanitarian aid and 9.3 million people need food aid and shelter.
The Russian invasion – justified by Putin with the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russia’s security – was condemned by the international community at large, which responded by sending arms to Ukraine and imposing political and political sanctions. put to Russia.
The UN presented as confirmed since the start of the war, which today entered its 398th day, 8,401 civilian deaths and 14,023 wounded, underlining that these numbers are well below the real ones.
Source: DN
