The Ministry of Foreign Affairs called on Russia to stop its armed aggression against Ukraine and start a dialogue on a peaceful settlement.
“This will help save human lives and prevent a catastrophe that Europe has not seen since the Second World War,” the ministry said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized that the armed forces of the Russian Federation continue a large-scale offensive operation on the territory of Ukraine “to destroy the Ukrainian state, overthrow the Ukrainian government and establish occupation control.”
It is noted that the Russian Federation attacks Ukraine:
- from Russian territory,
- Black and Azov Seas,
- temporarily occupied Crimea and Donbass,
- from the territory of Belarus.
The troops of the Russian Federation use combat aircraft, ballistic missiles, artillery, tanks, armored personnel carriers, ground troops and other forces and means.
– Russian units carry out missile and bomb strikes on civilian infrastructure in Kyiv, Kharkov, Odessa, Chernigov, Ivano-Frankivsk, Lvov and other Ukrainian cities. The Kremlin has launched a massive military operation to seize the Ukrainian capital, the statement said.
It is emphasized that civilians, many of whom are children, are killed and injured in the center of Europe.
– Russia commits gross violations of the rules of war and other norms of international law in Ukraine. In connection with numerous war crimes and violations of the Rome Statute by the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, together with the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, is collecting materials for submission to the International Criminal Court in order to bring the Russian leadership to the strictest accountability.
Also, the Russian invaders seized the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and do not allow the rotation of employees of the nuclear power plant, as provided for by international technical safety rules.
It is reported about fixing the excess of control levels of radiation due to the violation of the topsoil due to the movement of a large amount of Russian military equipment and the rise of contaminated radioactive dust into the atmosphere. The Ukrainian side has already warned the IAEA that Russia's actions could lead to a large-scale environmental disaster in Europe.
“The Ukrainian army and all other national defense forces are giving a worthy rebuff to the attack of the Russian Federation, the enemy forces are suffering losses, we are holding strategic positions,” the Foreign Ministry emphasizes.
They thanked the United States, Canada, the EU and other international partners for imposing new economic sanctions against Russia, but noted that these measures are still insufficient to stop the Russian war against Ukraine.
– We call on some European countries not to be guided by narrow political interests when it comes to protecting the security of not only Ukrainian citizens, but all citizens of Europe. What is at stake is the further fate of the international security architecture and the global world order based on respect for the UN Charter and the fundamental norms of international law. Russia should be immediately disconnected from the SWIFT payment system. We need to act now and without delay,” Ukraine urges.
Kyiv also turned to partners with a request to provide additional weapons in order to strengthen the defense capabilities of Ukraine.
Financial and humanitarian support of Ukraine and Ukrainian citizens is actively attracted.
