On February 28, 2022, Ukrainian World Congress President Paul Grod participated in the webinar “Standing up for Civil Society” organized by the Conference of INGOs of the Council of Europe.
In his address, Paul Grod recognized the support of the European Union, the Council of Europe and Ukraine’s international allies who have finally recognized what Ukraine has been fighting the last eight years, and that is the attempt by Putin’s Russia to recreate the Russian empire.
“Over the last several days Ukraine has suffered hundreds of dead, thousands wounded; last night over 600 new tanks entered Ukrainian territory. The Ukrainians are running out of munitions, the important weaponry they need, so I’m praying that what has been committed by many of the European countries will get to Ukraine as soon as possible because this is the only way that lives will be saved,” affirmed Paul Grod.
The UWC President also noted the importance of shoring up the OSCE Monitoring Mission to ensure that the war crimes and crimes against humanity are accurately recorded and documented. “My concern,” he added, “is that the OSCE Mission is comprised primarily of Russians and that most of the Europeans and American members of the OSCE Mission have been leaving the special monitoring mission.”
Highlighting the magnitude of the looming humanitarian crisis which is getting worse by the minute, Paul Grod appealed for military support. “This is not a time for bandages and blankets, this is the time to equip the territorial defense forces, to provide Ukraine with the sophisticated anti-missile, anti-aircraft equipment that they need.”
UWC President also underscored the extreme devastation from air strikes of civilian infrastructure in Ukrainian cities and called upon NATO and the EU to shut down the air space. “I know it’s an extremely controversial question. Many have called it the start of World War Three, but quite frankly, it is the only way to avert a major humanitarian catastrophe. The sanctions that have been brought in are very important, but they will take time to make their effect. But Ukrainians are dying today, and we really need to show that Vladimir Putin and his henchmen will not be successful,” Paul Grod emphasized.
