Kyiv, Ukraine – Russian-led forces launched an attempted incursion into Ukrainian territory and escalated military aggression in eastern Ukraine that has resulted in several Ukrainian casualties. Early in the morning of February 18, in an attempt to penetrate the line of contact Russian-led forces initiated a massive artillery strike — including from heavy 152-millimeter howitzers — on Ukrainian defense lines in Luhansk Oblast, Eastern Ukraine (near the villages of Novotoshkivske, Orikhove, Krymske and Khutir Vilny), some 600 kilometers southeast of Kyiv. The Ukrainian forces rebuffed the attack.
The Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) condemns this escalation of aggression that further underscores the need to not only maintain, but increase sanctions against the Russian Federation, and to hold firm the position that there can be no compromising with an aggressor state. These military attacks have come on the heels of the Munich Security Conference during which attempts were made to sway the international community into accepting a warped perspective of the war in Ukraine. These attacks are yet another reminder for the global community of the true intent of Vladimir Putin’s Russia to destabilize and control Ukraine.
The UWC once again reiterates that peace and security in Ukraine and the region can only be attained when:
- all Russian troops, mercenaries, ammunition and materiel are withdrawn from Ukraine;
- Crimea and Donbas are de-occupied and returned to Ukraine;
- Ukraine regains full control of its border with the Russian Federation;
- Russia bears full responsibility for rebuilding war-torn Ukraine and paying reparations to all affected by their war against Ukraine and downing of Malaysian airliner MH17.
The UWC expresses condolences to the families of the victims of this latest military escalation and gratitude to the brave men and women who continue to defend the territorial integrity of Ukraine and the aspirations of its freedom-loving people against a relentless enemy.
“The international community is being further tested in its resolve to pressure the Russian Federation to withdraw from the territory of an independent state and to cease its hybrid warfare against Ukraine,” stated UWC President Paul Grod. “As Ukraine consistently works to fulfill its commitments under the December 2019 Normandy peace agreements, this latest attack demonstrates Russia’s disregard for international agreements. Any appeasement of the Russian Federation will only fuel the aggression and attempts to control its neighbour that is committed to Euro-Atlantic integration.”
