ISLAMABAD: Ambassador of Ukraine to Pakistan Markian Chuchuk, recalling the ordeal of the people of Ukraine for past one year, urged international community to continue supporting his country’s right to self-defence.
Speaking in an event organized by the Embassy of Poland to express solidarity with Ukraine on the eve of 1st anniversary of the Russia-Ukraine war, the Ukrainian envoy said that an “unprovoked and unjust” war unleashed by Russia against Ukraine has been going on for a year.
“Its consequences are terrible. Hundreds of thousands of militaries lost their lives. There were thousands of civilians, including women, children and the elderly killed by Russian invaders in Ukraine,” he lamented.
He said that about 15 million of refugees and internally displaced person have left their homes while over 81,000 of residential buildings, hospitals, kindergartens, schools, power stations and industrial facilities were destroyed or damaged by Russian bombs, missiles and drones.
“It is an existential war for my country. Ukraine exercises the inherent right of states for self-defence against the war in accordance with Article 51 of the UN. We are fighting for the right to exist and [for the right] to have a future. We defend our freedom, our families, our land,” he added.
“To deny all these was a pronounced premise and justification given the Russian leadership for the war. If the aggressors can erase the past, they can also deny the future. They can continue to pretend the Ukrainian state is not actually a sovereign and independent state - so there is no invasion against it,” he added.
He maintained that the Russian can perpetuate a “false myth” that the Ukrainian people are not a genuine nation and they are just a part of the Russian people, as the Ukrainian history is just a subset of the Russian history. Therefore, the destruction of the cultural heritage is not a coincidental consequence of the war or a part of its collateral damage, he added.
“It is a conscious, planned and structured objective of the aggression. It reveals a neocolonial nature of the Russian design for the future of Ukraine and a revisionist attitude towards the history,” he further maintained.
In his remarks, Ambassador of Poland to Pakistan Maciej Pisarski urged international community to support Ukraine to defend itself against Russian “invasion” and find a comprehensive solution for lasting peace in the country.
He said that the world community should continue supporting displaced refugees as well as the Ukrainian military forces so they can fight back.
He emphasized the need for protecting the infrastructure of Ukrainian culture and its historical legacy, adding that attacking Ukrainian museums or attacking cultural heritage sites is against international law and a crime.
The Polish ambassador further stated that the international community should support Ukraine and its citizens militarily and humanitarianly.
Deputy Head of the EU Mission Thomas Seiler also addressed the event and reiterated the EU continued support to Ukraine against the Russian “aggression”.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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